Conclusions and recommendations
The political situation
1. We
welcome the Global Political Agreement (GPA), which, although
not perfect, created the basis for formation of the Government
of National Unity. Progress has been made since the settlement
was reached, including the re-opening of schools and hospitals,
the introduction of a budget and stabilisation of the economy.
However, movement towards full implementation of the Agreement
has been slow and important provisions have been ignored by some
of the parties involved. Adherence to the rule of law and respect
for human rights are two areas requiring urgent and significant
improvement. (Paragraph 18)
2. We regret that
development of a new Constitution for Zimbabwe is making such
slow progress. We agree with DFID's assessment that its implementation
could increase the prospects for free and fair elections in the
future. We recommend that, in response to this Report, DFID provide
us with more information about the support it is giving, jointly
with other donors, to the constitution-drafting process. (Paragraph
21)
3. DFID's support
for the Office of the Prime Minister has clearly been valuable
and has been much appreciated by him. We recommend that DFID extend
this support for a further period. This will enable progress achieved
to date to continue, in terms of strengthening the capacity of
the Office to oversee the smooth running of government departments
and implementation of policy, and to lead on executive business
in Parliament. (Paragraph 24)
4. Continuing political
violence and lack of security has resulted in the displacement
of many Zimbabweans, the migration of many thousands to neighbouring
countries and the closure of many schools and medical facilities
throughout the country. It compromises donors' ability to provide
support to Zimbabwe's development and should be an ongoing concern
to the international community. (Paragraph 27)
The economy
5. The
Financial Times has reported that economists, business
leaders and trade unionists have warned that the new "indigenisation"
law (which would require white-owned companies with an asset value
over $500,000 to surrender 51% of their shareholdings to black
Zimbabweans) would "wreck any chance of attracting foreign
investment and strangle the economy's weak recovery." We
agree with this assessment. (Paragraph 32)
6. Normalisation of
Zimbabwe's relations with the international financial institutions
will clearly be a major contributor to its economic recovery.
We welcome the IMF's approval of technical assistance to Zimbabwe
and the restoration of its voting and related rights as a major
step in this process, in response to the economic recovery in
the country. We would urge the IMF to continue to engage with
the Government of National Unity, with a view to making further
progress towards restoring the availability of funding, and to
support Zimbabwe in its efforts to work towards meeting the loan
approval criteria. (Paragraph 35)
EU restrictive measures
7. The
EU has renewed the restrictive measures on named individuals and
organisations in Zimbabwe for another year. We agree that further
progress on democracy and human rights needs to be demonstrated
before all the measures can be lifted. The UK should continue
to make clear the basis of the measures and their specific terms
to the people of Zimbabwe. It should also continue to support
governance reforms which will help Zimbabwe move to a position
where the measures can be removed. (Paragraph 41)
Land reform
8. Land
reform in Zimbabwe is a complex issue. It is also a highly-charged
political issue between Zimbabwe and the UK. However, resolution
is essential for political stability and continued economic recovery.
Land seizures have had a devastating impact, both on individual
farm-owners and workers and on the agricultural economy, and should
cease. We agree with the DFID Minister that the terrible human
rights abuses which have taken place as part of farm invasions
are completely unacceptable. The first stage in the land reform
process should be a comprehensive and transparent land audit,
as laid down in the Global Political Agreement. The timing of
the audit is a matter for the Government of National Unity. The
process should be supported by the international community, including
the UK. (Paragraph 49)
9. In the longer term,
the UK should be prepared to join other donors to fund land reform
as part of a wider rural and agricultural development strategy,
provided the Government of Zimbabwe is able to give credible assurances
that such a process will transfer land to the landless poor. However,
the responsibility for compensating people for land seizures lies
with those who seized land or condoned seizures. (Paragraph 50)
Regional relations
10. The
member states of the Southern African Development Community (SADC)
are the guarantors of the Global Political Agreement (GPA). We
believe that the UK Government should urge SADC collectively,
and South Africa in particular, to continue to work with the Government
of National Unity towards full implementation of the GPA. We are
disappointed that Zimbabwe has defied the SADC Tribunal ruling
on land seizures. Zimbabwe should recognise the authority of SADC.
The fact that there are no mechanisms for enforcement of the ruling
is a matter of concern to us and should be addressed. (Paragraph
61)
11. SADC should also
fully support economic recovery in Zimbabwe. This would bring
wider benefits to the whole region, not just to Zimbabwe itself.
