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Zimbabwe

4. Sir Nicholas Winterton (Macclesfield) (Con): If he will make a statement on the humanitarian situation in Zimbabwe. [178964]

The Secretary of State for International Development (Hilary Benn): The Government of Zimbabwe's misguided policies, including on land, continue to fuel the humanitarian crisis, which is made worse by HIV/AIDS and erratic rainfall. The Government of Zimbabwe claim that there has been a bumper harvest and have said that they will not seek further international food aid. The UN and other independent observers do not believe those claims and have warned that they could delay international help if it is needed later in the year. We will nevertheless continue to work closely with the World Food Programme to monitor humanitarian needs in Zimbabwe over the coming months.

Sir Nicholas Winterton: I am grateful to the Secretary of State for that positive and detailed response, but does he share my anger and concern that despite the serious problems facing Zimbabwe—including the chronic fuel, food and currency shortages, a contracting economy and growing starvation—the Government have placed an order with the People's Republic of China for 12 jet fighter aircraft and 100 military vehicles? They have also bypassed their procurement board to place that order. Can the Secretary of State tell us what further humanitarian aid we can direct to the suffering people of Zimbabwe without going through their Government?

Hilary Benn: I share the hon. Gentleman's concern, because the priority for the resources that are available should be helping the people of Zimbabwe, who are suffering considerably. That suffering is not helped by the fact that, as well as making disputed claims about the size of the harvest, their Government have cancelled the UNICEF nutritional assessment, which is one piece of information that we need to assess the impact of food shortages, and the crop assessment mission—after it had begun—which will make it more difficult to reach a judgment on the harvest.

We continue to provide significant support, including supporting the World Food Programme in increasing its monitoring force. Those decisions by the Zimbabwe Government could make it more difficult to provide help if it is needed, but we will continue to do all that we can to help people who are suffering.

Mr. Peter Pike (Burnley) (Lab): Does my right hon. Friend agree that we see a continuing erosion of all the
 
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democratic principles—such as a free press—in Zimbabwe? It is true that the harvest has been nothing like as good as the Government claimed. How can we encourage those people in ZANU-PF who recognise that Robert Mugabe's days are up, because he is destroying the country and their party? How can we make them understand that they need to tell him that it is time to go—the quicker, the better?

Hilary Benn: The international community must continue to apply all the pressure that it possibly can. My hon. Friend will be aware of the steps that the EU has taken through the arms embargo, the assets freeze and the visa ban, but anyone who makes an objective assessment of the present circumstances in Zimbabwe—high inflation, unemployment and an estimated 90 per cent. of the population in urban areas living on less than a dollar a day—knows that they cannot go on like this. We hope that that pressure, and pressure from other African states—which have an important responsibility in that area—will lead to the change that we all wish to see.

Mr. John Bercow (Buckingham) (Con): Given that both the United Nations and the Southern African Regional Poverty Network insist that Zimbabwe will be short of approximately 600,000 tonnes of food this year, does the Secretary of State agree that the cancellation of the joint crop assessment and the refusal of the Mugabe Government earlier this week to meet the UN humanitarian envoy for special needs were sinister in the extreme? What particular representations about the latter has the Secretary of State made?

Hilary Benn: Well, I do agree with the hon. Gentleman, because those steps by the Government of Zimbabwe show clearly that they are not interested in discovering the true position. As I said earlier, in reply to the hon. Member for Macclesfield (Sir Nicholas Winterton), those actions will also make it more difficult for the international community to step in. Representations continue to be made to the Government of Zimbabwe—most recently, about the displacement following the farm seizures that have taken place in Kondozi and Charleswood. The UN humanitarian co-ordinator has written to express concern about that, but to date has received no reply.

Mr. Derek Wyatt (Sittingbourne and Sheppey) (Lab): In Zimbabwe, non-governmental organisations operate largely through the internet, but President Mugabe is bringing in a Bill that will stop internet access for NGOs by controlling the internet service providers. What pressure can we bring to bear on the International Telecommunication Union to stop that process and to give a quid pro quo—so that if it is done inside Zimbabwe, it will not stop the NGOs' external use of the international telecommunications system?

Hilary Benn: I am grateful to my hon. Friend for drawing my attention to that step proposed by the Government of Zimbabwe, of which I was not aware. I undertake to look into it and to talk to my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary and other colleagues to see what we can do to address it. It is a further sign of the desperate attempts of the Government of Zimbabwe to
 
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stop people hearing about and reading about what is happening, as has also been shown by the action taken against the Tribune newspaper.

Mr. Bercow: Knowing that the right hon. Gentleman shares my disgust at the behaviour of the Zimbabwe Government in threatening to starve millions of people, spending extortionately on defence and sending the head of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe to this country with his begging bowl to stump up cash to sustain their brutal tyranny, may I ask whether he agrees that, rather than lamenting the limited effect of existing sanctions, as the Prime Minister did at column 523 of the Official Report on Monday, it would be better to seek to extend the EU sanctions so that the head of the Reserve Bank, Gideon Gono, is included in them? That would be a vital contribution in humanitarian terms to helping the people of Zimbabwe, who have suffered too much for too long with too little help from the outside world.

