Members of parliament in
Swaziland have accused a government ministry of lying in a report on severe
hunger in the kingdom’s schools.
They were told that a
crisis that has continued all year was over and that school committees were stealing food intended for
children.
A progress reported tabled
to the Swazi House of Assembly by Minister of Education and Training Phineas
Magagula was rejected. The shortage escalated after the government did not pay
its bills to suppliers. The food includes rice, mealie-meal, cooking oil,
beans, and peanut butter.
Magagula said on Monday (7
August 2017) that food had been delivered to about 800 primary and high schools
in the kingdom. He said government had failed to reach all schools because they
could only get eight trucks instead of the 20 needed.
The Swazi Observer reported on Wednesday, ‘The ministry also expressed
concern in the manner in which the food was stolen in schools. The report
blames school committees for this but this was something that was not accepted
by the MPs. A majority of the MPs rejected the report presented by the
minister.’ They said no evidence had been given to prove the accusation.
It was reported that 60
percent of schools had closed early for the second term because of food
shortages.
In a report in May 2017, the World
Food Program estimated 350,000 people of Swaziland’s
1.1 million population were in need of food assistance. WFP helped 65,473 of
them. It said it was regularly feeding 52,000 orphaned and vulnerable children
(OVC) aged under eight years at neighbourhood care points. About 45 percent of
all children in thought to be OVCs.
It reported chronic malnutrition affected 26 percent
of all children in Swaziland aged under five.
See also
‘CHILDREN
COULD SOON DIE OF HUNGER’
BAD FOOD POISONS 200 PUPILS
NO FOOD SO SCHOOLKIDS SENT HOME
HUNGER FORCES SCHOOLS TO CLOSE EARLY
http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2017/02/hunger-forces-schools-to-close-early.html
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