SA aid to Zimbabwe
This may seem a little harsh, but I need to understand exactly how the South African government can justify backing down on the conditions set, in terms of supplying aid to Zimbabwe, in the first place. They have effectively continued the reign of a lunatic by supplying the funding. Now we are going to have to hold them accountable…..
The people in Zim are starving and suffering because of the lunatic dictator Robert Mugabe, he is no humanitarian, his is a senile old man. The South African government must now provide a full, independently audited account, that every cent of the aid they have made available is dispersed in a truly non partisan way.
If they are unable to do this, then somebody must be fired!!!! We cannot have these decisions being made without full disclosure to the population that put them into power.
Now before anybody climbs onto the band wagon to say that I am unsympathetic to the plight of the Zimbabweans, please hold back, I am not. I am for aid in this case, but it must be placed into the hands of a democratically elected government. The terms were also set out before and they have not been met. Continued support by the South African government means that regime change will not happen.
What you can be sure of, is that while his people starve, Robert Mugabe and his cronies are dining on a full Christmas dinner with all of the trimmings and this unfortunately are the facts….
So today the dung ball goes to the South African government for poor decision making and the support of a dictator!!
Johannesburg – The South African presidency attempted to explain the government’s provision of R300m in food aid to Zimbabwe in a statement issued on Tuesday.
Responding to what it called “confusing reports in the media”, spokesperson Thabo Masebe confirmed that South Africa was providing the aid to Zimbabwe.
This contravened the conditions of the aid that were outlined in September when the plan was announced.
According to the conditions, the R300m in aid was conditioned upon the successful formation of a unity government between Robert Mugabe’s Zanu-PF and the two factions of the Movement for Democratic Change.
Masebe said this was to ensure, “that the assistance reached the intended beneficiaries”.
But as the situation in Zimbabwe has worsened, Masebe said that the food aid was necessary now.
“The aim is to provide urgent humanitarian assistance to circumvent a dire food security situation,” said Masebe.
He said the aid would be released through new South African Development Community mechanisms that were announced last week.
“We are satisfied that the aid will reach the intended recipients in a non-partisan manner.”
Masebe added that South Africa “remains committed to the establishment of an inclusive government”.
Mugabe has been accused of using food aid as a political tool by limiting its distribution to areas that voted for the MDC in the March elections.
