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Agency Asks Zimbabwe to Release Stored Food
January 23, 2004 By SHARON LaFRANIERE JOHANNESBURG, Jan. 22 - United Nations officials asked Zimbabwe within the past week to release some of the government's stockpile of 236,000 tons of corn, after a month in which three million malnourished people were forced to subsist on half rations from program. The stockpile was reported in the government-controlled daily newspaper, The Herald, on Dec. 30. In interviews this week, program officials said that releasing the corn would reduce prices and relieve the need for donated food as Zimbabwe approaches its leanest agricultural months, February, March and April. An inflation rate of 600 percent has put corn, a staple of the nation's diet, out of reach for many Zimbabweans. More than 7 million of Zimbabwe's 12 million-plus citizens are short of food, according to a study prepared this month by United Nations organizations. Publicly, aid officials offered no explanation of the Zimbabwean government's decision to stockpile food in a time of shortages. But President Robert G. Mugabe has long been accused of using food as a weapon of political control, drawing on government stocks to maintain political backing for his party. In November, Human Rights Watch, an international human rights group based in New York, accused Mr. Mugabe of denying subsidized government food to people who are not listed as party supporters. Mr. Mugabe has said his government distributes food fairly to those in need. On Thursday, an aide to Mr. Mugabe refused to explain why the government has not dipped into its silos of corn, saying the question was not posed for "patriotic purposes." Since 2001, the government has had a monopoly on the trading of corn and wheat - a system that, according to the new study, has helped create huge shortages. The black market is now the main source of food, the study found. The World Food Program, an agency of the United Nations, has distributed nearly half a million tons of food in the past two years. But in December, lack of donations forced the program to cut rations in half. Since then, the European Union has donated $35 million for food and the United States has provided $12 million worth of sorghum. http://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/23/international/africa/23FOOD.html?ex=1075912475&ei=1&en=ee30982631308375 --------------------------------- Get Home Delivery of The New York Times Newspaper. Imagine reading The New York Times any time & anywhere you like! Leisurely catch up on events & expand your horizons. Enjoy now for 50% off Home Delivery! Click here: http://www.nytimes.com/ads/nytcirc/index.html HOW TO ADVERTISE --------------------------------- For information on advertising in e-mail newsletters or other creative advertising opportunities with The New York Times on the Web, please contact [EMAIL PROTECTED] or visit our online media kit at http://www.nytimes.com/adinfo For general information about NYTimes.com, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Copyright 2003 The New York Times Company
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