As the official campaign period takes shape in the country, District Council officials in Nkhotakota have called on people in the district to refrain from politicising relief items saying doing so may jeopardize the effectiveness of their work.
District Commissioner representative Greystone Alindiamawo made the call on Monday when the council distributed various relief items to over 152 people whose houses were blown off by heavy winds in villages of Phangwa, Malasa and Makuta 2, on Tuesday the previous week.
He said government always strives to give equal relief items to people who have been affected by disasters hence it is naïve for others to think that such gestures are aimed at scoring political mileage or as a tool to punish opposition political supporters.
“The council officers recorded names of all people whose houses were affected by these winds without looking at their political party affiliations because they are all Malawians,” he said.
Alindiamawo then warned the beneficiaries to refrain from selling the items saying once found, they will be arrested as doing so will be undermining efforts being made by government in making sure Malawians are living comfortably.
One of the beneficiaries from Makuta Selemani village, Fostina Matchado, called on government to provide small loans to the victims as a way of helping them rebuild their houses and to also boost their businesses that have been affected due to the winds.
The donation which has been made through the Department of Disaster Management Affairs- DoDMA to the tune of 5 million kwacha will see each household receiving a bag of maize, a blanket, a plastic paper, Pail, 4 cups, 4 plastic plates, beans and salt
