Johannesburg - Zimbabwe's neighbours in the Southern African
Development Community on Wednesday announced a new mechanism for
delivering urgent humanitarian aid to the crisis-hit southern African
country.
South African President Kgalema Motlanthe, whose country currently
chairs SADC, said financial and material aid would be channeled
through a new structure called the Zimbabwe Humanitarian and
Development Assistance Framework (ZHDAF).
The ZHDAF, which would be non-partisan, would be comprised of
government, non-profit organizations, religious leaders and
agricultural unions, he told a press conference at government
buildings in Pretoria.
Every member of the 15-nation grouping was expected to contribute
to ZHDAF 'in accordance with (their) resources and capabilities.'
All parties to Zimbabwe's political impasse, including autocratic
President Robert Mugabe, supported the initiative, he said.
'President Mugabe accepts also that the situation is very dire and
that the people of Zimbabwe need assistance to relieve them of the
deprivation they've had to endure for some time,' Motlanthe said.
The severe cholera outbreak that has killed around 1,000 people
since August had compounded an 'already bad situation,' characterized
by serious food shortages, he said.
Over 3 million Zimbabweans are in need of food aid, a number
expected to exceed 5 million by early 2009.
Zimbabwe's humanitarian crisis has accelerated in recent months in
the absence of a legitimate government.
Mugabe's Zanu-PF has been in negotiations with the opposition
Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) about the formation of a unity
government for three months since signing a power-sharing agreement
in September.
Motlanthe said he was optimistic that the new government would be
in place by the end of the week after a constitutional amendment
giving effect to the September deal was gazetted by government.
The MDC has however vowed to block the amendment's passage through
parliament until all of its concerns about sharing power with Mugabe
are addressed.
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