The United Nations World Food Programme workshop to review lessons learnt from previous interventions established that there are a lot of communities that give false information to get a larger allocation of food aid.
Presenting lessons learnt from previous interventions, various speakers highlighted that most communities in need of food aid hold meetings prior to registration and verification by various donors on who should benefit.
“Village heads have a tendency of splitting their villages so that everyone receives food assistance and house hold sizes are reduced to accommodate as many households as possible. They do it so well that even when you are doing the verification after registration, you cannot pick it,” said an NGO official who refused to be identified.
“Communities are told what to say and what information to present to the registration officials,” she said.
It was established that the local leadership sometimes determine who benefits and this has adverse effects on distribution and the number of beneficiaries.
Loreen Makawa, the Agricultural Extension Officer for Mutare, said gross discrepancies in the Zimbabwe Vulnerability Assessment Committee (ZimVAC) report with the situation on the ground “makes it difficult for government and the donor community to meet the food needs of communities affected by food shortages.”
Post published in: News