The situation in Zimbabwe is surely calling for more international
attention, but in some instances, for unnecessary reasons. The world is
actually now wondering if there is really a unity government in
Zimbabwe, or something that could be equaled to unity in diversity from
all sorts of meanings for the word ‘negative diversity’.
While many would have wanted to blast the West for the delayed and
watch and wait strategy on bailing out Zimbabwe, things seems to
suggest that there is no other better strategy and no one, including
SADC and the AU should be fooled into falling in to the Mugabe trap.
For instance, the expectation would have been to see and hear more
about fights in the implementation policies on helping out fellow
Zimbabweans out of the jaws of poverty by the new Harare
administration, but instead, when one sector is seeking to address the
humanitarian pains faced by the citizens, another is thinking of the
next election victory and probably shifting attention from the real
issues confronting the country.
If Zimbabwe was to go for an election in two or so years, who will want
to fund such a cost when along the streets people are being torn apart
by hunger and disease, when the children’s future is hanging helplessly
in the collapsed national scale and zeroes accumulate in their
unpronounceable digits in the people’s buying power? There surely needs
to be someone, some body, some club, or some authority, somewhere, that
should knock some sense back into the once great Zimbabwe.
The SADC finance ministers were today discussing the Zimbabwe bail-out
issue in South Africa and the question would stay on the wall
unchallenged for years to come, as to how many delegations’ member
states would actually go back home to seek broader mandates before a
Zimbabwe stash is approved, or would it be just another brotherly help
that would perpetuate insensitive carrying on with self interests above
the needs of the poor citizens?
Zimbabwe surely needs the regional muscle and the world at large, to
pull out of the current deep, but surely not when there is clearly no
unity in government as was the resolution of the regional body together
with other international bodies.
A United Nations inter-agency mission to Zimbabwe today stressed that
the country's humanitarian crisis remains grave, and urged both the
government and the international community to support the strengthening
of aid efforts.
The mission however has also stressed that the welfare of the people
was largely the responsibility of the government of Zimbabwe. "We trust
that the all-inclusive government will quickly take the necessary steps
to address the fundamentals of governance that would allow stability
and economic recovery," it stated.
The team, led by UN Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator Catherine
Bragg, visited the southern African nation from 21 to 25 February to
assess responses to, among other things, a food emergency in which up
to seven million people need food aid and a cholera epidemic, which has
infected some 83,000 people and already claimed more than 3,800 lives.
"Despite tremendous efforts by both the Government and the humanitarian
community in Zimbabwe to contain the cholera epidemic, major challenges
remain," Ms Bragg said in a news release issued at the end of the
visit.
While noting the international community's generosity to the people of
Zimbabwe so far, the team highlighted the need for further resources in
the coming months. This includes resources to effectively contain the
country's worst-ever cholera outbreak, including through public health
outreach and repairing water and sewage systems.
Additional resources will also be crucial for food aid and to help
improve food security. "We have to ensure farmers have all the
agriculture inputs they need for the next planting season, which begins
in September. If we do not act now, we could end up next year with a
situation similar to what we have today," Ms Bragg said.
afrol News
Post published in: News