By Onishias Maamba in Chipata
A serious hunger crisis has hit valley areas of Lumezi district as people are reportedly surviving on mangoes
Confirming the development to The Independent Observer, Jerricks Mbao said the worst hit areas are Mwanya, Chitumgulu and Kazembe.
Mr Mbao indicates that the situation has been escalating in the past three months, attributing it to the poor yields recorded in the last farming season.
He has called on the government to urgently send relief to the area before the situation gets out of hand as mangoes are almost finishing.
And the Catholic Commission for Peace and Justice (CCJP) in Chipata has described the reported hunger situation in Lumezi district where people are said to be surviving on mangoes as unacceptable.
Reacting to the report, CCJP Chipata coordinator, John Mthaziko Zulu says the situation puts both the Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit (DMMU) and elected leaders in bad light.
Mr Zulu notes that eastern province has enough maize stocks that are lying idle in storage shades, as such it is uncalled for to let rats eat the maize while humans are starving.
The CCJP Chipata coordinator holds that the situation is a serious matter which needed to be treated with urgency from DMMU and elected leaders.
Eastern province is Zambia’s food basket but most of the food is sold to out at harvest time and some exported to neighboring countries.
