- JOHANNESBURG -- President
Robert Mugabe's rosy forecast of a bumper harvest in Zimbabwe was contradicted
by his own government yesterday, when an official report said 2.3 million
people needed immediate international food aid.
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- The seizure of white-owned farms has combined with drought
to cripple agriculture in Zimbabwe. But Mr Mugabe's official message is
that his land grab has markedly increased production and made Zimbabwe
self-sufficient. Last month, he refused help from the United Nations World
Food Programme, saying: "Why foist this food upon us? We don't want
to be choked."
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- He brushed aside the fact that Zimbabwe has lived on
food aid since 2001 and that 6.5 million people, more than half the population,
depended on international help last year. By contrast, his office forecast
a maize crop for this year of 2.4 million tons, more than enough to meet
domestic needs.
-
- Yet a report from the Zimbabwe Vulnerability Assessment
Committee provides a strong antidote to the president's optimism. It concludes
that 2.3 million people in rural Zimbabwe "will not be able to meet
their minimum cereal needs during the 2004/05 season".
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- The report adds that food aid "for the most vulnerable
people" should be sought immediately. The UN, aid agencies and Zimbabwean
government departments compiled the assessment based on a survey completed
in April. Mr Mugabe's officials appear not to share his optimism.
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- The report did not cover the food needs of Zimbabwe's
cities, where shortages last year were at least as serious as those in
the countryside. Figures for December suggested that 2.5 million urban
Zimbabweans were going hungry, bringing the total needing food aid to 4.8
million.
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- But Mr Mugabe's regime has effectively ended co-operation
with the UN. James Morris, the UN envoy for humanitarian affairs in southern
Africa, is conducting a tour of the region. The Zimbabwean government declined
to receive him, saying that officials in Harare had no time for a meeting.
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- Zimbabwe will hold parliamentary elections next March.
Mr Mugabe's Zanu-PF party has been accused of channelling food to its supporters
and denying help to anyone suspected of backing the opposition Movement
for Democratic Change. By keeping the UN and aid agencies out of Zimbabwe,
Mr Mugabe can ensure that his regime controls all food aid. Critics suspect
that this is his real objective.
-
- But if Zimbabwe needs international help to avoid widespread
starvation, Mr Mugabe's refusal to co-operate with the UN could have disastrous
consequences. In Johannesburg, Mr Morris said: "If we were called
upon to be helpful and respond, this is not something you can do on 24-hour
notice."
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- © Copyright of Telegraph Group Limited 2004. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/
2004/06/25/wzim25.xml&sSheet=/news/2004/06/25/ixworld.html
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