South Africa P.I.G.: FOOD CRISIS

Showing posts with label FOOD CRISIS. Show all posts

Where the hell are we going?

<div align="left">Meltdown the inevitable result of ANC policies Dr. David Klatzow <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzRScjp1Iun1DIAtY9_HcWiil3HYzt7ggrkuaRzbHEqAaRsQ8vvc8zc7ic-or6dNBcxI5oSWSRwKLjdjgIQoJoU2SDYPZDHqplJ4LDCgNnPYPIlBTVLbalAg-imAGVg1NR4_N8EbA7qc1P/s1600-h/ancpastsellbydate.jpg"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcQfkBLXJkBbkXPK8kSRR3vR7AceIGTQ7-0PQElUsne1WW3iXhFsFyr_7dHsguUz0AysyrtAbzny3eGz-MlOqKNAx0NqH1eJWfy8MN8qo69bBDWw17MIDPI9mQvNwg6hMmrdXOl_IrNoI1/s1600-h/ancpastsellbydate.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443727198134663122" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcQfkBLXJkBbkXPK8kSRR3vR7AceIGTQ7-0PQElUsne1WW3iXhFsFyr_7dHsguUz0AysyrtAbzny3eGz-MlOqKNAx0NqH1eJWfy8MN8qo69bBDWw17MIDPI9mQvNwg6hMmrdXOl_IrNoI1/s320/ancpastsellbydate.jpg" style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 263px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" /></a>The ANC led alliance came to power with many stated and lofty ideals. They flowed from the American rhetoric of such greats as Martin Luther King. “An injury to one is an injury to all”; “Injustice anywhere is a threat to Justice everywhere”. </div>Our government, post Madiba, has been slow to give reality to these lofty ideals. Mbeki (Mr. Delivery) turned out to be Mr. Non-Delivery. All functionaries in government were replaced by loyal party cadres. Everything became ideology driven instead of ability driven. Government interference in the universities has become much more overt and destructive than ever it was under the Nationalists. (Exemplified by the turnabout on the honorary doctorate for Thabo Mbeki). Our health system was functional to a high level, even for rural black and the urban “non-European” hospitals, whilst an abominable reflection of the apartheid system, worked well with standards high and no shortage of drugs and equipment. Now in 2010, we contemplate exactly what has been achieved in the 15 years of post Apartheid South Africa. A previous vice-Chancellor of UCT, Ramphele Mamphela, is on record as saying that Bantu Education was better than the mess we have now. Our hospitals are dysfunctional for all South Africans who are unable to afford private health care. The Johannesburg General, Groote Schuur, Pretoria Hospital and many others around the country are mismanaged to such an extent that they have become a threat to health. The hospital accounting systems are in a shambles and suppliers have cut off supplies until their bills are paid. The standards of repair and cleanliness have plummeted. The equipment, supplies and linen have been pillaged and pilfered. Recently at Groote Schuur I encountered a Neurology ward that had no toilet seats, no toilet paper, no soap and no towels. The chief neurologist there informed me that he would not use the toilets on his ward because they were too disgusting. The legacy of Manto Tshabalala-Msimang speaks for itself. Our police service is severely dysfunctional. Too many of the serving officers are corrupt. A recent PhD Thesis on the subject put it as 10% and probably higher. Out erstwhile chief cop, Jackie Selebi, stands accused of corruption whilst he was head of Interpol moreover. This is a national disgrace. The arrogance of the man to run around with the likes of the criminal gangsters that he associated with and not see the conflict of interests is astounding to say the least. The government, who should be doing all in their power to prosecute Selebi to the full, are wasting taxpayers’ money trying to keep certain witnesses out of court on the spurious basis of national interest. Our education system is a complete mess. We have the results of the OBE debacle to contend with where the only certainty is that we will produce a generation of educationally crippled youth. We have the ANC government with its ludicrous policies of “quiet diplomacy” which have allowed the stability of the region to deteriorate .The influx of refugees across our borders is fuelling xenophobic violence and is placing scarce resources under huge pressure. Our water supplies are dwindling and those that we have are polluted with faecal matter from the squatter camps along their courses. Cholera is waiting. Much of the water measuring equipment installed at key points on our rivers has been vandalized. The Cape Times (8/2/10) informs me that ‘DIRE SHORTAGE AT FORENSIC LABS STIFLES JUSTICE” What do you expect? In my private capacity as a consulting forensic scientist, I have been warning about this state of affairs for some years. Approximately 4 years ago I warned of the coming ”Melt Down”. To no avail. The analysts in the Health Department labs are appointed in terms of ethnicity and ideology and not in terms of their ability to do the work. When a previous head of the Laboratory in Pretoria, (Dr Viljoen), attempted to set an examination to regulate the incoming analysts he found that he was expected to appoint people who scored single figure results for the elementary chemistry examinations. The labs are swamped with incompetents and the work does not get done The net result was that he and the other heads of the laboratories have all left the state employ and are lost to the system. Their expertise is not even available to assist the state in pulling itself up by its bootstraps. At present there are nearly 5000 samples from the Salt River Mortuary which have not been analyzed. The talk is that they will be discarded. So much for justice. The departmental heads are not called to account for this disaster. Our courts have, for some time now, been grinding ever more to a halt because of the incompetence and disorganization of the laboratories that should be there to assist them. Morale at the police laboratories is low and the good scientists who are still there would leave if any other opportunities cross their path. Recently I became aware of a delay of 3 years in obtaining a post mortem report from the Tygerberg forensic department. This is just not good enough. I have not yet started on the disaster that is coming our way when the productive farms are taken and given to persons who cannot even use them for a proper subsistence, let alone a high technology productive farm to feed South Africa. There is only one way to stop the rot before it destroys the entire country. The government must stop the insane racist and aggressively affirmative policies that it has put in place. Corruption should be rooted out tooth and nail. All the available talent should be used in getting this country back on track. Stop the centralist interference in every aspect of our lives. It is not for the government to decide as to whether I may open a medical practice where so ever I wish. All that will happen is that the available source of doctors will dwindle as they head for greener pastures. The collective that have brought us to this pass will be blissfully prepared to blame it on the racist government. They are right there about the racism but it is their own racist policies that have brought us to the brink and not those of the previous dispensation. Education and security must take priority in government policies and non-performing ANC appointees should be kicked out forthwith. The business of suspension on full pay is an inducement to under-perform. Zuma is a national embarrassment is so many ways that it would be impossible to list them in the limited space at my disposal. However, his exuberant fecundity is the least of the issues. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7v4V13oy0cq-oN9IGpLjaEKqkVSDVi8TOSlXQuJILr0jpIl37sXLfeL4RmpNGK7GRtll_Mueeah5mXbGqfIKwCZlMNY1eWIg7Pn3mJanXguaabdqPibRtgIdTlpF3QLL5AdGqh2sw_IJl/s1600-h/zumatoilet.jpg"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7IxMahEzLHBiJ3oC3YfdFOOzDvy4ZI84e_cPlx4sXny_PYR2IqEj_f4tDuKZgAZDJPPqowFyEVO2HIdvVTlG0pUS1UuBqONQWAKH-79bg7tIcr9QNZqDvEz8kt6PoYv4P0iEyeRCiRj6T/s1600-h/zumastink.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5441504303299291330" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7IxMahEzLHBiJ3oC3YfdFOOzDvy4ZI84e_cPlx4sXny_PYR2IqEj_f4tDuKZgAZDJPPqowFyEVO2HIdvVTlG0pUS1UuBqONQWAKH-79bg7tIcr9QNZqDvEz8kt6PoYv4P0iEyeRCiRj6T/s400/zumastink.jpg" style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 400px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" /></a>My primary problem with Zuma is his lack of appreciation for anything other than immediate gratification without appreciation for the consequences. He says what he feels the audience wants to hear, without a jot of sincerity or any intention to perform. The appointment of Jon Qwelane as ambassador to Uganda sends the wrong message. Why send an openly homophobic man to a country where this lately achieved tolerance is under severe threat? Why appoint Menzi Simelani to his present position? The man is constitutionally and experientially unsuited to the job and in any event it kicks the notion of separation of power (enshrined in our constitution) in the teeth. One is left with the only rational conclusion that Zuma wants a pal who will not come after him in the little matter of corruption that seems to follow him like a black cloud. For a man who publicly demanded his day in court, he has gone to extraordinary lengths to avoid it. The disgraceful release on parole of Shaik is a slap in the face to our already foundering justice system. The only sense in which he was dying, was he was dying to get out and shop. Shame on you! It is high time, Mr Zuma, that you stop your philandering long enough to see that your party is systematically destroying this country. As a group, the ANC hierarchy is as racist and as corrupt as the Nationalists. History will judge you harshly. And by the way, we do not need aircraft (that nobody can fly) and corvettes to sit and rust in Simon’s Town, above education, policing and health. Maybe I could leave you as I started with two quotes from Martin Luther King: “Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity”. And finally, ”A riot is at the bottom, the language of the unheard”. Dr Klatzow is an independent forensic consultant.

