US embassy cable - 03HARARE583

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 HARARE 000583 
 
SIPDIS 
 
NSC FOR SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR J. FRAZER 
LONDON FOR C. GURNEY 
PARIS FOR C. NEARY 
NAIROBI FOR T. PFLAUMER 
USAID/W FOR DCHA/OFDA FOR HAJJAR, KHANDAGLE AND MARX, 
DCHA/FFP FOR LANDIS, BRAUSE, SKORIC AND PETERSEN, 
AFR/SA FOR POE AND COPSON, AFR/SD FOR ISALROW AND WHELAN 
PRETORIA FOR FFP DISKIN AND OFDA BRYAN 
NAIROBI FOR DCHA/OFDA/ARO FOR RILEY, MYER AND SMITH, 
REDSO/ESA/FFP FOR SENYKORR 
ROME PLEASE PASS TO FODAG 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/20/2013 
TAGS: PGOV, EAID, KHIV, ZI 
SUBJECT: FOOD AID PROGRAM JUST IN TIME IN LOWER GWERU 
 
Classified By: POLITICAL OFFICER KIMBERLY JEMSION FOR REASONS 1.5 (B) A 
ND (D). 
 
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Summary 
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1.  (U) PolOff attended the official launch of the Consortium 
for Southern African Famine Emergency (C-SAFE) project by 
CARE International in Lower Gweru, Midlands province on March 
13.  Food distributions are occurring just in time, as 
several people had collapsed in the weeks preceding CARE 
distributions.  In addition, at least 20 people have also 
died due to AIDS-related illnesses over the last few weeks. 
 
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Lower Gweru Food Just in Time 
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2.  (U) PolOff attended the official launch of the Consortium 
for Southern African Famine Emergency (C-SAFE) project by 
CARE International in Lower Gweru, Midlands province on March 
13.  C-SAFE is a regional food assistance program to 
Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Malawi involving CARE International, 
World Vision, and Catholic Relief Services.  The Zimbabwe 
program targets 664,746 beneficiaries in seven districts. 
CARE is working in Gweru and Chirumhanzu in Midlands province 
and Gutu in Masvingo province. 
 
3.  (U) PolOff spoke with a Gweru-based field officer about 
the situation in Gweru.  The field officer, who began working 
with CARE in January, said this was the first time CARE would 
be distributing all three commodities--10-kg whole-kernel 
corn, 1.8 kg beans, and 600 ml vegetable oil--to 
beneficiaries.  This was the third distribution for the ward. 
 
4.  (U) The field officer told PolOff that he could see the 
difference in the community.  He said prior to the February 
distribution, which was  actually distributed the week of 
March 3, people had been fainting and children were not 
attending school regularly because of hunger.  The field 
officer and Stephen Gwynne-Vaughn, the Assistant Country 
Director, said they distributed the February rations late 
because of problems getting commodities across the South 
African/Zimbabwe border at Beitbridge.  Both said they got to 
Lower Gweru just in time. 
 
5.  (U) Crops in the region were in very poor condition. 
Corn stalks were either dried out or appeared severely 
stunted.  MDC MP for Gweru Rural, Renson Gasela, told PolOff 
that the people in his constituency would harvest little if 
anything and will need food assistance until this time next 
year. 
 
6.  (U) The field officer said that, overall, compilation of 
the beneficiary list went well except that people who lived 
in growth points were denied access to relief food, as were 
people with formal sector employment.  People living near 
growth points were classified as living in an urban area and 
were declared ineligible for food aid.  The field officer 
thought this ridiculous because the people living in the 
growth points are no better off than their neighbors in the 
more rural areas.  (Note: A growth point is a collection of 
permanent commercial structures in a rural area. The growth 
point often includes a grocery store, barbershop/beauty 
salon, butcher, and a bottle store.  People living in and 
around the growth point may also have piped water and 
electricity.  End note.) 
 
7.  (U) The field officer complained to PolOff that even 
though he and his colleagues helped distribute hundreds of 
tons of corn, they do not have any corn from which to make 
sadza, the staple cornmeal mush eaten daily.  He said he and 
his colleagues had complained to CARE about their plight, 
asking for assistance in procuring corn, but were informed 
that they were ineligible to receive CARE food.  The field 
officer also said their long work hours made it difficult for 
them to shop. 
 
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AIDS Taking Its Toll 
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8.  (U) During the drive to the distribution site, PolOff 
noticed at least a score of new graves in the Gweru cemetery. 
 The field officer mentioned there had been more than 20 
deaths over the last two weeks.  He thought they were most 
likely due to AIDS-related illnesses.  He commented that the 
cemeteries could not keep up with demand and that funeral 
services were on a 30-40 minute schedule to accommodate all 
mourners. 
 
----------------------------------- 
Mugabe Capitalizes on C-SAFE Launch 
----------------------------------- 
9.  (U) The official ceremony consisted of skits and songs by 
the primary and secondary school children and women and of 
speeches by local government officials (the CARE field 
officer told PolOff that the District Administrator recently 
ensured that the government's Grain Marketing Board (GMB) 
food was reserved for teachers and nurses), headmen, chiefs, 
CARE representatives, and Governor Msipa.  The skits focused 
on the registration process while the songs thanked CARE and 
C-SAFE for coming to the community's aid and described how 
life had been before C-SAFE/CARE.  (Note: Governor Msipa 
translated the skits and songs.  End Note.) 
 
10.  (U) Governor Msipa,s speech began as an apolitical 
oratory but then became somewhat political.  He began by 
thanking CARE and C-SAFE for assisting the people of Gweru. 
He stressed that distribution should be apolitical and that 
people who receive CARE food should not also receive GMB 
food.  He also urged CARE to address the complaints of the 
wage earners who were ineligible for aid but could not find 
food to purchase and to find a solution to the growth point 
dilemma.  CARE's Assistant Country Director Gwynne-Vaughn 
seemed surprised to hear about this characterization of 
growth points as urban areas and seemed willing to work on a 
solution.  He also wondered aloud to PolOff whether the 
ineligibility was due to the people having formal sector 
employment. 
 
11.  (U) Then, as testament to the politician that he is, 
Msipa told the audience that he had met with President Robert 
Mugabe and informed him of the plight of the people of Lower 
Gweru and the launch of the C-SAFE project.  Mugabe told 
Msipa to tell the people that he was working for them and 
that he suffered with them.  Mugabe gave Msipa several bags 
of fertilizer, which were delivered midway through the 
ceremony, for the ward. 
 
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Comment 
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12.  (C) PolOff was surprised at the ZANU-PF fertilizer 
donation at, what was to be, an apolitical CARE/C-SAFE launch 
and food distribution.  As far as PolOff could ascertain, 
none of the other speeches, skits, or songs hinted at a 
political party, although MDC member, Renson Gasela, who is 
on trial for treason with Morgan Tsvangirai and Welshman 
Ncube, represents the district.  Gwynne-Vaughn also was 
surprised by the fertilizer donation, commenting to PolOff 
that the normally moderate Msipa was a politician after all. 
 
13. (C) Comment Continued: PolOff is not sure if the Gweru 
beneficiaries were aware of the origin of the food, although 
the vegetable oil cans were printed with the letters USA. 
The corn bags were printed with WFP and the beans were from 
the U.S.  During the ceremony, PolOff was introduced with the 
remark that the U.S. is the largest food aid donor.  In his 
speech, Gwynne-Vaughn also mentioned that the U.S. is the 
biggest donor to WFP and that USAID sponsors C-SAFE, although 
it was not clear how many of those in the audience knew of 
USAID's connection with the U.S. Government.  End Comment. 
SULLIVAN