Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2004. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Mail & Guardian (Johannesburg) - October 21, 2004
In Bulawayo, the country's second- largest city, the health department has recorded 161 deaths from hunger this year alone. Its statistics have drawn flak from the central government, but mayor Japhet Ncube, a Movement for Democratic Change member, maintains: "I am not the one who writes information on the causes of death on death certificates; it is doctors at government hospitals."
The report, Power and Hunger: Violations of the Right to Food, released last Friday reveals that Zimbabweans are unable to obtain food "because of discrimination and corruption".
The report slams the state-run Grain Marketing Board, which controls the trade in and distribution of maize. "During elections ruling party officials ... manipulate voters by threatening their access to food unless they vote for Zanu-PF. The government and its supporters have also attempted to manipulate the international food aid programme, to prevent supporters of the political opposition from accessing food aid."
Amnesty is "gravely concerned" about further food aid violations in the run-up to next year's parliamentary elections.
In Mpopoma township in Bulawayo a visibly malnourished 12-year-old boy told the Mail & Guardian he and his brothers used to receive monthly food rations from NGOs but the government has put a stop to the practice.
The majority of the starving children are orphans whose parents have died of Aids. A 15-year-old girl, who heads a family of six, has resorted to prostitution to feed her siblings. "I could not continue to watch my younger brothers and sisters going to bed on empty stomachs every day," she said.
Nobuhle Mahlangu (58) runs the Vulindlela club in Mpopoma. "They all come to me for help. Sometimes it makes me cry to see children suffering like this. I also cry when I hear politicians saying no one is starving in Zimbabwe. Which Zimbabwe do they live in?" she asked angrily.
One of the major causes of the food crisis has been the drop in domestic food production.
Last week seed producers and fertilizer manufacturers told Zimbabwe's parliamentary portfolio committee on land and agriculture that they are experiencing shortages - a paltry 28 000 tonnes of seed was available to the market, well short of the 100 000 tonnes needed to satisfy demand. Fertilizer stock is even more dire, with the shortfall running close to 300 000 tonnes.
The Amnesty report says that "while climatic factors, the HIV/Aids pandemic and economic problems have all played a role ... government policies and practices have exacerbated Zimbabwe's food security problems".
The implementation of the fast- track land-reform programme severely disrupted agriculture. "Farmers have been prevented from growing crops and fertile land went unplanted even when half the population was in need of food aid," says the report.Mckenzie Ncube, who chairs the portfolio committee on land and agriculture says the committee, is investigating the reports of food deficits and deaths and is bound by parliamentary rules not to disclose information until it has been tabled in Parliament.
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