Where the hell are we going?

Meltdown the inevitable result of ANC policies Dr. David Klatzow T he ANC led alliance came to power with many stated and lofty ideals. The...

9:44 AM

Billions worth of land given to people in Mpumalanga

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOGebdwvyW9viHbgrwJgTIhpu6p07hzT-eWVCnyfNSdAHQ3NV4dxJUHiRl5ANTNlh7shyphenhyphenSNbI6y1o9vKaKc-HlsiQD47fvy3ALUldVtqzrJ8KQXxLtZ5dd_C2DalrX3F38rnCwA2YBbiw/s1600-h/landclaims01.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5308740047068078322" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOGebdwvyW9viHbgrwJgTIhpu6p07hzT-eWVCnyfNSdAHQ3NV4dxJUHiRl5ANTNlh7shyphenhyphenSNbI6y1o9vKaKc-HlsiQD47fvy3ALUldVtqzrJ8KQXxLtZ5dd_C2DalrX3F38rnCwA2YBbiw/s400/landclaims01.jpg" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 218px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px" /></a>Land valued at billions of rands has been given to rural communities in Mpumalanga in the last five years, with over 20 000 beneficiaries, the provincial agriculture and land department said on Monday. "This is 278 137ha of land valued at R2 850 608,933 transferred to 27 865 beneficiaries," it said in a joint statement with the Regional Land Claims Commission-Mpumalanga (RLCC-MP), and the Mpumalanga Provincial Land Reform Office (MPLRO). This follows recent "negative" media reports with particular reference made to the Mpumalanga province. "[We] have come together under one umbrella to bring citizens of Mpumalanga up to speed about the status quo on government's land reform programmes," the statement read. Meanwhile, the MPLRO said it had transferred 345 000ha of land though various programmes since 1996. "The key mandate of the MPLRO remains the redistribution of 30% of white owned agricultural land to previously disadvantaged individuals by 2014 as well as the provision of tenure security." With regards to issues of land rights, the department said Mpumalanga was one of two provinces that had to deal not only with farm-occupier issues, but also 8 885 labour-tenant claims. The province had identified the importance of building strategic partnerships with the private sector in order to increase the sustainability of land reform projects. "To date support has been obtained from many of the commodity sectors and to this end a number of agreements with different agricultural partners have been facilitated." The department said one of the significant post-settlement challenges confronting the province was to ensure that communities maintain productivity of highly productive agricultural land transferred to them. "To acquire the necessary skills and experience while maintaining production on the farm the beneficiary communities forge strategic partnership with an experienced land owner or company," it said. "Through human support to all farms bought by government for restitution and land reform, the department has provided training. Some of the training has been done with Department of Labour." The department also ensured that beneficiaries had access to services such as boreholes for water and veterinary services. "These interventions have assisted local farmers to get into the export industry," it said, adding that it also established a land rights management facility to provide legal assistance to people facing eviction.

Billions worth of land given to people in Mpumalanga

Land valued at billions of rands has been given to rural communities in Mpumalanga in the last five years, with over 20 000 beneficiaries, t...

9:14 AM

Zim's horror on film

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcVRVaQwJ7tkvWNrW_dGwWjN9XIImbqYBaLCJpBaMBeiXiX7YJVEMBkxuYBBRzBPEczpnvOxRro6x-jt4XB3MrK_OYzcntfuix-1a3u1SIkxHPTNtLTbSmWr6EsC-pxSRJ9clrVptSi5A/s1600-h/zimbabwe-graves.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5308380378128873938" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcVRVaQwJ7tkvWNrW_dGwWjN9XIImbqYBaLCJpBaMBeiXiX7YJVEMBkxuYBBRzBPEczpnvOxRro6x-jt4XB3MrK_OYzcntfuix-1a3u1SIkxHPTNtLTbSmWr6EsC-pxSRJ9clrVptSi5A/s400/zimbabwe-graves.jpg" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 266px" /></a>A new Guardian film, smuggled out of the country, exposes horrors of man-made epidemic claiming thousands of lives <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/video/2009/feb/26/zimbabwe-cholera" name="&lid={inBodyVideo}{Link to this video}&lpos={inBodyVideo}{1}">Link to this video</a> <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/cholera">Cholera</a> is one of the most visible signs of <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/zimbabwe">Zimbabwe</a>'s collapse. It has claimed thousands of lives, infected tens of thousands of other people and left millions of impoverished, half-starved Zimbabweans living in fear of their own drinking water. But Robert Mugabe has tried to make cholera an invisible disease, hiding the dying in hastily erected treatment centres, behind barbed wire and police guards, and burying the victims away from prying foreign eyes. The president declared the epidemic over even as the numbers of dead were growing ever more rapidly, and claimed the spread of the disease was all a British plot. Now a new Guardian film, smuggled out of the country, reveals what Zimbabwe's autocratic leader does not want seen: the stark reality of life, and death, in the midst of a cholera outbreak that Médecins Sans Frontières only last week called part of a "massive medical emergency that is spiralling out of control". See Full Story - <a class="link-text" href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/feb/26/zimbabwe-cholera-mugabe" name="&lid={trailItemImageAndTrailText}{Mugabe splashes out on birthday bash as cholera spirals out of control}&lpos={trail}{1}">Zimbabwe: Cholera country</a> <a href="http://www.mg.co.za/section/article/2009-02-28-zims-horror-on-film">Zim's horror on film</a> A new Guardian film, smuggled out of the country, reveals what Zimbabwe’s autocratic leader does not want seen. - <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/video/2009/feb/26/zimbabwe-cholera" name="&lid={inBodyVideo}{Link to this video}&lpos={inBodyVideo}{1}">Link to this video</a> Source: guardian.co.uk <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/theguardian" name="&lid={contentTypeByline}{The Guardian}&lpos={contentTypeByline}{2}">The Guardian,</a> Thursday 26 February 2009

Zim's horror on film

A new Guardian film, smuggled out of the country, exposes horrors of man-made epidemic claiming thousands of lives Link to this video Chole...

