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Zimbabwe 'retains aid controls' | Zimbabwe 'retains aid controls' |
(6 days later) | |
Aid agencies in Zimbabwe have complained that they remain subject to tight government controls despite the lifting of a ban on food aid. | Aid agencies in Zimbabwe have complained that they remain subject to tight government controls despite the lifting of a ban on food aid. |
Hopes that the government meant well by lifting the ban "were dashed", Fambai Ngirande, a spokesman for Zimbabwean aid groups, told the BBC. | Hopes that the government meant well by lifting the ban "were dashed", Fambai Ngirande, a spokesman for Zimbabwean aid groups, told the BBC. |
They have to submit information on their staffing, equipment and operations or risk being barred. | |
The government imposed the ban, saying aid was being used politically. | The government imposed the ban, saying aid was being used politically. |
It was introduced ahead of a presidential election in June and lifted last week. | It was introduced ahead of a presidential election in June and lifted last week. |
Aid agencies have always denied government charges that they were helping the opposition campaign. | Aid agencies have always denied government charges that they were helping the opposition campaign. |
Critics of President Robert Mugabe accuse his government of only distributing food aid to his supporters - they say the ban was to make this more effective. | Critics of President Robert Mugabe accuse his government of only distributing food aid to his supporters - they say the ban was to make this more effective. |
Form-filling | |
Mr Ngirande told the BBC's Network Africa programme that government officials made repeated threats - to investigate aid agencies or strike them off the register - at a meeting on Monday to explain the conditions for lifting the ban. | |
He said police officers were present, and that all aid distribution would have to be done in conjunction with local officials. | He said police officers were present, and that all aid distribution would have to be done in conjunction with local officials. |
An official from the Social Welfare ministry, Lancaster Museka, told the state-owned Herald newspaper that aid agencies would have to fill in forms detailing all the money they had received and how it had been used. | |
The form must also list where and when they have distributed food aid, he said. | |
The form must be signed by the agency's head, who can be prosecuted if any information is inaccurate, the Herald reports. | |
International aid agencies have broadly welcomed the end of the ban. | International aid agencies have broadly welcomed the end of the ban. |
Agencies have warned that the maize harvest has been the worst on record and that by the end of the year, more than five million people - almost half the population - could be dependent on food aid. | Agencies have warned that the maize harvest has been the worst on record and that by the end of the year, more than five million people - almost half the population - could be dependent on food aid. |
Talks to resolve Zimbabwe's economic and political crisis remain deadlocked. | Talks to resolve Zimbabwe's economic and political crisis remain deadlocked. |
Mr Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai are unable to agree on how to share power. | Mr Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai are unable to agree on how to share power. |
Both claim to have won this year's elections. | Both claim to have won this year's elections. |
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