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The veteran leader has slammed the country for a lack of urgency after claiming his Government had paid for more than 400 tonnes of maize from Zambia and Malawi, which Zambia had failed to deliver, thereby slowing down efforts to end hunger.
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We are trying (to provide food) but our maize is still across the Zambezi, said Mugabe.
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It seems they have no sense of urgency. They are working as if everything is normal. We have talked to the Zambian Government and they have agreed to be assisted so we are sending our team there. We have set up an emergency team because of the high level of hunger, Mugabe said at a rally in Mahusekwa, an impoverished Zimbabwean rural area.
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Mugabe’s Government will send a team of officials to Zambia to help authorities there to speed up the delivery.
Zimbabwe recently bought 150,000 tonnes of maize from Zambia, 300,000 tonnes from Malawi and an unspecified volume from South Africa.
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Zambia however is having none of it and says it is not to blame for the delay in the despatching of food to its southern neighbour.
ZRA is not to blame for the delays in clearing trucks here. There are many other agencies that have to ensure that all that enters our borders is legally brought in, said a senior customs collector Muyunda Sibole