HARARAE — As growing numbers of Zimbabweans queue up for food aid,
humanitarian workers have called on the country's new authorities to
help the increasingly hungry population.
We believe the new government should prioritise [dealing with food
shortages] as more and more people are going hungry and coming to our
churches seeking food handouts, said Useni Sibanda, coordinator of
faith-based organisation the Christian Alliance of Zimbabwe.
Sibanda told IWPR that the new inclusive government had made little difference to people's welfare.
We can only do so much, as we also have members [of our organisation]
who need our assistance. The new government must find the resources,
he said.
Observers say the food shortages result from a combination of a poor
harvest and President Robert Mugabe's political and economic policies.
This year’s grain yield was about 500,000 tonnes, leaving the country –
once the breadbasket of Africa – with a deficit of about 1.3 million
tonnes.
Situation grave in rural areas
An estimated 60 per cent of the 12 million population is now relying on
international donors such as the World Food Programme, WFP, for
sustenance.
The situation is particularly grave in remote areas of the country,
where villagers are reportedly scavenging for wild fruits, berries, and
other edible roots to survive.
The… [number of people requiring food aid] is now up to 7.5 million
and some of them… are those who previously would otherwise be able to
meet their food needs, said Fambai Ngirandi, spokesman for National
Association of Non-Government Organisations, NANGO.
The economic crisis facing Zimbabwe has led to the dollarisation of the
economy, under which local currency is no longer accepted. Basic
commodities, which are now only available on the black market, are too
expensive for most.
Meanwhile, humanitarian agencies are scaling down their operations as a
result of donor fatigue and uncertainty about the new government, which
was inaugurated in February 2009.
The new inclusive administration was formed following the signing of a
power-sharing deal between President Robert Mugabe’s Zanu (PF) and
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change, MDC,
in September 2008.
Analysts attribute worsening food shortages to the fact that throughout
their negotiations, Mugabe and Tsvangirai appear to have ignored the
plight of the people they lead.
Little attention to securing food
They note that as the rivals continue to wrangle over who will assume
which roles in the new government, little attention is being paid to
securing food, especially maize – the staple of the Zimbabwean diet.
Ngirandi said there had been a general decline in humanitarian conditions since the signing of the power-sharing accord.
No-one [in the government] has been paying attention to social service
delivery, but the bigger issue now is that food [supplies] have dried
up and a commitment to [providing] new food aid has not been
forthcoming from traditional donors, he said.
Western donors and foreign investors are said to be cautious about
putting money into Zimbabwe, while Harare-based diplomats say they want
to see concrete signs that a democratic government has been created and
economic reforms implemented before any further funds are released.
The donor community has adopted a wait-and-see attitude towards
Zimbabwe, and this has reduced the NGO sector’s capacity to deal with
the crisis, said Ngirandi.
Although Tsvangirai has said his priorities include addressing the
humanitarian crisis gripping the country, analysts say that efforts to
tackle food shortages are hampered by the fact that the prime minister
has inherited a bankrupt administration.
In an address to his party faithful last week, the new prime minister admitted that the government is broke.
According to reports, Tsvangirai has turned to South Africa for
economic support, saying the stricken country may need up to 5 billion
US dollars in aid.
The new government has also reportedly sought some 20 billion South
African rand from Southern African Development Community (SADC)
countries. The request was said to have been made last week during a
meeting between a Zimbabwean delegation led by Finance Minister Tendai
Biti, Foreign Affairs Minister Simbarashe Mumbengegwi and regional
finance ministers.
US$500 million required for Zimbabwe
SADC members have called a summit of the group’s 15 heads of state to
discuss the possibility of aid to Zimbabwe. This is set to precede the
G20 meeting – of a group of finance ministers and central bank
governors from 20 economies – scheduled to be held in London on April 2.
Catherine Bragg, United Nations Assistant Secretary General for
Humanitarian Affairs, who led a delegation in Zimbabwe at the end of
February, said the UN required a total of US$500 million to assist the
country.
Bragg told journalists in Harare on February 25 that the UN had raised
some 85 million dollars so far, and would continue to appeal for more
funding from the international community in order to provide help to
farmers in time for the next planting season, which begins in September.
The UN acknowledged that there were at least 7.1 million people on the list of food aid recipients.
It also said that assistance was needed to treat the cholera outbreak, which broke out last summer.
Neighbouring countries, such as Botswana, South Africa and Namibia –
nations which are also affected by the epidemic – have recently chipped
in with essential drugs to combat its spread.
Farm invasions undermine farming
Despite their efforts, statistics released by the World Health
Organisation, WHO, on February 25 revealed that there have been 84,027
reported cases of the illness in Zimbabwe, and 3,894 deaths.
WHO spokeswoman Fadela Chaib told reporters in Geneva that an
inter-agency UN team which carried out an evaluation in the country had
described the humanitarian crisis as grave. She noted an absence of
clean water, blocked sewerage systems and uncollected refuse throughout
the country.
To add to the country’s woes, fresh farm invasions are also reportedly
thwarting the new government’s efforts to restore the beleaguered
agricultural sector.
On February 25, Tsvangirai stated publicly that the recent illegal land
grabs were undermining Zimbabwe’s ability to revive farming and to
restore confidence in the country. IPWR
South Africa's Cabinet defends aid allocation
The South African government has rejected reports farming aid provided
to Zimabbwea was looted saying that the seed, fertilizers and other
inputs worth 300 million rand were distributed reached ordinary farmers.
South Africa gave the aid under the auspices the Southern African
Development Community (SADC) that is leading regional efforts to help
revive Zimbabwe's economy following the setting up of a power-sharing
government between President Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai.
South Affrican Foreign Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dhlamini-Zuma said
last week that the farming aid was distributed according to the
criteria set by the SADC.
A South African government delegation that visited Zimbabwe had also confirmed the aid was not misappropratied, she said.
Dhlamini-Zuma said: Cabinet was pleased to note that all reports
indicated that the aid was distributed in full compliance of the SADC
framework.
An interdepartmental task team that visited Zimbabwe over the past two
weeks has also found that there was compliance with the SADC framework.
We are therefore satisfied that the South African aid was received by
the targeted ordinary Zimbabweans.
Various unconfirmed reports had suggested that the aid was looted by
power government officials and politicians some who later resold the
farming inputs on the black market at exorbitant prices.