12 000 killed by Starvation in Zimbabwe every month
Harare: Some 12 000 people are dying of hunger every month in Zimbabwe as president Robert Mugabe tells the world that the country needs no food assistance from outside, it has emerged.
Prominent economic analyst and newspaper columnist Eric Bloch made the revelation during the public taping of a television discussion series known as ‘The Transition’, sponsored by the MDC, on Tuesday night.
Bloch did not reveal the source of his information. However, he is known to have high level sources in government, the diplomatic and NGO sectors. It was on that basis that he was appointed special advisor to the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe.
“Although there are no official statistics, 12 000 people are dying due to malnutrition every month,” Bloch said.
He called on Mugabe and Zanu PF to drop their opposition to Zimbabwe’s being classified a highly indebted poor country (HIPC), which would make the country eligible for the cancellation of some of its crippling $1,3 billion foreign debt. The move would also enable the country to reschedule some of the debt.
Mugabe and his officials argue that if Zimbabwe is classified as a HIPC country that could open the doors for regime change as the country would be forced to adopt new economic policies and follow strict financial management guidelines designed by the World Bank.
The Mugabe government has so far survived on dishing out money to sectors that could pose a threat to its survival, such as the armed forces, with no regard for basic management principles, according to experts.
Bloch said the government was currently spending huge amounts on paying its debts at the expense of social spending on food, health and education.
The United Nations estimates that 2.8 million Zimbabweans are in need of food handouts to tide them over until the next harvest expected in April 2010. Of this figure, only 600 000 are currently receiving food assistance from international donors.
Mugabe has refused to declare an official emergency, a move that could speed up the mobilization of food supplies. Observers say Mugabe fears that if he admits the country has serious food problems that would be an indictment of his disastrous land reform programme that destroyed commercial agriculture.
Written By: John-Chimunhu
Additional Reporting: (ZimEye, Zimbabwe)
Posted by Raymond Mhaka
on October 21, 2009. Filed under Local News.
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