| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
10.36 pm
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for International Development (Ms Sally Keeble): I congratulate the hon. Member for Epsom and Ewell (Chris Grayling) on securing the debate and his presentation of the issues, which was clear and helpful. I assure him of two things: first, the concern about the plight of the Zimbabwean people, especially in the rural areas that he described, is shared equally across all parties. We on the Government side certainly are not
complacent about the position of people in Zimbabwe, and I welcome the chance to set out some of our approach, because quite a few issues are worth rehearsing and explaining.Secondly, I understand why the hon. Gentleman is protective of the contact with his constituents. I pay tribute to them and the work that they do in extraordinarily difficult circumstances and at considerable risk to themselves to meet profound humanitarian needs. Labour Members would not look to increase the pressure on them any further.
I shall deal with the hon. Gentleman's points, but, perhaps at the end of my speech, I will give reassurances on how the information that he has provided will be treated and fed back into the system. Zimbabwe's humanitarian crisis is, of course, part of a wider political and economic crisis. Unfortunately, the suffering of ordinary Zimbabweans will continue, despite the best efforts of the international community, until the appalling failures of the Mugabe regime are reversed. I am sure that the hon. Gentleman agrees that at the heart of the matter is a profound political problem. It is not just humanitarian.
I assure the hon. Gentleman of the Government's commitment in relation to Zimbabwe. We have pressed extremely hard for reform and will continue to do so, but we cannot secure change on our own. Therefore, we strongly welcome the recent initiatives that have been taken by the Presidents of South Africa, Nigeria and Malawi to start a dialogue between Mugabe and Morgan Tsvangirai, the leader of the Movement for Democratic Change. Pressure from the African Governments is essential to deliver the change of policies and a return to legitimate democracy that Zimbabwe so badly needs.
As the hon. Gentleman knows, the Zimbabwean Government's disastrous land reform programme is at the heart of the crisis. Far from improving agricultural productivity or helping the poor, it has contributed to a humanitarian crisis that is deeper than any in recent times; far from learning from elsewhere, it ignores international recommendations and the Zimbabwean Government's own principles, which were adopted at international conferences.
It was clear at independence that land reform was needed. Since independence, Britain has provided £500 million in bilateral support for development work in Zimbabwe and £47 million specifically for land reform, of which £3 million was returned because of a lack of specific proposals on land reform. We have not reneged on the Lancaster house commitments and we continue to want land reform, but Zimbabwe needs reforms that benefit the poor, not Mugabe's henchmen, which is one of the reasons why there are particular problems in rural areas.
The situation of the ordinary people in Zimbabwe in rural and indeed urban areas is increasingly difficult. Food shortages affecting nearly 7 million people—more than half the population—have been well publicised but that is just one aspect of the crisis facing the poor. Access to official assistance for education, Government food aid, justice and medical treatment can depend on where people live and, as the hon. Gentleman said, which party
they support. Constitutional rights are being abused by the very institutions of state responsible for their protection.Zimbabwe has the fastest collapsing economy in the world. Falling exports mean that there is little foreign exchange to buy food, fuel or power. Jobs are disappearing. Officially, inflation is 228 per cent. and growing at about 10 per cent. a month. Even for those with cash, prices are rising rapidly and basic goods are often unavailable except on the black market. Attempts to control prices and to operate subsidies without making financial provision have served only to distort markets and cause shortages and fuel inflation.
In total, about 70 per cent. of people live below the poverty line. People are increasingly dependent on informal livelihoods and food aid. Many skilled Zimbabweans are opting for emigration in the hope of a better life.
Mr. Nigel Evans (Ribble Valley): Will the Minister give way?
Mr. Deputy Speaker (Sir Alan Haselhurst): Order. It is not the convention to have interventions from the Opposition Front Bench.
Ms Keeble: Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker.
I will come on to some of the specific points about food aid. It is also important to set some of the difficulties in the wider context. I know that hon. Members have raised questions about the Government's approach more generally to what is happening in Zimbabwe. It is important to take this opportunity to deal with those concerns, but I will of course deal with the remarks of the hon. Member for Epsom and Ewell, too.
As the hon. Gentleman said, my Department provides substantial support for Zimbabwe. We are the second largest bilateral donors and have made substantial increases in assistance to protect the poor and vulnerable. Our programme is now entirely focused on humanitarian assistance.
The new maize harvest is improving the position in Zimbabwe in the short term but the Zimbabwean Government have failed to import significant volumes of food or to help some areas for many months. Areas where there has been no harvest will continue to depend on international aid throughout the year. We expect a serious national food shortage to re-emerge by the end of the year. As yet, the Zimbabwean Government have not given any plan for tackling it.