8:05 AM

Farms collapse as land reform fails in South Africa

Looming crisis: Food production has not kept pace with South Africa’s population growth<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6xREMvvSqL2maAPrpG0t1R3AOJqt8ruJhhu4e8-hHDstf8zv_LmkPu84bOGZX7G_-dzWD75vDB2brkR8KFKaTHuEo899DVOdgdLc8mCFIhVw9DVlTQ4pyvCHZ0O9-HDvlxUVDhs7vs3U/s1600-h/bread_food.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5308199910983222210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6xREMvvSqL2maAPrpG0t1R3AOJqt8ruJhhu4e8-hHDstf8zv_LmkPu84bOGZX7G_-dzWD75vDB2brkR8KFKaTHuEo899DVOdgdLc8mCFIhVw9DVlTQ4pyvCHZ0O9-HDvlxUVDhs7vs3U/s400/bread_food.jpg" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 264px" /></a>SA becomes net importer of food as vast tracts of land lie fallow. South Africa’s food security is threatened by its chaotic rural land reform programme. Thousands of once-productive farms, mainly in KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga and Eastern Cape lie abandoned & causing serious shortages of staple foods. The country now imports more food than it exports and local production of grain, fruit and vegetables can no longer keep pace with the growing population. Uncertainty about South Africa’s land reform process — the authorities recently extended for the fourth time their deadline to finalise claims — has seen scores of commercial farmers stopping all investments in their properties. Others are leaving for more stable pastures, with many opting for Mozambique’s subtropical fruit and grain industry or stock farming in Botswana. Although there have been success stories in land restitution, the process aimed to improve livelihoods has left scores of communities divided and in debt. A private company appointed by the government as a strategic partner to provide management expertise for newly acquired restitution farms in Limpopo and Mpumalanga has collapsed, leaving beneficiaries owing millions in unpaid debt. This week, the Land Claims Commission said an audit of the struggling projects has been concluded, but failed to provide specifics. But it did say the Department of Agriculture and Land Affairs would take the lead in the implementation of a “revival strategy”. The new Land and Agrarian Reform Programme promises to put together support packages, employ project managers, engage strategic partners and landowners, procure investment and redesign farming operations. On a two-week visit to farms around the country, the Sunday Times discovered that: <ul><li>Twenty top crop and dairy farms in the Eastern Cape, bought for R11.6-million and returned to a Kokstad community, are now informal settlements; </li><li>A once-thriving potato farm in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands is now a makeshift soccer field; </li><li>Ten thousand people given back 8000ha of prime fruit and macadamia farms in Limpopo are crippled by R5-million debt; </li><li>A former multimillion-rand tea estate in Magoebaskloof in Limpopo has become an overgrown forest; </li><li>More than five tons of a macadamia nut crop on a reclaimed Limpopo farm was so poor that it was dumped into the Levubu river; and </li><li>A R22-million irrigation system built by the government to supply water to new farmers in KwaZulu-Natal lies unused. </li></ul>A lack of post-settlement support, with almost no monitoring and evaluation on the ground, are cited as the main reasons for the crisis. Ann Bernstein, executive director of the Centre for Development and Enterprise, a policy think-tank, said its research had shown that the economic viability of many rural regions was under serious threat. Some beneficiaries had no interest in farming but just wanted a secure place to stay, she said. “The issue is that at least 50% of land reform projects have failed, and that means for many of the people involved their circumstances have not improved — and for some, have even got worse. And all this is happening in the midst of a rise in food prices,” Bernstein said. AgriSA deputy president Dr Theo de Jager said the organisation was extremely concerned about collapsing farms. He said “too many decision-makers” in each claimant community had made it difficult for commercial farmers to enter into agreed joint partnership ventures or mentoring programmes. Andre Jooste, a senior manager at the National Agricultural Marketing Council, said they had seen a “relatively big increase” in the demand for food in the country. “The main concern with national food security is the fact that, since the early ’90s, the population has grown by 32% while overall agricultural production has only grown by 10%,” Jooste said. “I think the failures we see in land reform was an opportunity missed to increase food supply in the country. Production has not kept up with population increases and that should be a serious concern to all role players.” Food prices increased when there was restricted supply and big demand. Professor Ben Cousins, director of the Programme for Land and Agrarian Studies at the University of the Western Cape, said the land reform process had not succeeded in improving people’s livelihoods. “We’ve been measuring success in the wrong way by putting emphasis on speed in terms of meeting deadlines, which is counterproductive,” he said. Despite a co-ordinated revival plan, acting chief land claims commissioner Andrew Mphela said it was too early to measure performance or to talk of failure. He said that contrary to “popular rhetoric and biased reporting from certain quarters”, projects did not collapse but instead experienced “challenges”. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivjpSxM6KLVvI4-eL1llIkYDByjv2nPbU5W_CPqddo0cBfnFnnMGSiR4Od4j-w45JGUfBx2gBv_5hqal1u1KF7jfiOO9BX7IJIuQk88CzUXb5g22mR5F7OHxhAmbdhXhNlxxGWPj7raE4/s1600-h/HomelessNotLandless.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5308204742645745938" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivjpSxM6KLVvI4-eL1llIkYDByjv2nPbU5W_CPqddo0cBfnFnnMGSiR4Od4j-w45JGUfBx2gBv_5hqal1u1KF7jfiOO9BX7IJIuQk88CzUXb5g22mR5F7OHxhAmbdhXhNlxxGWPj7raE4/s400/HomelessNotLandless.jpg" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 212px" /></a>Mphela said most claims were only at an initial planning stage as far as post-settlement support was concerned. He said the government’s policy envisaged a 10-year period for implementation after claims had been concluded. Mphela described the Centre for Development and Enterprise as “self-proclaimed experts” whose claims were “baseless”, “frivolous” and “vexatious, if not outright mischievous”. He said land reform was not a simple process. “There is a human development dimension to it. There is a cultural dimension to it, which is about constructing the human spirit which was destroyed over decades. “It is precisely this culture of labour that was destroyed by apartheid in our people. In fact, it made them hate labour in all its forms because for them it was not voluntary. This aspect of land reform and restructuring of dignity is never understood.”

