Mugabe declares ‘state of disaster’ amid drought

Local Government Minister, Saviour Kasukuwere, on Thursday night released a statement on behalf of Mr. Mugabe declaring the state of disaster with effect from February 2, 2016.

According to reports, as many as 2.4 million people-almost a quarter of Zimbabwe’s population-are in need of food aid as the drought has adversely affected crop supplies.

The Guardian reported that the El Nino weather phenomenon has engulfed the region resulting into drought and leaving tens of thousands of cattle dead, reservoirs depleted and crops destroyed.

“Farmers are driving their cattle into the fields to graze on the drying stalks”.

Critics say his rule has been marked by vote-rigging, intimidation tactics and economic mismanagement, particularly an often violent programme that began in 2000 to seize white-owned land and give it to black Zimbabwean farmers. The Zimbabwe Peace Project, a non-governmental group, cited 135 cases of “food violations” between September to December.

Kasukuwere says in the southern Masvingo province, 75 percent of the staple maize crop has been wiped out.

Last month, an executive of a major western non governmental organisation said in Harare: “We are ready and waiting for Zimbabwe to acknowledge there is a very serious food problem in Zimbabwe in the next few months, and it is going to go on until the next harvest in 2017”.

“People have no money in their pockets – a situation exacerbated by food shortages”, Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) told a news conference in Harare.

As it’s importing maize, the authorities has encouraged Zimbabweans to not panic.

“The number of food insecure people is likely to rise and continue rising”.