Hunger stalks and threatens hundreds of thousands of people in Chieftainess Chiawa chiefdom and the surrounding areas in Southern Province followng the second opening of the spill way gates at Kariba north bank.
And Chieftainess Chiawa has appealed to government through the Disaster Mitigation and Management Unit (DMMU) in the Vice President 's Office for relief food to save her subjects from hunger.
The opening of the spill way gates by the country's leading power utility company , Zesco limited , has also affected wildlife as well as crop fields bordering the dam.
Confirming the development to ZANIS in an interview, today, Chieftainess Chiawa said the situation has gotten tense as their is now human- wildlife conflict over land in her chiefdom and the surrounding areas.
" Yes I can confirm that there is a food crisis in my chiefdom. Crops have been washed away by the floods due to the second opening of the spillway gates at Kariba Dam.
" Crops in the fields hjave been washed away even wild animals have also been displaced due to floods," the traditional leader said.
She explained that what was compounding hunger in her chiefdom was the fact that wild aminals such as elephants were fleeing the neighbouring game areas for dryer grounds thereby destroying maize fields in the process.
The traditional leader said hunger has not only stalked her chiefdom but the neighboring chiefdoms of Chiefs Mapanza and Chief Macha, among others.
People in the area have this time around got no alternative food source such as wild fruits as mango trees are in most cases been submerged by the spillway gate floods.
Zesco limited has traditionally been opening spill way gates annually at its Kariba north bank and Itezhi-tezhi dams to avoid damage due to over flow of the Zambezi river which increases its depth especially in this rainy season.
The second opening of the spill way gates was made early last week and unsettled various communities and wildlife in the area.
Chieftainess Chiawa has mean while appealed to the DMMU in the Vice Presidents Office for relief food for her subjects abnd other neighbouring chiefdoms affected by the floods.
She said there is need for the DMMU to quickly dispatch relief food to the area to save lives frlom hunger.
ZANIS
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