Farms collapse as land reform fails in South Africa

Looming crisis: Food production has not kept pace with South Africa’s population growth SA becomes net importer of food as vast tracts of la...

11:45 PM

Revealed: The horror of everyday life in Zimbabwe

Starving children eat rats, families turn on each other and farmers kill their own livestock to survive. Smuggled film brings Mugabe nightmare to world's attention <center><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/bvJNpkLxyzg&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/bvJNpkLxyzg&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object></center><div align="left"> A Guardian film smuggled out of Zimbabwe brings home the economic devastation and deprivation Robert Mugabe has wreaked upon his own people. Sam Chakaipa, at considerable risk to himself and as an act of resistance, returned clandestinely to his village, 125 miles from Harare, to document the plight of his former neighbours. The opposition activist has produced extraordinary footage of what Zimbabweans have to do in order to survive in a wrecked economy. As <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jan/30/zimbabwean-currency-worthless-patrick-chinamasa" title="">money is worthless</a> – Zimbabwe is plagued by the world's highest inflation rate – the villagers are reduced to panning for gold in rivers. Instead of attending school, youngsters from the village scrabble knee-deep in muddy water or dig ever deeper holes in a desperate search for a few grains of gold. These small supplies of the precious metal have thus become a crucial commodity Zimbabweans can trade for food; a loaf of bread is worth 0.1 grams. But only the young have the strength to dig and pan for gold; the village elders must go hungry, unless they have friends or relatives they can rely on. Some parents have been forced to feed rats to their children, and hunger has turned family members against each other. In a particularly wrenching scene in the video, a 15-year-old girl with a swollen face describes tearfully how her grandmother beat her to drive her away as she was an extra mouth to feed. She says she has not eaten for three days. </div><center> </center><div align="left"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/" lpos="{contentTypeByline}{2}" name="&lid=">guardian.co.uk</a></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div>

Revealed: The horror of everyday life in Zimbabwe

Starving children eat rats, families turn on each other and farmers kill their own livestock to survive. Smuggled film brings Mugabe nightma...

