Subject: Food Import and Distribution

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 HARARE 001318

SIPDIS

DCHA/FFP FOR LANDIS, WELLER, MUTAMBA, PETERSEN
DCHA/OFDA FOR GOTTLIEB, PRATT, MENGHETTI, MARX
AFR/SA FOR LOKEN, COPSON, HIRSCH
EGAT FOR HOBGOOD, THOMPSON, HESS, MCGAHUEY, GILL,
RUSHIN-BELL, HURDUS
STATE/AF FOR NEULING, MOZENA
USUN FOR EMALY
NAIROBI FOR ESTES, DNIRANGO, PUTNAM
PRETORIA FOR SINK, DISKIN, HALE
ROME FOR FODAG FOR NEWBERG


E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EAID EAGR PREL US ZI
SUBJECT: Subject: Food Import and Distribution
Problems Continue Hopeful Signs

REF: STATE 99848


1. Summary: Since April 2004, the import and
distribution of food aid in Zimbabwe have been
constrained by ambiguous GOZ requirements and
unresolved issues concerning the quality of US-
donated food. Currently there are no large
amounts of food waiting for distribution or
import, but it will be important to resolve
remaining obstacles before large-scale food
distribution through the World Food Program (WFP)
is scheduled to begin in October. In light of a
recent statement President Mugabe made against
non-governmental organizations (NGOs),it will
also be important to ensure that NGOs have
sufficient leeway to distribute food on a
nonpartisan basis. Fortunately, NGOs have seen
recent signs of progress in being able to import
and distribute food aid, and post will continue
to work with WFP and major NGOs on these issues.
End Summary.


2. Background: Since the start of Zimbabwe's
food crisis in 2002, USAID has been distributing
food to vulnerable Zimbabweans through WFP and a
consortium of NGOs called the Consortium for the
Southern Africa Food Security Emergency (C-SAFE).
The consortium is composed of CARE, World Vision
(WV) and Catholic Relief Services (CRS). Since
April 2004, various problems have impeded the
import and distribution of food despite several
donor attempts, including by post, to intervene
with the GOZ on behalf of NGOs. These problems,
which have gained increasing media attention,
include delays in issuing import permits,
requirements that NGOs enter into Memoranda of
Understanding (MOUs) with line ministries, and
food quality tests.


3. Import Permits Procedures: From the beginning
of the food crisis in early 2002 until April
2004, the Ministry of Agriculture, with a support
letter from the Ministry of Social Welfare (MSW),
issued import permits for food aid commodities on
behalf of the GOZ. The process for obtaining a
permit was well defined and, generally, ran
smoothly. In April 2004, the GOZ declared an end
to the food emergency and abruptly changed import
permit procedures. Instead of the MSW taking the
lead, the new procedures required the line
ministry most closely aligned with a food
distribution activity (e.g., the Ministry of
Health for health and HIV-related feeding, and
the Ministry of Education for school feeding) to
issue support letters. With the different
ministries taking different approaches, the exact
requirements for food importation became
ambiguous overnight. Between May 2004 and
September 2005, C-SAFE was unsuccessful in
obtaining any import permit, although WFP did
import food with support from the Ministry of
Health. Only in September 2005 did C-SAFE
finally obtain a permit from the Ministry of
Agriculture, despite repeated interventions on
its behalf by WFP officials, the USAID Director,
and the Ambassador. C-SAFE now has approval to
import oil, pinto beans, and 1700 MT of bulgur
wheat and it has applied for approval for an
additional 2000 MT of bulgur wheat. Some of
these commodities are already in Durban while
others are en route.


4. Memoranda of Understanding: The GOZ has
consistently required that an organization
distributing food aid have an MOU with a
government ministry. The GOZ's rationale is that
a relevant line ministry must exercise technical
oversight for NGO activities (e.g., the Ministry
of Education for school feeding programs). From
the beginning of the food crisis in 2002, both
WFP and C-SAFE NGOs distributed food under an
umbrella MOU between WFP and MSW until that
agreement expired in June 2004. Since then, WFP
and the individual C-SAFE NGOs have been trying
to negotiate new agreements with line ministries.
WFP has succeeded in entering into an MOU with
the Ministry of Health, to cover feeding programs
in support of HIV, and has an MOU pending with
the Ministry of Education for school feeding.
Unable to conclude any MOU, to date C-SAFE has
not been able to expand any of its targeted food
distribution activities. Just in the last few
weeks, however, the GOZ informally notified WFP
that it will again allow NGOs to operate under a
WFP umbrella MOU for the coming food insecure
season, starting in October.


