ED Declares State of Disaster | Pleads with Donors
Zimbabwe expects 868,273 metric tonnes of grain from the 2023/24 agricultural season, 680,000 metric tonnes less than the country’s needs.
ED Declares State of Disaster | Pleads with Donors
Mnangagwa has declared the ongoing El Nino-induced drought gripping the country a national disaster. He made the declaration this morning at the State House in Harare.
In a statement, ED said:
“Dear Zimbabweans, the foregoing situation of the climate change-induced drought requires measures and interventions as provided for in our laws. To that end, I do hereby declare a nationwide State of Disaster due to the El Nino-induced drought.
“Accordingly, I now invoke Section 27, Subsection 1 of the Civil Protection Act (Chapter 10:6), which provides that: “if any time it appears to the President that any disaster of such a nature and extent that extraordinary measures are necessary to assist and protect the persons affected or likely to be affected by the disaster in any area of the country, the Presidency may, in such a manner as he considers fit, declare that, with effect from a date specified by him, a state of disaster exists within an area or areas specified by him in the Declaration.”
About 80% of the country received below-normal rainfall even though farmers had put 1.72 million hectares under maize and other cereals according to the statement.
The outbreak of the Fall Army Worm worsened the already dreadful situation.
The Zimbabwe Livelihoods Assessment Committee Report of 2023 noted that 2.7 million Zimbabweans would be food insecure from April 2023 to March 2024.
However, the drought exacerbated the predicament, and the figure will balloon as the year progresses.
ED Declares State of Disaster | Pleads with Donors
Zimbabwe expects 868,273 metric tonnes of grain from the 2023/24 agricultural season, 680,000 metric tonnes less than the country’s needs. ED suggested that this deficit will be covered by imports.
Mnangagwa emphasised:
“No Zimbabwean must succumb to or die from hunger. Adequate resources will, therefore, be mobilised and redirected towards national food security, including through supplementary food imports.
“Available grain in the country will be secured through competitive prices and prompt payment towards encouraging farmers to release and sell available grain, including to the Grain Marketing Board.”
In an appeal for donations, ED said that the interventions to deal with the national disaster will require US$2 billion.
Ironically, he pleaded with Zimbabweans in the diaspora and the international community for donations. He said:
“I also call upon all Zimbabweans of goodwill, including those in the diaspora, the international community, United Nations Agencies, Development and Humanitarian Partners, International Financial Institutions, the private sector, churches and other faith-based organisations, as well as individuals, to generously donate towards ameliorating this State of National Disaster.”