10:01 PM

Corrupt Zanu-PF loots SA R300 million Aid to Zim

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7dLZUcVOgVPG5l67fjmj9_rdNprqKMBu1i97HgtZ0ctd29DK729xqxdYK1fXcNfsvwxBri3T-PMejY5S-90X_HMf8AiKZg5n9NfwVZM6vOzk58WjMmGi6-t_ujThgHH2A7v0NMGsrNHM/s1600-h/mugabe_in_space.jpg"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1jGZrRFuP9_M0vMrdtPs-pEkMjRMddoiIWzDqzUcqXE4zDLA2DVdOdK72r7tZWJlu0afx7wqGaUjTOYj3iyLY3z0HZMLNra4GcQvj8NfIF_uRzYcet7qThgptPdRv9A4SOndQg6DndQs/s1600-h/mBurningTaxMoney.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306001747263106946" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1jGZrRFuP9_M0vMrdtPs-pEkMjRMddoiIWzDqzUcqXE4zDLA2DVdOdK72r7tZWJlu0afx7wqGaUjTOYj3iyLY3z0HZMLNra4GcQvj8NfIF_uRzYcet7qThgptPdRv9A4SOndQg6DndQs/s400/mBurningTaxMoney.jpg" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 250px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px" /></a>IN CASE anyone is concerned about what happened to the R300m worth of <a class="a_keyword_link" href="http://www.agriculturalcountry.com/" target="_blank">agricultural</a> inputs SA gave to <a class="a_keyword_link" href="http://www.zimbabwepost.com/" target="_blank">Zimbabwe</a> at Christmas, your worst <a class="a_keyword_link" href="http://www.climateoffear.com/" target="_blank">fears</a> have been realised. Yes, Zanu (PF) got its hands on the goodies. And perhaps a few farmers with party cards. SA entrusted the operation to the Southern African Development Community (SADC), which cobbled together the Zimbabwe Humanitarian and Development Assistance Framework (ZHDAF) to undertake the distribution of farm inputs. However, the inputs arrived in Zimbabwe while ZHDAF was still being put together and it appears that due to the urgency of getting the inputs out, the Zimbabwean government was entrusted with the operation. Corrupt Zanu-PF Members of Parliament have been implicated in a massive inputs scandal involving a syndicate that looted maize seed and fertilizer that were procured under the South African R300 million aid to Zimbabwe to bail out Zimbabwe’s crippled agriculture sector. The inputs were brought into the country recently but unfortunately fell in wrong hands of Zanu-PF members in influential positions. The revelations show that corrupt Zanu-PF members are abusing the South Africa's R300 million agriculture aid meant to support Zimbabwe's ailing farming sector. The MDC warned South Africa against handing over the aid to the Zanu-PF government before the conclusion of the inter-party talks. see <a href="http://southafrica-pig.blogspot.com/2009/01/south-africa-does-u-turn-gives-r300.html">South Africa does U-Turn Gives R300 Million Aid Direct to Zanu PF</a> The eight corrupt Zanu-PF legislators, who are close allies of Mugabe, believed to be Mugabe's henchmen, were working cohorts with some farmers and members of the public to swindle large quantities of the ammonium nitrate, Compound D and maize seed.Mugabe’s henchman, Brigadier General Douglas Nyikayaramba, handles the inputs that were sourced by South Africa. Nyikayaramba’s inputs committee has denied to name-and- shame the Zanu-PF thieves but sources in Parliament have promised to let the cat of the bag. However the four accused Zanu-PF supporters are Shingirai Mawere, Simon Machiri, Simbarashe Benhura, Paddington Mutasa. The other fraudsters are two Malawians who acquired 30 tonnes of Urea Fertilizer and 160 litres of diesel under unclear circumstances. The inputs committee says Mashonaland East Province tops the list of corruption cases, with 22 while six cases happened in Mashonaland East, and Matabeleland North has four cases. Mashonaland West and Masvingo have three cases each, while two cases were recorded in Harare.The process has lacked transparency and accountability. A key player in the distribution process is the Grain Marketing Board (GMB), a parastatal with a record of being a political agent of the state in Robert Mugabe’s food-for-votes schemes. GMB’s general manager, Albert Mandizha, who appears on Australia’s sanctions list, was senior assistant police commissioner . His predecessor was a former soldier. During the Zanu-PF conference in December, party members stole nine beasts, mealie-meal and other foodstuffs, as thuggery in the regime reared its ugly head. Zimbabwean farmers have failed to plant the summer crop due to a biting inputs shortage. Once Africa's breadbasket, the southern African nation has low agricultural outputs because of poor farming preparations. The UN says more than 5.5 million Zimbabweans require food aid this year. <a class="ArticleTitle" href="http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=84&art_id=vn20090208103918992C425413" id="article-title" target="_blank">SA's R300m aid gift to Zim a 'waste of money'</a> <a href="http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=84&art_id=vn20090208103918992C425413">Independent online (SA) </a> <a href="http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=84&art_id=vn20090208103918992C425413">Cape Argus</a> February 08 2009 (Do these boons have any clue about anything??) <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2JGdSwQuG2hKWjBJsSzZvZ51u7s3dpSityTvXXvnNMdxw_B3L2bHcvh-hEk-0bmZWMR0k2AGRce3ZCpT8AkMbb53HcCVilOKvoNtHbSHlJ2oDhzxXPKVdkyrSOJiU7AwRbZZA7JjdIvc/s1600-h/Mugabe-Kwazvimba2009.