Johannesburg — The implementation of a food distribution scheme for 100,000 people has stalled after the Zimbabwean government suspended CARE International's operations for alleged "political activity".
CARE works to alleviate poverty and promote community health, with a particular focus on empowering women, and is one of the largest non-governmental organisations (NGOs) operating in Zimbabwe. On 28 May it was ordered to suspend its operations, pending a government investigation into its activities.
In a statement CARE said it was "committed to providing independent, impartial, apolitical relief and development assistance on the basis of need, to improve sustainable livelihoods for vulnerable populations, according to the Code of Conduct for Non-Governmental Organisations and to CARE International's Code of Ethics."
The suspension of CARE's operations would immediately affect about 500,000 Zimbabwean beneficiaries of projects such as water and sanitation, micro-credit, home-based care for the chronically ill, most of whom are infected with HIV, and support for orphans and vulnerable children.
CARE's Africa Communications Manager, Kenneth Walker, told IRIN that the feeding scheme for 100,000 people had been scheduled for implementation in June 2008, after the government said Zimbabwe's anticipated maize harvest would be poor - about one million tonnes shy of the national requirement. "I have no idea where they [people earmarked for food assistance] might get food from now," Walker said.
In 2007/08 international donor agencies provided food aid to 4.1 million people, more than a third of the population. The country's acute food shortages, compounded by government's recent admission that only 13 percent of the planned 2008 winter wheat crop had been planted, mean more people are expected to require food assistance earlier in 2008 than the previous year.
During the "lean period" between October 2007 and the March 2008 harvest, CARE was responsible for food aid to nearly one million Zimbabweans, or about a quarter of those requiring assistance.
CARE, which has channelled more than $US100 million in development assistance and relief since starting operations in 1992, said it had requested, "but to date has not yet received, the details of any allegations, including names, dates and locations ... [and] has pledged to cooperate with the government in resolving the situation so that humanitarian operations may be resumed as soon as possible."
About 300 Zimbabweans employed by CARE have been told to "remain at home pending further notice from the government".
NGOs agents of Western powers
Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe told the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) summit in Rome, Italy, on 3 June that NGOs were being used to undermine his ZANU-PF government.
Funds are being channelled through non-governmental organisations to opposition political parties, which are a creation of the West. These Western-funded NGOs also use food as a political weapon with which to campaign against government, especially in the rural areas
"Funds are being channelled through non-governmental organisations to opposition political parties, which are a creation of the West," Mugabe said. "These Western-funded NGOs also use food as a political weapon with which to campaign against government, especially in the rural areas."
According to a report by the US-based New York Times newspaper, representatives of aid groups were summoned by government officials in four districts of Zimbabwe and told to stop operations until after the run-off presidential vote between on 27 June, when Mugabe will stand against Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).
Zimbabwe Social Welfare Minister Nicholas Goche told ZimOnline, an internet-based news service, that "several other non-governmental organisations ... will be asked to cease their operations while we investigate them."
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Louise Arbour, said after addressing the FAO summit in Rome that if reports that NGOs had been instructed to suspend their activities were correct, "this would be an unconscionable act."
"To deprive people of food because of an election would be an extraordinary perversion of democracy, and a serious breach of international human rights law," she said.
There have been widespread reports of violence since the elections for local, parliamentary and presidential candidates were held on 29 March, when ZANU-PF lost control of parliament for the first time since the country won its independence from Britain in 1980.
Bumper maize order
At a presidential election rally on 29 May at Shamva, in northeastern Zimbabwe, Mugabe reportedly told the audience that 600,000 tons of maize had been purchased from neighbouring South Africa to alleviate the food shortages.
At current prices of about R1,800 (US$231) per metric tonne (mt) for white maize, a 600,000mt white maize order would cost Zimbabwe about US$139 million, before transport costs.
Zimbabwe's economy is in meltdown, with annual inflation estimated at about one million percent and acute shortages of foreign currency, food, fuel, electricity and basic commodities.
