The Citizen (Dar es Salaam)
28 December 2009
editorial
A prolonged drought is ravaging various parts of the country, but one is bound to ask whether leaders from the district to the regional levels are really in control of the situation.
A case in point is Ngorogoro District where scores of cattle have died due to lack of water and pasture in a drought that is also threatening human life.
Figures are hard to come by as to how many animals have died in a given period or the number of people and animals that have moved into the district from other areas.
These statistics are vital if efforts to mitigate the effects of the drought are to have the desired impact.
We doubt if leaders who are closest to those affected constantly monitor the situation and pass information on to those higher up in the leadership hierarchy.
The picture being created here is that of leaders sitting in their offices waiting to be furnished with updates of the situation on the ground.
The least that we expect leaders at all levels to do is visit the worst affected areas to get a first-hand account of the devastation and potential threat posed by the adverse weather.
This is the only way leaders can be in a position to advise the Government accordingly and enable it take comprehensive and effective measures.
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