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306022808525343170" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2JGdSwQuG2hKWjBJsSzZvZ51u7s3dpSityTvXXvnNMdxw_B3L2bHcvh-hEk-0bmZWMR0k2AGRce3ZCpT8AkMbb53HcCVilOKvoNtHbSHlJ2oDhzxXPKVdkyrSOJiU7AwRbZZA7JjdIvc/s400/Mugabe-Kwazvimba2009.jpg" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" /></a>South African taxpayers' gift of R300-million to Zimbabwe was a waste of money and was misused for the benefit of President Robert Mugabe's cronies in Zanu-PF. The donation - or aid - was announced late last year by Finance Minister Trevor Manuel, who pledged the gift would only be handed over after an internationally-recognised government of national unity was formed. see <a href="http://southafrica-pig.blogspot.com/2009/01/south-africa-does-u-turn-gives-r300.html">South Africa does U-Turn Gives R300 Million Aid Direct to Zanu PF</a> President Kgalema Motlanthe repeated this assurance. An instant SADC foundation, the Zimbabwe Development Assistance Framework, was formed to channel agricultural inputs to Zimbabwean farmers. This framework is still not yet fully operational and its impartiality has been questioned. The aid began moving into the country before Christmas. It is mostly seed, fertiliser and fuel from South African companies and was sent despite warnings from Zimbabwean agriculturalists that most of it was too late for this summer season, and unless distributed carefully would be abused. Most of the seed arrived months too late to plant and is being eaten, and the wrong fertiliser was ordered for this time of year in the maturation cycle of annual crops like maize. Before Christmas, 60 000 litres of diesel was also sent into Zimbabwe for distribution. A senior civil servant, working in the depleted technical support network for farmers, Agritex, in the fertile Mashonaland West province, confirmed that South African aid was often only available to Zanu-PF supporters in parts of the country, particularly Mashonaland West, Mugabe's home province, and Mashonaland Central where Zanu-PF is also in control. The senior Agritex officer from Mashonaland West, who spoke on condition that he was not identified, said SADC had tried to provide for fair distribution by not using civil servants such as those from Agritex to disperse it. "The South Africans don't know how the system works. Not all of us are Zanu-PF. There are still a few professionals left in Agritex and we could have stopped this. The chiefs have to obey Zanu-PF even if they don't want to." In theory the monitoring of the South African-sponsored SADC aid was done by three church groups, seen by many Zimbabweans as aligned to Zanu-PF; the Evangelical Fellowship, the Zimbabwe Council of Churches and the Johannes Masowe Apostolic Church. At the height of the distribution last month the Catholics, cited as monitors in the department of agriculture circular, were supposed to have joined but had not yet been invited. Abdenico Bhebe, Movement for Democratic Change MP for Nkayi, one of the driest parts of Zimbabwe in the south west, said on Thursday his constituency had received no SADC aid packages. "Nothing, nothing, and there is also not enough food aid coming in either because the government is not fulfilling its part of the memorandum of understanding it signed with the NGO sector by providing 40 percent of food. "There is only Western food aid coming in, and people are hungry. We have received none of the SADC seeds and fertiliser but it would be too late now anyway." A hostile Agritex official at its head office in Harare denied that it was possible to misuse the aid, because he said a SADC official, whom he called Mr Whale, attended many of the distributions. But he conceded Whale couldn't be everywhere when the aid was handed out. Each village head was given - to dole out to seven or eight farmers in his precinct - three packs of South African seeds, 25kg of maize, 20kg of beans and 5kg of Rapoko, ground nuts, sorghum and cowpeas, and 50kg of fertiliser. Experienced seed growers for both commercial and communal farmers said the deadline for planting maize, sorghum and groundnuts passed in November, and that if seeds were sent to Zimbabwe after this, when so many people were hungry, they would all be "consumed as food". According to the latest Ministry of Agriculture circular, distribution began on January 19, although maize seed had arrived in Zimbabwe a week earlier. Most of the rest of the inputs arrived a week later. The World Food Programme has upped its estimates of Zimbabweans needing food aid from 5.2 million to more than 7 million and it says it does not have enough donations to buy food for those in need and so it cut rations again this month.

