Britain asked to cut aid to Malawi

 

Zimbabwean living in the United Kingdom will hold a Vigil on Saturday, 11th October, in London to present a petition signed by thousands of people  calling for suspension of aid which Malawi has been highlighted.

Vigil Co-ordinator Rose Benton said: “We do not see why the British taxpayer, should, for instance, give more than £60 million this year to Malawi, whose President struts around on a stolen farm [Bineth farm] in Zimbabwe and who has named a new highway after his hero Robert Mugabe.”  

Glenys Kinnock, Co-President of the African, Caribbean and Pacific / EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly will attend the Zimbabwe Vigil outside the Zimbabwe Embassy to receive the petition.

The event marks the 6th anniversary of the Vigil, which has been held outside the Embassy every Saturday since 12th October 2002 in protest against human rights abuses in Zimbabwe.  

The petition to European Union governments read: We record our dismay at the failure of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to help the desperate people of Zimbabwe at their time of trial.   

We urge the UK government and the European Union in general to suspend government-to-government aid to all 14 (now 15) SADC countries until they abide by their joint commitment to uphold human rights in the region.

The petition suggests that  the money should instead be used to feed the starving in Zimbabwe.

The Vigil condemns SADC for recognising Mugabe as President when SADC’s own election observers criticised the polls this year as deeply flawed.  

Mugabe consequently feels free to disregard a power-sharing deal signed last month despite the deepening humanitarian crisis.  

The UN says that about half the population will need food aid by early next year.

The Vigil wants part of the money saved by their proposal to be used to finance refugee camps in South Africa, Botswana, Zambia and Mozambique to which Zimbabweans can flee for their lives without fear of prompting more xenophobic violence.  

The money would fund shelter, medicine and education no longer available in Zimbabwe.  

Benton explained: “We’re not of course, calling for a halt to humanitarian aid to the region ….food, medicine etc. What we are talking about is balance of payments support which often goes astray.

Thousands of people who have signed the petition believe SADC – with exception of Botswana and Zambia – has failed to live up to its basic responsibilities and wants members states to share the pain of Zimbabwe. – Nyasa Times