Mugabe stops charities' famine work

The Zimbabwe government has banned Oxfam and Save the Children from distributing urgently needed food aid, UN officials confirmed yesterday.

Despite reports that people are dying of starvation, President Robert Mugabe's government has refused to allow the two charities to deliver food supplied by the UN World Food Programme (WFP).

The government also told Save the Children to stop distributing its own food to people in the Binga district of western Zimbabwe. Hospital officials in Binga have confirmed that 29 people have died in recent months through malnutrition.

"This is political obstruction of desperately needed food aid at a crucial point. If people do not get food now, many will die," said Tony Hall, the US representative to the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, after a three-day tour of Zimbabwe.

"Government officials confirmed to me that they will not allow those non-governmental organisations to distribute food aid for political reasons, because the government views them as loyal to the opposition party. I said that is unacceptable. They are major international organisations with fine reputations for non-partisan activity."

Mr Hall also said that he had "credible reports" that the Mugabe regime was "using state-owned food as a political weapon to punish communities suspected of supporting the opposition. I heard it over and over again, particularly about the Binga area."

Binga, on Lake Kariba, is one of Zimbabwe's poorest areas and it has voted consistently for the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). Last month, it was the only rural area won by the MDC in local council elections.

The WFP has asked the government to reconsider its ban.

"By December, we estimate that 6.7 million Zimbabweans will be in need of food aid, but so far we only have food for 3.9 million," said a UN official.

The European Union has promised 32m euros (£20m) for food relief to the WFP effort in Zimbabwe, bringing pledges up to 37% of what is needed.

"Food is coming in but it is not coming in fast enough," said Mr Hall, who monitors food distribution efforts all over the world. "Within two months many more people will be hungry. We are looking at the possibility of major famine, major death. And yet the government is still obstructing food deliveries. I don't know why they are doing it at this point. They are hurting their own people."

Ten other aid bodies have government accreditation to distribute WFP food. They are: Catholic Relief Services; Goal; Concern; Lutheran World Federation; Care International; Helpage; Plan International; Christian Care; World Vision; and Orap, a Zimbabwean group founded by a current cabinet minister.