By A Correspondent- President Emmerson Mnangagwa has reassured the nation that the government is not going to let any family starve despite the poor harvests caused by drought.

He acknowledged concerns raised by the leadership in the communities that food shortages were being experienced due to last season’s poor harvests.

He said:

“The issue of food shortages that you have mentioned is one we are prioritising as Government because of the drought we experienced.

“We don’t want to hear that there’s an individual who has died from hunger. We have institutions and Government departments that should identify needy families.

“We have the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare led by Minister Sekai Nzenza and we have the traditional leadership, the chiefs and headmen and we have councillors under the Ministry of Local Government.

“We also have the leadership of Zanu-PF at various levels, so all these institutions should identify those who are in need of food,” he said.

The President also said Government will initiate a supplementary feeding exercise for primary school children in areas hardest hit by drought. Government has already initiated plans to import 800 000 tonnes of maize to cover the gap caused by this year’s low harvests.-StateMedia