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Operation Murambatsvina - Countrywide evictions of urban poor - Index of articles
Sweden
to increase aid to Zim, but nothing for Operation Garikai
Itai
Mushekwe, The Zimbabwe Independent
November 18, 2005
Sweden will next year
increase its humanitarian assistance to Zimbabwe by over US$2 million,
but none of this aid will go towards government's housing project
Operation Garikai/ Hlalani Kuhle. Operation Garikai is largely seen
as a cosmetic project which President Robert Mugabe undertook to
cover up the destruction caused by the widely-condemned Operation
Murambatsvina which robbed over 700 000 people of their shelters
and sources of livelihood. Göran Engstrand, Minister for Development
Co-operation at the Embassy of Sweden in Harare, revealed the aid
package during a tour of the Swedish International Development Agency
(Sida)-funded child rights projects in Murehwa last week. Sida earlier
this year approved 20 million Swedish kroner to fund development
projects in Zimbabwe. "Admittedly, most of the allocation will
be targeted at those affected by the recent Operation Murambatsvina
through NGOs and multilateral agencies," said Engstrand. We
will also not lose sight of some of the ongoing work benefiting
over two million children throughout Zimbabwe. Consequently, some
of the support will boost the support already received by organisations
dealing with child rights such as Sahrit, the Scripture Union and
the Farm Orphan Support Trust," he said.
Engstrand refuted recent
claims by state media that "Sweden was also looking at how
best it would assist in Operation Garikai/Hlalani Kuhle Phase Two
(housing programme) that government launched". "This is
not correct. The correct position is that we will continue working
with NGOs and other multilateral agencies to alleviate the plight
of those affected by Operation Murambatsvina," said Engstrand.
Sweden's humanitarian support is funnelled through multilateral
agencies and non-governmental organisations. Last month Japan chipped
in with a 150 million yen (US$1,3 million) aid package for the purchase
of 3 600 tonnes of maize to help Zimbabweans affected by food shortages.
Sweden's refusal to support Operation Garikai comes on the back
of United Nations Secretary-General, Kofi Annan's criticism of President
Mugabe for rejecting international aid to help thousands of people
facing starvation and homelessness. The plight of the homeless is
set to worsen with the onset of the rainy season. The slum clearance
exercise that began in May left many informal settlers in the cold
during winter. Government is trapped in a Catch-22 situation as
Operation Garikai struggles to complete 200 000 housing units countrywide
with few resources on the ground. This seems to suggest it will
fail to meet the December target it set itself.
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