Q & A:
*HON. SENATOR CHIEF NTABENI: Thank you Mr. President. I am directing my question to the Minister of Agriculture Hon. Zhanda. Minister, you are making good presentations regarding livestock but you seem to be putting more emphasis on livestock and neglecting the people who are dying of hunger. You are even encouraging people to de-stock. We have noticed that in most cases in rural areas, Ministers are not aware of the poverty situation in the rural areas and you can only get that information from the chiefs. The chiefs are the people who are feeding the people and they know their culture. We would have wanted to direct this question to Hon. Made but unfortunately he does not turn up.
*THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE (LIVESTOCK) (HON. ZHANDA): Thank you Mr. President. I would like to thank the Chief, Hon. Senator Ntabeni for asking that question and also declaring our friendship. The Ministry of Agriculture has the responsibility of taking care of the people in the country especially if there is a drought situation. We are also encouraged to give permits to encourage maize to be imported so that nobody dies of hunger in Zimbabwe. We have enough stock to feed the people of Zimbabwe. The distribution of this food is under the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Services under Hon. Mupfumira. They are responsible for the distribution and not my Ministry.
See also:
Why are we surprised by droughts?
Drought: a misery for some, big business for others
Britain gives cash to 336 000 starving Zimbabweans
Why tractors are political in Africa
Remove politics from farming, only 2 000 farmers can feed the nation says Central Bank chief
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