CLOSE to 418 000 people affected by drought in Namibia will start receiving government assistance from May, the Office of the Prime Minister announced on Friday. The permanent secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister, Nangula Mbako, said Cabinet had authorised the implementation of an interim drought relief programme, which includes the distribution of maize meal to close to 418 000 people, from May to July. Mbako's announcement comes days after President Hage Geingob assured Namibians in his first State of the Nation address last week that interim drought relief measures will be introduced during the next four months, pending the conclusion of a final drought assessment for the country. The President said more than N$300 million had been set aside for drought mitigation purposes and will cover measures such as procurement of food for affected communities and households, provision of water for human and animal consumption in the form of drilling new boreholes and rehabilitation of old ones, and assistance to crop producers and livestock farmers. Of the N$300 million, N$90 million will go towards animal fodder, licks and health packages. Mbako said although most of the regions have been affected by drought, government has identified priority regions such as Kunene, Omaheke, and Otjozondjupa, as well as most regions in the northern parts of the country, saying these were the hardest hit. Mbako said the situation is so dire that the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Forestry had started advising farmers to sell some of their livestock while they are still in good condition. She said the livestock incentive scheme rates are N$80 per small stock and N$400 per large stock sold. The acting permanent secretary in the agriculture ministry, Abraham Nehemia, said no livestock deaths linked to the drought had been reported to their office, but warned that if the situation persists, livestock deaths are imminent. "The ministry of agriculture will be in consultation with farmers and other stakeholder to work out a strategy to assist farmers to restock after destocking as a result of the current drought situation," Mbako said. Mbako said farmers who transport livestock to emergency grazing areas qualify for a subsidy of 50% of the freight transport tariff to a maximum of N$16 per kilometre, to a maximum of 500 kilometres. Furthermore, Mbako said the ministry of agriculture is currently installing pumps in boreholes drilled during the 2013/2014 drought, saying the tender for drilling and rehabilitation has been awarded and activities will start in May. She said the agriculture ministry is currently consulting the regions to identify the specific villages where the 50 boreholes will be drilled, starting with the priority regions. "The interim measures are implemented while awaiting the outcome of the post-harvest Crop and Vulnerability report planned for May/June 2015 to determine the impact of drought on food production, livelihood and the number of people affected," said Mbako. She said the Office of the Prime Minister is currently distributing food aid donated by the Nigerian government consisting of 300 metric tonnes of rice, 700 metric tonnes of maize meal and three metric tonnes of fish powder. "Free seeds will be distributed to communal farmers as from August this year," she said. Mbako said government has established a technical team for the implementation of the drought mitigation measures consisting of the Directorate Disaster Risk management in the OPM, agriculture ministry, and the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology, which she chairs. "The technical team will issue information to the public on a monthly basis indicating progress made," she said.