Zimbabwe has not been officially informed of a planned visit next week by a United States ambassador to examine the humanitarian situation in the Southern African country, a state-run newspaper reported on Saturday.
Ambassador Tony Hall, who represents the US at the Rome-based UN agencies for food and agriculture, was to make a five-day visit to Zimbabwe beginning on Tuesday ”to observe the current humanitarian and food security situation in Zimbabwe,” the US embassy said in a statement.
But The Herald newspaper quoted secretary for foreign affairs Joey Bimha as saying that the government had not been officially informed of the visit and that it would have to verify whether Hall had been granted a visa.
”We are not aware of his visit,” Bimha said.
”They have not officially informed us about the visit. We don’t know anything. We have to check with our United States embassy if he was granted a visa.”
Hall, who has travelled to North Korea, Iraq and visited Zimbabwe in 2002, is the US ambassador to the World Food Programme (WFP), the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), based in Rome.
He was due to meet government officials, representatives of UN agencies, non-governmental groups and other international agencies during his visit to Zimbabwe.
A UN report released last month called for an international relief effort for Zimbabwe following a government-driven campaign to demolish shacks, market stalls and other unauthorised buildings.
The blitz began in mid-May and was declared over by the government at the end of July, leaving about between 300 000 700 000 people homeless and affecting the livelihoods of about 2,4-million others.
The United States has harshly criticised the government over the demolitions campaign and called on it to work with the international community to develop relief and reconstruction efforts. – Sapa-AFP