The 2021/2022 MVAC report indicated that 1.5 million people will face hunger this year.

In response, the government through Department of Disaster and Management Affairs, DoDMA, is distributing cash transfers and maize to the affected households in Nsanje, Chikwawa, Neno, Balaka, Ntcheu, Phalombe, Mangochi and Machinga while the rest of the districts are getting in-kind support in form of maize.

However, some beneficiaries in Mdiwa Village, Traditional Authority Nanseta in Thyolo have told Zodiak Thursday, that the exercise is marred by corruption, claiming one bag was given to 18 Cyclone Ana survivors to share while five bags for January and February were shared among 302 households.

"Our problems we can say this is not the first time. On Tuesday, they given us five bags to share in the whole village. But on disasters, they gave us one bag of maize for us to share". One villager said.

Another added "here in our village, people have received 5 kg each. We truly acknowledge that government is helping us, but the problem is our Group Village Headmen and Traditional Authorities. We suggest that authorities should be distributing the food themselves at the ground while everyone is seeing them."

Zodiak has also established that in Senior Nchiramwera, the highest of 20 villages, has received nine bags of maize under MVAC relief programme.

On his part, Traditional Authority Nanseta says Village Development Committees and Village Civil Protection Committees are the ones distributing the food together with the district council.

However, Thyolo district relief officer Faith Khamula says the department has distributed 100 bags of maize to the prioritized Cyclone Ana survivors and each of 570 hunger-stricken households got two bags of maize.

"These accusations are not true because the department does not allow a large number like 300 to receive only five bags to distribute themselves. All we are aware of is that Cyclone Ana, they were given 100 bags which we had to prioritize households that had no capacity to build back," Khamula said.

The beneficiaries have since asked the government to also make follow ups to ensure that the relief items are reaching the intended beneficiaries, saying this is not the first time to happen in the area.