Corrupt Zanu-PF loots SA R300 million Aid to Zim

IN CASE anyone is concerned about what happened to the R300m worth of agricultural inputs SA gave to Zimbabwe at Christmas, your worst fea...

8:02 AM

Farmers Leaving South Africa

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuymEb1v3ZLNS-Va1KcwSnN1-ed4cWBg5njM1yYEE0F0pYZwctMFfPzhGyVADYGdKpKpy8iJ9FFEvgzin_HQ9REGis6KQCcXAWAz0ovWS7csGRSITgXvGF4LFCX5EbV5bbeC-pKgss3UM/s1600-h/cape-town-wheat-farm.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5301303433240367570" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuymEb1v3ZLNS-Va1KcwSnN1-ed4cWBg5njM1yYEE0F0pYZwctMFfPzhGyVADYGdKpKpy8iJ9FFEvgzin_HQ9REGis6KQCcXAWAz0ovWS7csGRSITgXvGF4LFCX5EbV5bbeC-pKgss3UM/s320/cape-town-wheat-farm.jpg" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 310px" /></a>The number of commercial farmers in South Africa have plummeted from a high of 85,000 in 1994 to 11,600 today. The new numbers, released by South African farmers union Agri-SA, become even more of a shock given the number was approximately 13,500 a few months back. The mostly White, Afrikaaner-Boer farmers find themselves increasingly marginalized in a society that views them as “land barons”, a government that looks to expropriate their land, and “war like conditions” which include a corrupt police force. “The increase in armed attacks, robbery and theft of farm products and implements holds serious financial implications for agriculture in our country. This high crime rate is experienced by the industry as economic sabotage,” said Agri-SA spokesman André Botha. Farmers have been moving to neighboring African countries, whose governments have invited the farmers because of their expertise in producing bountiful crops in the tough African conditions. In addition to the loss of commercial farmers, more than 1 million black African farm workers have become unemployed and have had to move their families to squatter camps. In total, approximately 5 million people have been displaced.

Farmers Leaving South Africa

The number of commercial farmers in South Africa have plummeted from a high of 85,000 in 1994 to 11,600 today. The new numbers, released by ...

2:08 PM

KZN R40-million campaign - food packs for the poor being sold

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJhkoizx6oc0we316ejgRqsF_a2PcyuGj5BTrEnQzkQIcGeptKjL2dz_D7Bvmr4Z2iXv-8qg7OOOYAlZjqo8ZzXBcx_RpuKf1xAkXF6tLtaF8c8Mmg9IDeDTPAjFkO5SLzQ67TeDYmv7k/s1600-h/kzn-fight-against-poverty.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5293446683677449666" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJhkoizx6oc0we316ejgRqsF_a2PcyuGj5BTrEnQzkQIcGeptKjL2dz_D7Bvmr4Z2iXv-8qg7OOOYAlZjqo8ZzXBcx_RpuKf1xAkXF6tLtaF8c8Mmg9IDeDTPAjFkO5SLzQ67TeDYmv7k/s400/kzn-fight-against-poverty.jpg" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px" /></a>Seed packs to help poor families grow and produce their own food to ward off crippling food prices are being unlawfully sold for cash, the KwaZulu-Natal agriculture department said on Monday. "Two old ladies reported to us on Saturday that there are individuals who demand money from beneficiaries of the food security campaign. "This initiative was meant for the poor public... not a few greedy criminals who want to enrich themselves at the expense of the poor people," spokesperson Khulekani Ntshangase said in a statement. The department introduced the R40-million project late last year following the constant rise of food prices. Local municipalities, tribal leaders and faith-based organisations were roped in to identify vulnerable residents. They were to be provided with seeds and farming equipment. Instead of handing the goods out for free, individuals tasked with doing so were asking for payment. Ntshangase said those involved had yet to be identified. "The department is working to isolate those individuals who are involved in this money extortion scheme. We will approach the police and request them to give this matter urgent attention," he said. He urged members of the public to report the wrongdoers to the department and the police. "Our fight against poverty will not be derailed by criminals. We will expose them and give them a one-way ticket to jail," he said.