5. GOZ concerns with NGOs: Earlier this week,
President Mugabe reportedly told Secretary
General Annan in New York that the GOZ does not
want to give a role to NGOs so they can
politicize food distribution. WFP, however,
informs us that it does not anticipate any
negative impact on its food distribution program.
WFP already has written GOZ approval to
distribute food through NGOs. Moreover, WFP
tells us that when they have asked the GOZ if it
has concerns about any of WFP's implementing
partners, they have received assurances that the
NGOs operating under the WFP umbrella are all
acceptable.


6. C-SAFE Food Stocks: At the end of June 2004,
C-SAFE had about 31,000 MT of food in Zimbabwe.
Since that time, it distributed about 20,000 MT
through targeted feeding in schools, hospitals,
and food-for-work programs and was able to import
only about 3,000 MT. Currently C-SAFE has
approximately 14,000 MT remaining in stock, of
which about half (7,500 MT) is sorghum. C-SAFE
uses the sorghum in its Market Assistance Program
(MAP) that sells subsidized sorghum to the urban
poor at a nominal price. The MAP currently
operates in Bulawayo, Gweru, and Hwange, but C-
SAFE has been unable to expand the MAP to other
urban centers primarily because local offices of
the Zimbabwean Revenue Authority have insisted
that the sale of sorghum must be subject to tax.
Post will continue to support C-SAFE in trying to
resolve the issue.


7. Food quality tests: In late 2004 and early
2005, it became apparent that some of the corn-
soy-blend (CSB) that both WFP and C-SAFE used in
school feeding was over-fortified (i.e., the
content of iron and zinc exceeded maximum
allowable levels) REFTEL. In response to this
over-fortification, the MOH increased the range
and rigor of its routine laboratory testing to
certify food aid as acceptable for human
consumption in Zimbabwe. In May 2005, before a
resolution was reached, the GOZ prohibited the
use of any CSB in Zimbabwe, regardless of
manufacturer or country of origin. As a result,
school feeding activities in Zimbabwe came to a
virtual halt. In August 2005, after continued
lobbying by WFP, the GOZ allowed non-U.S. CSB to
be distributed in targeted programs, but school
feeding has not yet reopened due to delays in
acquiring approval from the Ministry of
Education.


8. Food quality tests continued: The GOZ's more
rigorous inspection of food stocks, following
disclosure of over-fortified CSB, has led to
other food quality issues that have delayed
importation. Specifically, the GOZ's tests have
found "unacceptable" levels of zinc and/or lead
in large amounts of US-donated food stocks that
were imported through Durban. Although
independent tests confirmed that most of the food
was fine, the GOZ never granted health
certificates for 8,000 MT of food that was stored
in Durban. As a result, this food was diverted
to other programs in the region. Also, the
increased rigor of the GOZ's food testing
highlighted that its maximum allowable levels of
mineral fortification for zinc and iron are below
that of US standards. USDA and Food for Peace
technical staff are in Harare this week to
investigate possible causes of these
discrepancies in food quality tests.


9. Comment: GOZ bureaucratic processes have
hindered the importation and distribution of food
aid to vulnerable Zimbabweans for more than a
year. Although there is a rationality to the
GOZ's procedures in the sense that they attempt
to provide technical oversight of NGO activities,
their cumbersome nature and the lack of
transparency ensure interminable delays in the
import and distribution of food. Mugabe's recent
public lambasting of NGOs raises additional
worries. Although WFP is confident that it can
distribute food through NGOs as planned, the
GOZ's history of harassing NGOs highlights the
need to monitor this closely.


10. Comment continued: C-SAFE's recent success
in obtaining preliminary import permits for food
en route, and GOZ statements that it will "waive"
MOU requirements for the coming year for NGOs
working under WFP, hold out some hope that the
welfare of hungry Zimbabweans will prevail over
bureaucratic obstinacy. However, food inspection
issues still remain unresolved so food
commodities en route to Durban may yet be held up
in this morass. With the GOZ's financial
capacity to purchase imported food still
uncertain, any such delays will only harm the
most vulnerable.
DELL