The international relief effort over the past year, led by the United Nations World Food Programme, has been substantially successful within the terms in which it can operate: providing humanitarian assistance. The US, the EC and the UK have been the major donors.
A national survey of health and nutrition status shows that there has been only a slight increase in the rate of malnutrition overall. Of course, any loss of life is extremely harsh. Many lives have been lost through AIDS—about 3,000 a month—but there has been little evidence of deaths related solely to malnutrition,. Of
course, many other conditions are associated with the circumstances and humanitarian crisis in Zimbabwe, which will, sadly, produce deaths.In addition to funding food assistance, the donors have funded monitoring programmes to examine carefully the way in which our assistance is provided and its effectiveness at reaching people in the front line. We have difficulties, because the Zimbabwean Government also produce a large amount of food aid, about which I shall speak briefly later. We are not provided with information about the way in which that aid is distributed, and there is a substantial question mark over it.
The Zimbabwean Government must play a major role in providing food assistance but, as has been said, that role is biased. The Zimbabwean Government were the largest importer of food overall in 2002, but—as the hon. Gentleman highlighted—there was no transparency in the way in which they distributed their food stocks and there were widespread complaints that they were both biased and corrupt.
By contrast, the food aid provided by the UN and by donors, including DFID, is not distributed through Government channels and is allocated strictly on the basis of humanitarian need. The international efforts are closely monitored to ensure that this humanitarian approach is maintained. All of DFID's humanitarian effort has been independent of the Zimbabwean Government.
I note the hon. Gentleman's concerns about the Binga area. We were aware of the disruption caused to food distribution there, in particular the distribution through Save the Children and the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development, which have been feeding about 90 per cent. of the local population. We understood that the concerns had been resolved to a great extent and that the food aid had been resumed. I appreciate that the hon. Gentleman will not want to disclose the identities of those who provided him with information, but I shall check what he said and provide him with written assurances about the area. However, our information was that the problems had been resolved, or at least that the feeding programmes had been resumed.
Chris Grayling: That is the nub of the point. It is my constituent's belief that her information is precisely that. However, it is simply a question of whether the sources of information are giving a true reflection of the realities on the ground. It may not be easy to check that, but it would be helpful if the Department looked at ways of doing that.
Ms Keeble: I take the hon. Gentleman's point. He will understand that, in such a situation—where people are operating in an extremely difficult environment and depend on donors who have to operate under great
pressure—we are confident that we have monitoring regimes in place. Our food aid does not go through the corrupt political channels; but if there are allegations to the contrary, they must be looked at and checked and I shall certainly make sure that that happens. I have the greatest respect for the work that our people do in Zimbabwe and I hope that the hon. Gentleman will accept that our information is the best we have, based on careful distribution and monitoring arrangements.One of our concerns about the coming year is that the Zimbabwean Government's food imports are likely to be reduced because the economic crisis means that they have fewer resources available for foreign purchases. The task for the international community might be as large as, or greater than, it has been during the last year.
I wish to deal briefly with the pressure that the UK has applied, a concern raised by the Conservative party. The British Government have spoken out for a long time about democratic rights and the rule of law in Zimbabwe. We have supported EU and Commonwealth attempts at dialogue and eventual censure, and debate at the UN Commission on Human Rights in Geneva. The EU renewed targeted sanctions against 79 members of the ZANU-PF leadership in February.
The EU issued declarations on Zimbabwe in February and March, expressing concern at the increasing incidence of arrests, inhuman treatment and torture of members of the opposition and of civil society, and called on the Government of Zimbabwe to respect human rights and to end the harassment and violence that have become such a part of the political landscape. We are also working with others in the international community to lobby for change in the economic and social policies that are at the root of the crisis. We will of course continue to bring pressure to bear. The recent increase in violence and political retribution has shocked other African leaders, who have publicly supported Zimbabwe until now. We therefore very much welcome the efforts of the Presidents of South Africa, Nigeria and Malawi to generate genuine inter-party dialogue and to find a way forward for the people of Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe's crisis and the increase in poverty are the results of adherence to ill-judged and failed policies, and of the disastrous regime of Robert Mugabe. Economic mismanagement has led to shortages of food and fuel, high and rising inflation, a rapid increase in unemployment, a fall in real incomes and, as the hon. Member for Epsom and Ewell has outlined, disastrous consequences for some of the poorest people in Zimbabwe. The failed land reform—
The motion having been made after Ten o'clock, and the debate having continued for half an hour, Mr. Deputy Speaker adjourned the House without Question put, pursuant to the Standing Order.
| Next Section
| Index | Home Page |