It would also encourage Zimbabwean migrants to return and help
address the tensions which the large number of migrants in neighbouring
countries has caused. (Paragraph 62)
DFID's humanitarian assistance
12. DFID
has provided essential humanitarian support to Zimbabwe, including
food aid, over the last decade. Although the situation has improved,
DFID believes it will be necessary for humanitarian assistance
to continue for at least another two years. We recognise the priority
which DFID and other donors have to give to meeting humanitarian
needs in Zimbabwe's current situation. However, we would hope
that, as the economy continues to recover, people will be more
able to support themselves and donors can then review the need
for food aid and other short-term interventions. We recommend
that DFID regularly reassess the balance between humanitarian
aid and development assistance and that more of its programmes
shift to a longer-term development approach at the earliest opportunity.
(Paragraph 80)
Internally displaced people
13. Hundreds
of thousands of people in Zimbabwe have been driven from their
homes as a result of deliberate, forced evictions by the Government
in pursuit of political ends, or in reaction to more general insecurity,
violence and intimidation or unemployment. Some have been forced
to move several times. DFID is providing support to internally
displaced persons (IDPs) through targeted projects and through
its general livelihoods and basic service assistance. Its emergency
assistance programme for IDPs is due to end shortly but substantial
need clearly remains. We recommend that, in response to this Report,
DFID clarify how support for IDPs will be provided by the donor
community over the next two years and the role which it will play
in this assistance. (Paragraph 86)
Protracted Relief Programme
14. DFID's
Protracted Relief Programme (PRP) has already reached millions
of vulnerable people in Zimbabwe and has been praised by the NGOs
who participate in it as an innovative, flagship programme of
which DFID should be proud. We agree with this assessment. Other
donors have already seen the value of funding Phase II of the
PRP and it has become an effective multi-donor intervention. Its
excellence lies in its ability to meet the needs of the most vulnerable
people and the breadth of its reach, from home-based care for
sick people to agricultural extension and employment generation.
There is clearly further scope for scaling up the programme in
Zimbabwe, where the need is still acute for many people, and indeed
using the lessons learned to replicate it in other countries.
We recommend that DFID explore both these options. (Paragraph
92)
15. We accept the
concerns expressed by delivery partners that the use of managing
agents to administer the Protracted Relief Programme creates a
distance between NGOs and DFID. DFID needs to do more to address
these concerns. However, given the headcount constraint under
which DFID operates, we believe it is sensible to contract out
management of programmes once they are in operation, in order
to release specialist DFID staff to undertake more strategic and
innovative work. (Paragraph 98)
16. The administration
costs of the PRP are quite high but this has to be weighed against
the cost-effectiveness and the value for money offered by the
programme. Moreover, other donors would not be so keen to join
the PRP if they did not consider that it was a worthwhile use
of their funds. We believe the crucial point is that the most
vulnerable and needy people in Zimbabwe are reached through the
PRP. DFID should monitor the programme closely to ensure pro-poor
benefits continue to be the focus, particularly if the programme
is extended. DFID should also satisfy itself that its auditing
mechanisms are sufficiently robust to ensure that PRP funding
is reaching the intended beneficiaries, particularly given that
it passes through several organisations first. (Paragraph 99)
17. We were impressed
by the benefits which the conservation agriculture element of
the Protracted Relief Programme is bringing to communities in
Zimbabwe, some of whom are the most vulnerable people in the country.
Moving farmers from below subsistence to generating an income
from selling crops provides direct and quick support for livelihoods.
We recommend that DFID explore how this work can be expanded,
both within Zimbabwe and in other African countries. (Paragraph
102)
Health services
18. DFID
support is making a significant difference to the availability
and quality of health care available in Zimbabwe. The retention
scheme for health workers is an important intervention which is
making a contribution to addressing the lack of trained staff
and supporting committed staff to continue to work in health care.
The Vital Medicines programme has ensured that all health facilities
in the country have basic drugs and medical supplies. We commend
DFID's work in the health sector to date and recommend that it
continue to give priority to supporting the rebuilding of health
services. (Paragraph 110)
HIV/AIDS
19. Zimbabwe's
HIV/AIDS rate is one of the highest in the world. The country
and the international community face a huge task in trying to
control the epidemic and provide support to HIV/AIDS sufferers.
However, progress has been made and we commend DFID's work in
this sector. The male circumcision programme we saw appears to
be a very cost-effective method of reducing HIV transmission in
a country with a prevalence rate as high as Zimbabwe's. We would
encourage DFID to support the programme as it moves from the pilot
to full implementation. The Expanded Support Programme (ESP) is
fulfilling a vital function in provision of anti-retroviral treatment
and broader treatment and care for people living with HIV and
AIDS. We request that DFID shares the outcome of its impact assessment
of ESP with us when it is available. (Paragraph 116)
Maternal and child health
20. Maternal
and child health are two key areas hit particularly hard by the
decline in services in Zimbabwe. Many mothers and babies are already
vulnerable due to HIV/AIDS, and shortages of health staff and
facilities have compounded this. We recommend that, in response
to this Report, DFID provide us with more details of its plans
to provide further support to maternal and child health, to assist
Zimbabwe to get back on track on these two central Millennium
Development Goals. (Paragraph 122)
21. Malnutrition is
the leading cause of child deaths and ill health in Zimbabwe.
