HRW slams politicisation of food

Opponents of the government in Zimbabwe continue to be denied access to food aid because of their real or perceived affiliation to the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), Human Rights Watch (HRW) has alleged. In a scathing report released on Friday, "Not eligible: The Politicisation of Food in Zimbabwe", the New York-based pressure group claimed that over the past year government-subsidised food aid had been "manipulated for political ends, favouring those who support the government and the Zimbabwe African National Union Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF)". The 51-page report catalogued how supporters of the MDC were sidelined by ZANU-PF party officials and village headmen during the food distribution process. "Government authorities and party officials of the ruling ZANU-PF manipulate the supply and distribution of government-subsidised grain, and the registration of recipients for international food aid," HRW said. In one incident, a woman in Mashonaland West province highlighted the difficulties of accessing government maize meal. "It is under the [ZANU-PF] youth ... and you cannot register for food if you are not a member of the party. No ZANU card, no mealie meal," the woman told HRW. The rights group also levelled accusations of widespread corruption and mismanagement against the state-controlled Grain Marketing Board (GMB). HRW noted a significant discrepancy between the amount of maize the GMB claimed it had imported into the country, and the amount that was actually delivered to beneficiaries. HRW said it was difficult to corroborate reports that some of the maize purportedly imported into Zimbabwe never actually reached the country. It alleged the more likely scenario was that the missing maize - some 200,000 mt - was sold on the flourishing parallel market. "Numerous reports indicate that some ZANU-PF politicians, merchants, millers and other businessmen with close connections to officials at the GMB, are involved in the black market," the report said. The government has denied the allegations. "There are so many people, as you know, in both London and Washington, who write false reports about Zimbabwe. I can assure you that there is no politicisation of food," ZANU-PF information secretary, Nathan Shamuyarira, told the BBC on Friday. But the opposition in Zimbabwe welcomed the report's findings and emphasised that the MDC had consistently raised concerns over food politicisation. MDC publicity secretary Paul Themba Nyathi told IRIN: "Contrary to protestations from ZANU-PF, there continues to be evidence that the government is distributing food along partisan lines. It has also been obvious that the GMB has been a vehicle for well-connected ZANU-PF officials to manipulate the import of maize and profit from the current food crisis. At every district meeting we hold, this concern is raised by our supporters, who complain that access to food aid is being hampered by the local authorities." HRW also noted that while MDC supporters topped the list of perceived enemies of the state in recent months, the list had come to include teachers and ex-commercial farm workers - both thought to support the MDC. "The government also regards urban residents in general as disaffected and suspect, mostly because in elections since 2000, many have voted for the MDC," the report said. Another concern raised in the report was the lack of government support for newly resettled farmers who, although desperate for assistance, were denied aid. "If the farms are not productive, and people are hungry, the government's land reform programme will look like a failure," Peter Takirambudde, executive director of Human Rights Watch's Africa division, explained in the statement. Little international food aid reached commercial farm areas, despite awareness that people were unable to access GMB maize easily. Concerns that several donors had been reticent to give aid to farmers settled under the government's fast-track land reform programme were compounding an already complex humanitarian situation. HRW noted that a local NGO, funded by the UK's Department for International Development, was mandated to provide relief only to ex-farm workers, and not to newly settled farmers. The rights group called on the government to allow all Zimbabweans to buy GMB maize at set prices, without reference to their political affiliation. It also recommended that, with donor support, private entrepreneurs and other organisations should be permitted to import and sell maize. "Grain milling, and flour and bread production, should be opened up to all millers and bakers, regardless of their political affiliation. And the government's public works programme, cash-for-work, should be opened to all people in need, regardless of their political affiliation or views," HRW said.