KZN R40-million campaign - food packs for the poor being sold

Seed packs to help poor families grow and produce their own food to ward off crippling food prices are being unlawfully sold for cash, the K...

7:58 AM

ANC fat cats looted Land Bank of R2-billion

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghMUB1zGpW33jWbFQHQqKDF7AwdkKTXp4fkDJaVnFSvFLj59DBAA_kFE9QlOmp4YijjTEECHGkH2IyUs2o0AFNjCTOKw0p-q2G7bqT4cb1iAOfxai3xwH4YM49-wWCwaS3c-yZx9DLtfo/s1600-h/landbanklooted.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5225084901502362194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghMUB1zGpW33jWbFQHQqKDF7AwdkKTXp4fkDJaVnFSvFLj59DBAA_kFE9QlOmp4YijjTEECHGkH2IyUs2o0AFNjCTOKw0p-q2G7bqT4cb1iAOfxai3xwH4YM49-wWCwaS3c-yZx9DLtfo/s400/landbanklooted.jpg" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" /></a>The removal of minister of land and agriculture, Lulu Xingwana, as political head of the ailing Land Bank provides a good opportunity for minister of finance, Trevor Manuel, to embark on a thorough clean-out of the corruption that has become synonymous with that institution. The Land Bank is undoubtedly one of the most mismanaged public entities. It is corrupt to the core. Under Xingwana and her predecessor, Thoko Didiza, the Land Bank became a private kitty for politically connected fat cats. The government’s initial mandate for the bank — which, under apartheid, was Afrikaner agriculture’s private lender — was a noble one . The bank was supposed to deracialise the country’s agricultural sector through, among other things, the targeted financing of emerging farmers, and helping historically disadvantaged South Africans enter the food-production sector. </li><ul></ul>The mandate also required the bank to “ ensure that resource-poor farmers would become active participants in mainstream commercial agriculture ... while continuing to service commercial farmers”. Implicit in this was the role of the bank in ensuring South Africa’s food security, something even more imperative now, in the context of the international food crisis. The government mandated that the bank’s money be used for agricultural purposes. It remains a mystery why bank bosses deemed it fit to deviate from that . What the country’s struggling farmers witnessed instead was the opposite of what the bank was mandated to achieve. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMWXWWK3_grtDzIA_d4iQntvSMQBhB3p7-Nkrc1m4IoxZ52J-jqIrwtHBRUjxs_EulLv42FWlE64QruKKXCfUTl3Zzb2VthVozOJaF0Befjaa2R5NpH8NG6-EwgEkxMiTMpE0CQiNruYs/s1600-h/land+and+agri.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5225072172528176866" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMWXWWK3_grtDzIA_d4iQntvSMQBhB3p7-Nkrc1m4IoxZ52J-jqIrwtHBRUjxs_EulLv42FWlE64QruKKXCfUTl3Zzb2VthVozOJaF0Befjaa2R5NpH8NG6-EwgEkxMiTMpE0CQiNruYs/s400/land+and+agri.jpg" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" /></a> Poor farmers were left stranded while hundreds of millions of rands were dished out to the elite few to invest in golf resorts and other property developments. In an act reminiscent of a banana republic , one of the recipients allegedly used a large chunk of this generosity to finance the purchase of a soccer team. More worrying is that those responsible for looting and pillaging the bank have not been brought to account. Among them are those bank officials who used more than R2-billion of the bank’s allocations to fund their close friends and business associates. The audit revealed that:<ul><li>Former Land Bank CEO Alan Mukoki and his executives had deviated from the Land Bank’s mandate without the board approval of Didiza and funded companies that had nothing to do with agriculture;</li><li>Three different law firms had advised the Land Bank against using tax payers’ money to fund golf estates.</li><li>More than R300-million was given to a company called Amber Mountain Investments to develop an upmarket equestrian estate in the KwaZulu-Natal north coast. Another multimillion-rand golf estate was developed in Midrand using money from the Land Bank. Amber Mountain features prominent businessman Abe Maduna and Paul Baloyi, the CEO of the Development Bank of South Africa (DBSA), as directors .</li><li>Mukoki’s Executive Assistant and then Acting Head of Internal Audit Daryl Rose also had financial interest in the companies that benefited from the loans. This includes a company called Northern Jungle Trading, which was granted a R247-million loan by the Land Bank to develop a golf estate in the Vaal area.</li><li>Sam Mkhabela, a Land Bank board member who has since resigned, also benefited from the Northern Jungle loan.</li><li>A Land Bank loan was also used to help KwaZulu Natal sugar tycoon Patrick Sokhela to buy PSL status for his team, Amazulu, after he had failed to raise the money on the open market. Sokhela also received a R700-million loan to buy a sugar mill, a loan whose size over-exposed the bank</li></ul>We trust that Manuel’s team will leave no stone unturned in its quest to clean up the bank. The negligence or complicity of Didiza and Xingwana in the mismanagement must be established. What is clear is crimes were committed. The South African public will expect criminal investigations to follow. Source <a class="newshead" href="http://www.thetimes.co.za/News/Article.aspx?id=804790" target="_parent">Muck out the Land Bank sty </a>

ANC fat cats looted Land Bank of R2-billion

The removal of minister of land and agriculture, Lulu Xingwana, as political head of the ailing Land Bank provides a good opportunity for mi...

5:01 AM

South Africa P.I.G.