Lays bare dire situation in rural areas
prevent hunger-related deaths.
In southern Africa, Zambia and Malawi have also declared a state of disaster because of the drought while Madagascar declared due to the impacts of the cyclone.
This has an impact on the availability and prices of grains on the market as countries from the region are likely to import from distant markets such as Brazil.
According to the World Food Programmes (WFP’s) HungerMap LIVE, the number of people facing insufficient food consumption and those employing ‘crisis and above’ food-based coping strategies increased over the past three months from 4.3 million to 5.5 million.
Political analyst Rejoice Ngwenya said it was depressing to see hungry villagers in Buhera scrambling for food during the Independence Day celebrations.
“This shows that something is wrong in our country,” Ngwenya said.
Political analyst and social commentator Tendai Reuben Mbofana echoed similar sentiments,
“I am not saying that we should not celebrate our independence, but there is nothing to celebrate when villagers are hungry and are forced to scramble for food in a humiliating manner,” he said.
In his address during the celebrations, Mnangagwa acknowledged the challenges posed by the El Nino-induced drought.
He said the government was mobilising resources to ensure food security and had initiated the food deficit mitigation programme to assist vulnerable households.
There are fears that the food aid distribution exercise will be politicised after Zanu PF exposed plans to superintend over the exercise.
The plans to hijack the food aid programme were exposed by Zanu PF spokesperson Christopher Mutsvangwa during a press conference last week, sparking outrage from the opposition and human rights’ groups.
On Friday, Heal Zimbabwe Trust (HZT) urged the department of social welfare, and independent commissions to guard against the politicisation and weaponisation of food aid distribution by Zanu PF activists.
HZT criticised Mutsvangwa saying his statements laid bare the conflation of the state and the ruling party.
"We call upon the government of Zimbabwe to ensure that the distribution of food aid is done only through the department of social welfare working with local traditional and elected leadership,” HZT said.
“"The department of social welfare must design mechanisms to guard against the abuse and weaponisation of aid for political purposes.
“We call on the ZHRC and the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission to actively guard against corruption and abuse of government aid financed through tax and multilateral donors and agencies."
Zanu PF has for long used food handouts as a weapon to control vulnerable people in remote areas.
The ruling party fears that non-governmental organisations and food aid agencies could influence voting patterns in its stronghold areas.
"Political parties must also rein in on their members who are bent on manipulating food aid distribution activities across the country," HZT said.
“Heal Zimbabwe further calls on civil society organizations and other developmental partners to vigilantly monitor and hold accountable the government and all stakeholders involved in the efforts to alleviate poverty and food insecurity as the country faces the devastating effects of the El Nino-induced drought."