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Cape Town — Zimbabwe's new unity government is appealing for U.S. $2 billion over the next 10 months to help it deal with emergencies and to kickstart the economy, South Africa's finance minister, Trevor Manuel, said in an interview broadcast Thursday.
Manuel told South Africa's public broadcaster that a document had been tabled at talks with the Zimbabweans which referred to two amounts of about a billion dollars each: one to deal with urgent needs in areas such as education, health, sanitation and water supplies, and one to help re-stimulate business and the economy.
An aid package for Zimbabwe is among the items on the agenda of a meeting of finance and foreign ministers of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) taking place in Cape Town this week.
President Kgalema Motlanthe of South Africa said during a news conference with United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in Pretoria on Wednesday that the finance ministers would "develop a response to the request from the Zimbabwean inclusive government... that would serve as a basis for also approaching the international community..."
After talks between Motlanthe and Zimbabwe's Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai last week, the two leaders made clear they could not appeal to the wider international community for help unless SADC - as the guarantor of the agreement which produced the unity government - gave the first commitment.
At the same time, Manuel said a comprehensive package would have to be multi-lateral and involve a wide range of parties.
Ban's senior advisor on humanitarian affairs, Catherine Bragg, was reported Thursday as saying in Harare that the UN needed a total of U.S.$500 million to help Zimbabwe meet humanitarian needs. It has so far raised U.S.$85 million, she said.
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So while all the peole at the top SQUABBLE there are innocent people STARVING i wish someone could take action on the starving people- i know someone whose family- CHILDREN THAT are STARVING
We condemn as divisive and unhelpful any and all ungrounded and ungroundable sub-rosa allegations of graft or similar phenomena by any and all the leaders of the democratic, emerging nation of Zimbabwe.
If you have evidence of the same, the courts are open: get a writ of mandamus!
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This post was deleted because it contravenes AllAfrica's commenting guidelines.
N/A I understand and know many families in the same shape but see the problem is once the money is given power hungry thief's in the government take the money for their own use while the people starve. I am praying for the people of Zimbabwe and have friends who are bringing in food as allowed to hungry families so do not give up hope just do not place hope in man but in Jesus Christ....
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