Donors must continue to address this through food aid and longer-term
nutrition interventions. DFID has recently published a Nutrition
Strategy and has included Zimbabwe as one of the six countries
where it will focus its efforts to tackle malnutrition. We would
welcome more details, in response to this Report, on how the Strategy
will guide DFID's work on child health in Zimbabwe. (Paragraph
123)
Sanitation and water
22.
We reiterate our previously stated view that sanitation and water
are at the heart of development. We accept that long-term infrastructure
projects, such as rehabilitation of sanitation and water systems,
must wait for the humanitarian need to decrease and for the Government
of Zimbabwe to be in a position to take the lead, supported by
donors. However, DFID and its donor partners need to keep a clear
focus on the contribution which poor sanitation and lack of clean
water made to the scale of the cholera epidemic in 2008. They
must ensure health and humanitarian programmes do not lose sight
of the importance of public health and hygiene in reducing the
spread of disease. (Paragraph 129)
Education
23. Zimbabwe
needs considerable donor support to rebuild its education system,
which used to be one of the best in Africa. The main problem is
shortage of teachers which can only be addressed through wider
recovery of the economy and political system and through the Government
finding ways to pay adequate salaries to public servants. We recommend
that DFID discuss with its donor partners whether further support
could be offered to help attract Zimbabwean teachers back from
neighbouring countries and from Europe. There is also a severe
shortage of textbooks. DFID is a small contributor to the multi-donor
fund set up to provide educational materials. It is regrettable
that it has taken so long for the books procured through the scheme
to reach schools. DFID may only be funding a small fraction of
this programme but it is a lead donor in the country and should
apply pressure on its partners to increase the efficiency of the
procurement process. (Paragraph 134)
Orphans and vulnerable children
24. DFID's
Programme of Support has brought vital assistance to children,
including those whose vulnerability is compounded by loss of parents
as a result of HIV/AIDS. The support has helped thousands of children
to continue their education as well as ensuring that they are
fed and have access to counselling to address the traumas they
have endured and which many continue to suffer because of displacement,
abuse and neglect. This is clearly fulfilling an essential and
continuing need. It is right that DFID should assess the impact
of the programme to date to enable it to decide how it can best
continue to assist orphans and other children disadvantaged by
poverty and HIV/AIDS. We recommend that, in response to this Report,
DFID provide us with an indication of its future plans for supporting
vulnerable children in Zimbabwe and the level of funding it will
commit to this work. (Paragraph 143)
DFID's future engagement
25. It
is right that the UK gives a high priority to Zimbabwe through
the work of both DFID and the FCO. We strongly believe that the
assistance which DFID provides should continue, in co-ordination
with Foreign Office staff. This assessment is based on the evidence
we saw of the effectiveness of UK aid in reaching poor and vulnerable
people, and the level and scale of ongoing need across the country.
(Paragraph 146)
26. We recommend that,
in response to this Report, DFID set out how much of the £60
million of British aid provided in 2009-10 for Zimbabwe was actually
spent in Zimbabwe. We also recommend that the Department review
the circumstances in which it may be right to buy in-country to
stimulate local economic activity, even where this is not the
cheapest option. (Paragraph 149)
27. We agree with
DFID's assessment that the time is not right to move to direct
budget support in Zimbabwe. The political situation remains fragile.
Until Zimbabwe has demonstrated that free and fair elections can
take place, with transfer of power between parties if this is
the wish of the people, uncertainty will remain. (Paragraph 151)
28. The international
community's focus should be on strengthening the capability of
the Government of National Unity so that it is better placed to
determine its own development priorities and to deliver them.
For this to happen, the rights of all parties to function without
intimidation must be implemented in practice. It also requires
a willingness within all elements of the Government to meet the
needs of the people, especially the poor. Continuing political
violence and harassment is incompatible with this. (Paragraph
152)
29. Progress on human
rights and democracy need to be demonstrated before all the EU's
restrictive measures placed on named individuals and organisations
can be lifted. However, donors should continue to provide humanitarian
and development assistance, based on the needs of the people and
the capacity for this assistance to be absorbed. The UK has shown
leadership on this and should continue its important work, based
on strong co-ordination with development partners and alignment
of its approach with the pro-poor elements in the Government's
own policies. (Paragraph 153)
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