OKOLOTI: Rebekka Namwandi, Deputy Director of Marginalized Communities in the Ministry of Gender Equality, Poverty Eradication and Social Welfare, highlighted the difficulties faced in delivering food aid to nomadic communities. In an interview with Nampa, Namwandi explained that the nomadic lifestyle of these communities poses a significant challenge for the allocation of food parcels, often resulting in regional planners finding empty villages after traveling long distances.
According to Namibia Press Agency, The ministry is exploring strategies to improve communication about the availability of food parcels, including notifying regional councillors via radio. However, Namwandi acknowledged the limitations of this approach, as many in these communities neither listen to radios nor read newspapers due to their remote locations. This statement follows concerns raised by Joseph Shilongo, the regional councillor of Nehale Lyampingana Constituency in the Oshikoto Region, who reported difficulties in distributing food because the communities frequently relocate without notice. He noted that these communities tend to converge at locations where food parcels have been distributed, unaware that they would also receive aid in their original locations.