Mbabane- Deputy Prime Minister Thul’sile Dladla has pleaded with residents affected by recent storms to remain patient as government continues working to address the damage caused by the disaster.
Dladla said government acted swiftly after the storms struck in December, moving in to provide building materials to repair damaged houses and erecting temporary structures to ensure affected families had shelter.
She said government had now deemed it necessary to extend assistance to the agricultural sector, following extensive damage to crop fields across the Northern Hhohho Region.
The Deputy Prime Minister was speaking during the storm relief tour of the in Northern Hhohho, where farming inputs were delivered to affected homesteads under Mhlangatane Inkhundla, Mayiwane Inkhundla and Ndzingeni Inkhundla. The intervention was coordinated through the National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA).
Beneficiary households received bean seeds, maize seed and one hour of tractor cultivation per family. The initiative is aimed at helping families whose crops were destroyed by the storms that ravaged the region in the early days of December to resume food production and strengthen household food security.
Dladla said the Swati proverb lijaha sisu, meant government was charged with a responsibility to ensure that emaSwati were empowered to produce food for their families. She stressed that restoring livelihoods remained a key priority in government’s disaster response efforts.
She also conveyed government’s sympathy to the affected families and encouraged them to use the distributed inputs productively in order to secure sustainable future harvests.
The Deputy Prime Minister was accompanied on the tour by NDMA Chief Executive Officer Victor Mahlalela and Communications Manager Magman Mahlalela, who engaged with community members and provided guidance on the use of the farming inputs.
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