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Zimbabwe:
hungrier than ever - Statement on the Situation in Zimbabwe
The Hunger Project
August 2001
For the past
two years, The Hunger Project has closely followed the land reform
controversy in Zimbabwe, and the resulting violence and decline
in Zimbabwe’s food production.
It must be
recalled that The Hunger Project awarded the Africa Prize for Leadership
for the Sustainable End of Hunger to President Mugabe in 1988. From
the time he had taken power in 1980 up to the awarding in 1988,
Robert Mugabe had clearly and indisputably taken actions worthy
of the Prize. His actions to improve education, health and food
production, and to empower small-scale farmers, were models for
all of Africa.
However, cognizant
of our responsibility for the Africa Prize, The Hunger Project would
like to make our views known on the current situation. This is particularly
pertinent, in that the Africa Prize honours not only what a leader
has already accomplished, but also what he or she will accomplish
in the future.
Even though
land reform was on the agenda of the government of Zimbabwe in 1988,
the issue was not resolved in the subsequent decade. Today we witness
actions being taken which violate all norms of democratic process
and human rights – two clear requisites for broad-based progress
in ending hunger. Zimbabwe’s social and economic indicators – once
far better than its neighbours – are now declining, largely due
to violence and instability caused by seizure of land without due
process or compensation. Wheat production, for example, dropped
30% in 2000.
The Hunger
Project wishes to be on the record as deploring policies that have
resulted in increased unemployment, poverty and hunger in Zimbabwe.
This situation is inconsistent with the spirit of the Africa Prize
for Leadership and Zimbabwe’s need to work for the sustainable end
of hunger.
Visit
The Hunger Project website
Please credit www.kubatana.net if you make use of material from this website.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License unless stated otherwise.
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