Three trucks filled with food and blankets for Zimbabweans are still in Johannesburg waiting for clearance from Harare, the South African Council of Churches (SACC) said on Monday.
The trucks, which are transporting maize, beans, cooking oil and nearly 5 000 blankets, were due to leave last week but have been stuck in Johannesburg while paperwork is sorted out.
Spokesperson Ron Steele said that the Zimbabwean authorities found that a first set of documents from the SACC were not sufficient.
”The Zimbabwean authorities wanted other documents. The first were not sufficient and we have to resubmit them. Until we do this, we can’t get permits for the other side,” Steele said.
One of the documents that the SACC has to provide is a certificate that the maize being exported is not genetically modified.
”We are working on it. It’s just one of those frustrating things,” Steele said.
Steele said the trucks will deliver the goods to Harare to an organisation called Christian Care.
The organisation, which is acting on behalf of the Zimbabwe Council of Churches, provides aid to the poor across Zimbabwe.
Hundreds of thousands of Zimbabweans have been left destitute after a state ”clean-up” in which shops and houses were demolished.
Last month, the United Nations released a scathing report on the campaign, stating that it had left 700 000 Zimbabweans homeless and destitute and affected a further 2,4-million. — Sapa