Mugabe admits he needs food aid to rescue Zimbabwe

By David Blair in Johannesburg
(Filed: 19/05/2005)


President Robert Mugabe yesterday abandoned his confident forecasts of a bumper harvest in Zimbabwe and confessed that international food aid was needed to avoid famine.

Mr Mugabe, who declared last year that Zimbabweans would be "choked" if aid was "foisted" upon them, climbed down and agreed to meet the head of the United Nations World Food Programme.



Mr Mugabe had hailed the 'success' of the land seizures programme

Having previously pledged that his seizure of white-owned farms would make Zimbabwe self-sufficient, Mr Mugabe said he would accept outside help if it came without conditions.

Renson Gasela, agriculture spokesman for the opposition Movement for Democratic Change, said the president should "eat humble pie, forget about the claim of a bumper harvest and accept food from whoever can offer help".

Last year, Mr Mugabe hailed the "success" of his land seizures, saying they would yield a record maize harvest of 2.4 million tons, more than enough to supply Zimbabwe with its staple food.

In fact, this year's harvest was below 600,000 tons. The government has quietly admitted trying to import another 1.2 million tons to meet the annual demand for 1.8 million tons. But imports on this scale are affordable and logistically possible only with international help.

Yet Mr Mugabe still refused to ask for food aid. It took a personal intervention from Kofi Annan, the UN secretary-general, before he agreed to yesterday's U-turn.

George Charamba, the regime's spokesman, said Mr Mugabe had "acceded to the secretary-general's request" to meet James Morris, the WFP's director. Mr Charamba added that food aid would be accepted only if it came without "political conditions".

He claimed that the sole cause of the food shortages was a drought that had recently hit Zimbabwe. Critics dismissed this as face-saving.

Mr Gasela pointed out that Zimbabwe avoided a drought last year and a desperate shortage of seed, fertiliser and farming equipment prevented a substantial harvest.

The shortfall had been caused by the seizure of white-owned farms, Mr Gasela said. "Whatever machinery the commercial farmers had was vandalised after they left," he argued. "You go to those farms today and you find large areas of land are lying fallow.

"The way the land issue was handled was the prime cause of the problem. There have always been droughts in Zimbabwe and we have usually been able to handle them. What is different this time? The land issue is the only difference."

Mr Mugabe's request for help comes very late. The WFP has already planned its food distribution in southern Africa for 2005, having been assured by Mr Mugabe that Zimbabwe did not need help.



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TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: ADMITS; AID; FOOD; MUGABE; NEEDS; RESCUE; ZIMBABWE
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Personally, I think the international community, often ridiculed and condemned by Mugabe, should stay out of this mess of Mugabe's own making.

When the army runs out of food, they'll take care of 'Comrade Bob'.

George

So do I need to bring a suitcase full of canned food for my safari?

I guess the corrupt SOB must have figured out that it's in his best interest to have at least some food on hand. He sure as hell ain't no humanitarian.

Now, with Kofi's help, he'll still have something valuable to bribe his supporters with and punish his enemies by withholding.

President Robert Mugabe has ordered more than $240 million worth of jet fighters and other military equipment from China. That was last June.
What the fuck is Kofi-can at the U.N. thinking. In 1998, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan asked that all the countries in the region cap military spending at 1.5 percent of the gross domestic product, but Zimbabwe is at 3.4 percent.

Me thinks that bastard should get out his wallet and pay for some food.Any guess what Mugabe is worth?

Just watched a BBC report that the SXT (Same Exact Thing) is now going on in Venezuela, on orders by Venezuela's Communist Govt.

L.W.

This is so pathetic. Democracy without a strong judiciary disintergrates into mob rule. Unfortunately when a strong man manipulates the mob hundreds die.....at least until the mob turns.

When the wicked rule the people mourn. (And suffer and die as well). Everyone ought to stay out of it. The whites should all leave the country temporarily and let nature take its course for the next couple of years. According to reports that I have read there is only 20,000 whites left in the country anyway. Let Uncle Bob eventually get some of his own damn medicine and even more.