Hilary Benn: As the hon. Gentleman will be aware, the sanctions that were reviewed earlier this year were extended. There is always an argument to be had about which names should be included on that list and which should not, and the list was extended. The action that he advocates in relation to Dr. Gono would not affect Dr. Gono's current visit, but the Government have always said that, along with our EU colleagues, we shall continue to review the effectiveness of the sanctions to make sure that we take the right steps to affect those who are responsible while not further harming the people of Zimbabwe.

Africa

5. Tony Baldry (Banbury) (Con): What proportion of his Department's budget he expects to be spent in Africa through budget support in the next financial year. [178965]

The Secretary of State for International Development (Hilary Benn): In 2004–05, we expect that 30 per cent. of our projected total bilateral spending in Africa will be in the form of poverty reduction budget support; plans for 2005–06 will be decided during the rest of the year.

Tony Baldry: If budget support is to be successful, sustained capacity-building will obviously be needed in the receiving African countries. The Secretary of State is fortunate in heading the Whitehall Department with the largest number of fast-track civil servants, so does he agree that if budget support is to work, Ministers in the receiving African countries must be able to work up their senior management teams so that they, too, can call on good-quality officials both to work up and deliver policy?

Hilary Benn: I completely agree with the hon. Gentleman. As he will know, we take three steps before deciding whether to give budget support. The first is that there should be a thorough review of public financial management, which, of course, includes the capacity to manage resources effectively. Secondly, there should be agreement to reform any weaknesses that have been identified, and thirdly—recognising that giving budget support entails some risks—the risks should be outweighed by the development benefits.
 
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As the hon. Gentleman will be aware, a large part of the work that we undertake is with the Governments of those countries and elsewhere to build that capacity, because once countries have that capacity they can do the job that we all look to Governments to do, which is to provide for our needs. If we can then provide financial support through budget assistance, it will enable the countries themselves to do more of the things that they have already decided they want to do.

Barbara Follett (Stevenage) (Lab): What consideration has my right hon. Friend's Department given to project, as well as budget, support in Africa? Such projects are far easier to monitor and are far less likely to be things that we do not want, such as military expenditure.

Hilary Benn: We undertake a large amount of project work in Africa. It is a question of deciding on appropriate development assistance, depending on the circumstances. Where there is a Government who have a clear plan and the capacity—to which the hon. Member for Banbury (Tony Baldry) referred—to provide more health care and education but lack the financial support to do so, it is sensible to give them additional resources to help make that happen. Kenya recently increased the number of children in primary school by 1.2 million because it received support from us and other countries. Where those conditions do not obtain, it is right that we continue, through other project and programme activities, to help make a difference to the people of those countries.

Mr. Julian Brazier (Canterbury) (Con): Does the Minister accept that the worst humanitarian crisis, with by far the greatest need for aid in Africa, is in Sudan? Last month, my hon. Friend the Member for Buckingham (Mr. Bercow) raised the question of the Government's support for Sudan's reappointment to the UN Commission on Human Rights, given that it is in no small measure responsible for parts of the disaster there. While we are thinking about aid for Africa and Sudan in particular, will the Minister tell us whether there has been any progress in getting those international monitors, on whom he put so much emphasis last month, to the areas where they need to be to expose the abuses that are going on?

Hilary Benn: I hope that two groups of monitors will be working in Darfur as quickly as possible. The first group is the African Union ceasefire monitoring team. As I reported to the House last week, the first part of that team has already deployed. We are looking to support the deployment of the remainder, so that the total of 120 is reached. The second group is made up of the eight human rights monitors. In fact, this morning, I spoke to the Foreign Minister of Sudan to urge the Government of Sudan to accept the arrival of those monitors in Darfur, because they will be able to report to us and the rest of the world about the serious human rights situations and the abuses that are taking place even now.

Helen Jackson (Sheffield, Hillsborough) (Lab): When my right hon. Friend considers his future budget spending for Africa—I hope that he gets as much as he
 
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possibly can for that—will he particularly look at education, not simply what happens in schools to meet the millennium development goals, which is exceptionally important, but perhaps also some of the radio-based adult education that can be carried out by the World Service, the Open university and other bodies to raise awareness through education on that continent?

Hilary Benn: I will gladly consider my hon. Friend's suggestions because all the things that she describes can contribute to ensuring that Africa can build greater capacity, through education, to achieve a better economic future. Undoubtedly, that will be one of the things that the Commission for Africa will look forward to. We will increase our support to education in Africa with the resources that we have already, and I look forward to having more resources available to do more.

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