THE World Food Programme (WFP) says over 1,5 million Zimbabweans in the urban areas will be food insecure this year as the country continues to suffer the effects of the economic downturn and a crippling El Niño-induced drought.
Worsened by high levels of unemployment that have over the years breached 98%, Zimbabwe's urbanites will require urgent food aid after the end of the traditional lean season, WFP country representative Eddie Rowe said.
"Quite rightly what we are seeing is urban poverty. This is because of high unemployment and lack of social services. All this has a direct impact on the ability of a household to get food," Rowe said in an interview this week.
The UN agency has already piloted a food assistance programme in Epworth, one of the country's poorest high-density settlements, feeding over 20 000 residents.
"While we are moving into assistance, it is part of a comprehensive intervention to address urban poverty. So what we have decided is to do a pilot in Epworth where we are now providing a livelihood acration of about US$9 per person to almost 20 000 residents," Rowe said.
WFP should know that the 98% unemployment were targeted by Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube with his 2% electronic transaction charge. Most of the unemployed live on US$ 30 per day or less and the Minister want a cut of the meagre earnings. Instead of government stepping in to welfare packages to help the destitute Minister Ncube saw the opportune to tax the poor who were not paying income tax and jumped at it.
Minister Ncube did not touch the filthy rich ruling elite who are looting the nation blind to build their palatial mansions, buy their fleet of posh cars and finance their extravagant lifestyle. The 2% additional income only went to pay for hired private jets and more luxuries for the ruling elite.
If any of the growing army of Zimbabweans living in abject poverty should ever think of going on the street to voice their growing hardships, Zanu PF will descend on them like a tonne of bricks. The message Zanu PF has send out, with the state security services’s wanton violence including the order of shoot to kill following the 1st August 2018 election protest and the two weeks of fuel increase protest in January 2019, is that the regime will not tolerate dissent .
Zanu PF rigged last year’s elections and hence the reason the party is doing as it pleases. Such is the curse of being stuck with a regime that rigs elections and is therefore not democratically accountable to the people.
If the people of Zimbabwe are serious about fighting for democratic change, a free, just and prosperous Zimbabwe then it is for them to end the vicious cycle of rigged elections. Mnangagwa rigged last year’s elections to extend Zanu PF’s corrupt and tyrannical rule. If Zanu PF is still in power in 2023, the party will rig those elections too and thus extend its rule by yet another five years.
Zanu PF has no mandate to govern because the party rigged last year’s elections. The party must be pressured to step down as the only sure way of breaking Zanu PF’s power to rig elections.
6 comments:
How ironic that the UN is stepping is to provide some welfare net to the very people that Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube targeted with his 2% electronic transaction tax because they were not paying income tax. No doubt, the Minister will, one way or the other, want a cut of the $9.00 these poor people are getting from the UN!
South Africans Lack Depth in Their Justification of Violence Towards Foreigners.
One can argue that we should be welcoming outsiders to our home. When an outsider argues that he/she be welcomed in our home, the argument does not have the same edge!
There are 18 candidates contesting for the Bulawayo Ward 28 (Cowdray Park) by-election that is scheduled for Saturday, March 30 in Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe had elections 8 months ago which anyone who is anybody condemned because of the numerous flaws and illegalities in the process. ZEC failed to produce something as basic as a verified voters’ roll for Pete’s sake! But from the crowded political field, it is clear Zanu PF’s reputation of rigging elections has no effect.
As long as Zanu PF continues to offer a few gravy train seats as bait to the corrupt and greed opposition the party knows there will never be any shortage of opposition candidates to join the rat race regardless how flawed and illegal the process gets.
If we are ever to dismantle the present system then we must not only fight Zanu PF but the corrupt and incompetent opposition who now have an invested interest in keeping the status quo as Zanu PF itself. As for Zanu PF, why would the party ever give up its carte blanche powers to rig elections and use brute force to beat everyone into submission is need be when the party knows the opposition will participate in the elections no matter what!
Mnangagwa, who succeeded former president Robert Mugabe through a soft coup in November 2017, has been working around the clock to convince the world that he is a different leader to his mentor and has since engaged a reputable American lobby organisation in an attempt to have sanctions imposed on the country lifted.
