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Govt bars SA food aid
Njabulo Ncube, The Financial Gazette
August 18, 2005

http://www.fingaz.co.zw/fingaz/2005/August/August18/9226.shtml

THE government has refused to admit into Zimbabwe food aid from South African churches to feed victims of its clean-up campaign.

The rebuff comes amid fears of widespread starvation among those displaced by the blitz, which demolished illegal homes and informal businesses owned by the country's poorest citizens.

It has emerged that local church officials who were coordinating the envisaged distribution of food donated by the South African Council of Churches (SACC) unsuccessfully approached Agriculture Minister Joseph Made and Labour and Social Welfare Minister Nicholas Goche in a desperate attempt to obtain duty-free clearance certificates for the 37 tonnes of maize, beans and oil.

Sources within the clergy said officials from the Zimbabwe Council of Churches and Christian Care, the SACC donation's designated distribution agency, had for the past two weeks been shuttling between Made and Goche's offices to have the food cleared but their efforts had yielded nothing.

Two trucks carrying the maize, beans and oil have for the past two weeks been stranded in South Africa. Harare has refused to clear the consignment although the relevant documents have been forwarded to the government.

Earlier this week, the government only allowed into the country one truck carrying 4 500 blankets for the clean-up victims.

Church officials yesterday said they had resigned themselves to the reality that the government does not want them to feed starving people in Zimbabwe.

"It seems the SACC's actions angered the government, so we understand there is no way the food will be allowed in," said a source privy to the saga.

Goche has refused to discuss the issue, saying: "I am not responsible. Why do you think it is me?"

Made was yesterday not available for comment, with agriculture ministry officials saying he was part of President Robert Mugabe's entourage to the ongoing Southern African Development Community summit in Gaborone, Botswana.

Zimbabwe, which experienced a drought last season, is facing serious food shortages and needs about US$230 million to buy about 1.5 million metric tonnes of grain.

Aid agencies say because of the drought and effects of the United Nations-condemned clean-up campaign, an estimated 4.2 million - more than a third of the country's 12 million population - could starve unless 1.2 million tonnes of food aid is urgently provided.

On Tuesday the government, which set aside $1.4 trillion - about US$76 million at the ruling auction rate - for drought relief, opened up trade in maize and wheat and waived duty on grain imports to facilitate increased inflow of the key staple into the country.

Meanwhile, civic society organisations officials claimed yesterday they had been informed the government, which is still to issue an appeal to the World Food Programme for assistance, had vowed to use its limited resources to feed those facing starvation.

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