Zimbabwe customs officials on Monday refused to allow 30 tons of emergency food into the country obtained by the main opposition party, citing import regulations, a party official said.
”They’ve refused (to allow the maize through). They’ve detained the maize until we obtain an import permit,” said Renson Gasela, shadow agriculture minister of the Movement for Democratic Change
(MDC).
Last week the MDC launched an appeal for food aid to feed up to six million people — roughly half the population — who are facing starvation according to UN figures.
They cited inadequacies in the government’s ability to meet a
1,8-million ton shortfall of maize, a national staple.
Through the Feed Zimbabwe Trust, the MDC has said it will bring in emergency food aid to supplement the efforts by aid agencies and the government.
But the initiative was likely to be seen as a challenge by the government of President Robert Mugabe, which has said it will let no one starve.
Last month the UN warned that imports were falling way below national consumption, and that Zimbabwe had only imported enough grain to last the country two months.
”We’re going to apply pressure. We’re going to continue to bring food. I hope they (the government) will see reason,” said Gasela by telephone from the Beitbridge border post with South Africa, 560 kilometres south of Harare.
”We’re going to stockpile maize at Beitbridge as long as they refuse,” he added.
Regulations in the country stipulate that only the government-run Grain Marketing Board (GMB) has the authority to import maize into the country. – Sapa-AFP