South Africa comes to Zimbabwe's aid
South Africa says it will donate £16.7m worth of food aid to Zimbabwe if it readmits foreign aid agencies
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Wednesday, 22, Oct 2008 09:10
South Africa has set aside 300 million rands (£16.7 million) to provide vital emergency relief food aid to hungry Zimbabweans.
The country's finance minister Trevor Manuel told parliament on Tuesday that the emergency food aid for Zimbabwe was dependent on Harare readmitting foreign aid agencies.
Last week, the European Union said it would make food aid worth €15 million (£11.6 million) available to Zimbabwe, which is facing one of the worst food shortages in year.
According to the World Food Programme more than three million Zimbabweans are already in need of food assistance.
This figure will rise to 5.1 million, 45 per cent of the population, in early 2009. The WFP is planning to assist around four million of those affected by food shortages.
The WFP early this month appealed for $140 million (£83 million) to provide vital relief rations to the southern African nation over the next six months.
Reports on Tuesday said the WFP has also opened a warehouse in the border town of Musina, which divides Zimbabwe and South Africa, in a bid to boost its food aid distribution efforts in the former.
Since 2000 Zimbabwe has survived on food imports and handouts from relief agencies following the chaotic land reform programme of 2000.
The land reform saw landless black citizens, without any farming expertise, take-over prime farming land from white commercial farmers.
Since then, the country - once lauded as the breadbasket of Africa - turned from being a net exporter to a net importer of all of agricultural produce.