SCUFFLES OVER MEALIE MEAL

Police guarded the doors of a store downtown Harare Tuesday to prevent it being swamped by a swelling crowd after it received its first delivery of mealie-meal for several days.
Supermarket managers said most shops received their last deliveries two weeks ago and more crowds were expected once stocks were replenished.
Police allowed small groups of people inside the store at a time, and rationed each person to one 10kg bag of meal, about a three day’s supply of the staple food for an average family of six, until the shelves were bare.
The shortages have been caused by violent disruptions of farm production since 2000 that have triggered the country’s worst economic crisis since independence in 1980.
Zimbabwe has usually been self-sufficient and a food exporter but now need to import 800,000 tons of maize to make up for shortfalls in domestic production.
Acute hard currency shortages, which have already caused severe shortages of petrol, electricity, water, medicines and other essential imports, are expected to hinder food purchases further.
The World Food Programme has indicated it is expanding its aid effort in rural Zimbabwe with more 500000 people being drafted into the feeding scheme.