South Africa is expecting the harvest of white and yellow maize to exceed 11 million tonnes in 2008, according to traders.
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all western ONGS are spies,they always bring weapons in their vehicles transporting a so called humanitarian aid, and most of them are c.i.a,british intelligence france intelligence, this is a case in Rdcongo where the humanitarian vehicles carrying amunitions ,weapons to sell illegally to the rebels ,ongs are not good for africa ,commandos are among them ,educated people working with their govermnent to collect the informations necessary to help them studying how to manipulate others countris ,no wonder you can see a white coming today from usa france australia canada,everywhere in west has a map showing the small river and creeks in the country where the aboiginal don't even know all tha t it's about the so called ong with cartograhers who did that when he was a ong somewhere in the country ,so we africans we should refute all those kind of organisations any organisation is a spy,no help we should be need,because the aid from west brings us trouble.
WOW, that was a lot of incomprehensible jibberish from a propaganda puppet.
What on earth have those people been putting in your tea? CIA, British and french intelligence and commandos? Lets just stop all the NGO's and stop sending food aid shall we? Then lets see your comments. By the way we have surveillence satellites why would we need to send cartographers to make maps when we can read mugabes newspaper from thirty five miles up better than he can when the blind old duffer is actually holding it?
aambamakyemeaya - possibly through no fault of yours, you have quite obviously failed to obtain even a modicum of higher education. However, even if you are not responsible for that sad situation, it does not excuse you from making your unsubstantiated racist postings on this site regarding western aid in Africa.
Let me educate you with a few FACTS:
1. Most African countries have lower per capita incomes now than they had in 1980, or in some cases in 1960. That is after 50 years of self-government. 2. Africa's share of world trade has declined to half of what it was in 1980. On a list drawn up by the United Nation Development Programme, all 25 countries that rank lowest in terms of human development are in Africa. Literacy rates in Africa are 4 times lower than they are in East Asia or Latin America.It is the only region in the world where life expectancy is falling, etc etc. 3. The crisis in Africa today is too great for African states to resolve by themselves. So poor are African states that they cannot pay for their own civil servants let alone make any investment in the future. Today more than half of all African states rely on Western aid to fund as much as 50% of their government budgets and 70% of public investment! 4. Through his NEPAD initiative Thabo Mbeki acknowledged the need for outside assistance. He also recognised increasing donor fatigue as Western donors have become disenchanted with the absence of sustainable improvements in African living standards despite the billions that have been poored into the region. To try and reverse this donor fatigue, Mbeki proposed to address the issue which concerns donors the most; the endemic corruption and nepotism of African governments. He proposed to do this by means of regular peer assessments and regional efforts to bring failed states into line. Like it or not - Zimbabwe has become a litmus test of this initiative and, at this stage, the view of the Western world is that he has failed miserably in this regard. 5. Faced with this growing official sceptism of Africa, the Non-Government Organisations are having to step up their efforts to fill the gap. 6. I, like many many thousands of people around the world, make regular donations to charitable organisations that are striving to fill the gap that exists in Africa where governments simply cannot provide even the most basic health and education services for their citizens. I do this without any favour or conditions attached or with any particular country in mind. However, what I will not do is make donations where the money I give is simply handed over to the national governments for them to spend as they see fit. The fat cats of Africa have not earned my trust. 7. In case you simply blame all of this on Africa's colonial heritage; here is another little FACT for you: in 1945 the gdp per capita of Kenya was the same as that of Malayasia and of South Korea. Malaysia and Kenya have the same British Colonial heritage and both incurred low level wars to throw off that heritage. South Korea bore the brunt a Japanese colonialisation (which was far more brutual than anything experienced in Africa) as well as a high intensity war that laid waste the country. Contrast the well being of these countries today and you may well wonder what went wrong in Kenya. The answer is simple - tribalism, corruption and kleptomaniacs in charge!
Until people like you start being honest with yourselves and start to demand better government by your leaders, rather than trying to blame the West for all your ills, you are condemned to carry on down the slippery slope on which you find yourself.