After giving Mnangagwa a fresh start, western nations, appalled by his clampdown on protests in August last year and in January this year maintained sanctions on Zimbabwe and some individuals much to the chagrin of the ruling party which is seeking new lines of credit to jumpstart an otherwise comatose economy.
In a statement, MDC spokesperson Jacob Mafume said Chamisa will not stop in his diplomatic offensive.
"The people's president has been engaging the international community in a bid to get a lasting solution to the plight of Zimbabweans. He will be travelling to most neighbouring countries including Mozambique, Tanzania and Zambia. Chamisa has already met with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa among other African leaders.
One of the key issues Chamisa is dealing with is the need for dialogue in Zimbabwe based on the five key issues of reform," said Mafume.
The real tragedy in Zimbabwe is that the country is stuck. Mnangagwa and his Zanu PF junta rigged last year’s elections and are therefore illegitimate. Instead of focusing on this and pressure Zanu PF to step down the nation and the international community’s attention is being drawing away by MDC who claim the elections were fraud but only in declaring Mnangagwa the winner! The elections were condemned on the basis of the flawed and illegal process and not on the basis of the result. No one in their right mind would ever support the MDC’s stupid position.
So now instead of just concentrating on getting Mnangagwa and his Zanu PF junta to step down we have to waste time telling the corrupt and incompetent MDC Alliance to shut up!
The so called national dialogue will change nothing as long as Zanu PF remains in office, the country will still be a pariah state. The best thing for Zimbabwe would be for the dialogue to take place and get it out of the way.
Whilst everyone is grateful to WFP for feeding the millions of Zimbabweans in the urban centres and the rural areas one cannot ignore that the UN is turning a blind eye to Zanu PF's criminal waste of resources. Is the UN aware that Zanu PF is wasting millions of dollars on palatial mansions, posh cars, hired luxury jets, etc., etc. And, worst of all, the UN is turning a blind eye to Zanu PF rigging elections and using brute force to silence the people into submission.
It would be infinitely better if the UN stood by the downtrodden in their fight for a meaningful say in the governance of the country and not just provide the ambulance service at the bottom of the cliff to the victims of the Zanu PF dictatorship. For even the UN must admit the US$9.00 per month it is paying the poor is wilfully inadequate!
Ever since MDC leaders sold-out during the 2008 to 2013 GNU Zanu PF leaders have known that MDC leaders will sell-out again and again. Having tasted the good life of the gravy train, they were hooked for life!
"Mazivanhu eMDC adzidza kudya anyerere!" (MDC people have learned to enjoy the spoils of gravy train lifestyle, they will never rock the boat!) boasted Zanu PF thugs during the GNU. They were commenting on the public concern as to why MDC leaders were not implementing any democratic reforms.
Time has proven that the Zanu PF thugs were 100% correct, MDC leaders failed to implement even one reform in five years of the GNU. Not even one!
People like Felix Mafa are complaining that Zanu PF is buying votes but this is only for the benefit of the naive and gullible MDC supporters and the public who still believe that MDC is fighting for democratic change.
Vote buying and political coercion is a much more serious problem in the rural areas when the electorate are now totally dependent on handouts and are at the mercy of the corrupt traditional leaders. Those suspected of being opposition supporters have been deny food aid and, worse still, had their properties destroyed, beaten, rape and some even murdered. The rural voters are nothing more than medieval serfs at the mercy of the all powerful landlord - Zanu PF.
MDC leaders have ignored the reality of Zanu PF blatant vote buying and vote rigging antics, regardless how flawed and illegal the process gets as long as Zanu PF leaving a few scraps for the opposition. MDC leaders are hunting with the hounds and running with the hare in the most cynical sense of that adage.
In entrusting MDC to bring about democratic change, we sent the cockroach to fetch milk!
The international community deserted MDC in droves in 2013 when it was clear they had failed to implement even one reform. The international community need to do more, they must say why they deserted MDC and publicly denounce MDC duplicity and hypocrisy. The international community should make it clear they condemned last year's elections on the basis of the flawed and illegal process and NOT just the result which is what MDC are doing.
If the sanctions were imposed on Zanu PF leaders for failing to hold free, fair and credible elections then the same sanctions should be extended to opposition leaders for participating in flawed and illegal elections.
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