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| National |
| MPs demand Bingu to visit Kasungu |
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by
Juliet Chimwaga, 10 April 2006
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07:57:02
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Members of Parliament (MPs) on Thursday demanded ministers to ask President Bingu wa Mutharika to visit Kasungu district where they said people are facing acute hunger and need urgent attention.
MP for Kasungu West Constituency Blessings Chipilingu (MCP), who initiated the issue, emphasized there is need for the President to visit the district and appreciate the problems people are facing.
“You can imagine people are now migrating to Nkhotakota and Salima to look for food. That is terrible,” said the MP.
MP for Nkhotakota south Adson Mbowani (Independent) supported Chipilingu, admitting that people are flocking to his district to buy cassava for food.
However, Minister of Agriculture and Food Security Uladi Mussa said the President and his ministry are already aware of the hunger situation in Kasungu.
“My ministry has already done an assessment of the situation and has already started working on the problem,” he said, adding that government has already started distributing maize in collaboration with non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
Minister of Labour and Vocational Training Ken Lipenga who stood on point of order when Chipilingu insisted that the President should visit the district and see what he called a ‘catastrophe’ in the area, said “This President will not only visit places when there is a catastrophe but at any time.”
”You are the same people who, when the President makes such visits, accuse him saying: ‘he should have sent his minister’. The minister (of Agriculture) has already told you the problem is already being taken care of. What more do you want?” queried Lipenga.
The agriculture minister said in an interview after the debate he will provide a detailed account of the activities that government has already done and is doing to help the people of Kasungu.
MPs demanded that the people of Kasungu should be given relief food until the next harvest season.
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