News / National
President pleads Int'l Community to donate US$250 million to WFP-Zim emergency operation
27 Dec 2020 at 07:20hrs | Views
Emej Zimbabwe (Economic Movement for Equality and Justice) party President, Maxwell Teedzai has pleaded the international community including the U.S., U.K and Russia to donate US$250 million to support WFP-Zimbabwe emergency operation for millions in Zimbabwe at-risk of hunger in year 2021.
"The government of Zimbabwe through its lack of legislative and economic policy justice has slipped about 8 million Zimbabweans, that's about half of the country's population into the below poverty line as inflation reaches its highest in a decade, and for that I plead with the international community to generously donate towards efforts by WFP to feed starving people in my country as 2020 - 2021 cropping season is likely to experience crop failure for almost half of our rural population who depend on subsistence farming while hidden hunger in towns and cities around the country will continue to mercilessly devour the country's people and moral fabric," Teedzai said in response to a recent tweet by WFP director in Zimbabwe.
Francesca Erdelmann the country representative of WFP-Zimbabwe tweeted and said:
"📣 @WFP is currently assisting 1.2 million in rural areas & 327,000 in urban areas thanks to the support of our donors.
WFP must continue to scale up its efforts ahead of the lean season, but we can't do this without an additional US$204 million in funding," read the tweet.
Teedzai cited the WFP projections indicated that by year's end, the number of food insecure Zimbabweans will have surged by almost 50 percent to touch 8.6 million – a staggering 60 percent of the population – owing to the combined effects of drought, economic recession and the pandemic.
"Emej Zimbabwe is pursuing a moral policy agenda through which it seeks to put pressure on government to do the honourable thing and pave way for democratic transform. My plea is for the international community to assist impoverished Zimbabweans with the support they need as they've become helpless and hopeless and are stuck in between their present woes and the dream for a New Zimbabwe where everyone can thrive. The people are demanding an equal share of the national cake and as Emej Zimbabwe we promise to deliver that New Zimbabwe without economic injustices and social inequalities and where the rule is not selectively applied," said Teedzai.
He added saying despite having opposition movements in Zimbabwe the plight of the poor continued to go unwatched and nobody seemed to care what they eat, wear or drink in this heavily depressed Zimbabwean economy.
"I sincerely want to personally thank the U.S. State Department and the people of America for remaining committed to helping the impoverished millions in my country and the facts tell me the United States remains the largest bilateral donor of emergency humanitarian assistance in Zimbabwe and that in Fiscal Year 2019 USAID's Office of Food for Peace (FFP) provided more than $100 million to the UN World Food Program (WFP) to distribute in-kind food and cash transfers to food-insecure populations. I pray the people of America understand that people are not the cause of our country's institutional failure but government and for that they should continue to assist wherever and however they can because our people are suffering and moreso women and children and that's why we have increased cases of child rape, malnutrition, high child mortality, early child marriages and high incidences of gender based violence etc," Teedzai pointed out."
"I think food security is key for peace and keeps conflict out of our fields. A hungry people know no politics and that means when people are food secure they can think of fixing the ills blocking their wellbeing such as accountability, transparency and oversight of public goods."
With COVID-19 aggravating an already severe hunger crisis in Zimbabwe, many families are going to be reduced to beggars.
"It disheartening to note that Zimbabweans continue to starve in the midst of plenty. It is our strategy to call for a just electoral system for it is the only democratic way to win back the freedoms and justices of the people of Zimbabwe which are in the hands of a few greedy who think they are the Lord's chosen."
There are about 18-20 million people who are poor and struggling against these injustices in the one of the richest countries in the world.
The Zimbabwean society is sick with these interlocking injustices and our voice rooted in our deepest Constitutional and moral values is what we need now as Zimbabweans to remind us of who we are and who we must be.
"We're putting the few resources we're getting from supporters of our Wear khaki revolution so that soon we launch a Moral Policy Agenda Campaign to Heal Zimbabwe, our vision is create a New Zimbabwe for all, a country where everyone can thrive and that way I'm confident we will emerge from these challenging times as a stronger, fairer, and more resilient state–one where no one lacks for basic needs, dismantling systemic discrimination and poverty and let's do this as a collective commitment. It's time to build a human economy that benefits everyone, not just the privileged few," concluded Teedzai.
Wearing khaki speaks to those who choose solidarity with the cause of Emej Zimbabwe. The khaki wear is symbolic of the khaki clothes prisoners wear in Zimbabwe's jails.
"We wear khaki because this lawfare regime has made us prisoners of conscience, detaining, incarcerating and denying us freedom to assemble and express our political views openly."
Teedzai said he was grateful at WFP and her donors supporting emergency response to COVID-19 in Zimbabwe, including the United States, the United Kingdom, CERF, the European Commission, France, Switzerland, Sweden and Germany.
"Millions of students, whose schools remained closed due to COVID19 for most of 2020, are struggling with remote learning and the trend will even loom larger in January 2021 when schools reopen. Government must therefore prioritize equipping schools with remote learning facilities in order to protect their futures and help them fulfil their potential," Teedzai commented in connection with COVID-19 and remote learning among the impoverished Zimbabwean populace.
"The government of Zimbabwe through its lack of legislative and economic policy justice has slipped about 8 million Zimbabweans, that's about half of the country's population into the below poverty line as inflation reaches its highest in a decade, and for that I plead with the international community to generously donate towards efforts by WFP to feed starving people in my country as 2020 - 2021 cropping season is likely to experience crop failure for almost half of our rural population who depend on subsistence farming while hidden hunger in towns and cities around the country will continue to mercilessly devour the country's people and moral fabric," Teedzai said in response to a recent tweet by WFP director in Zimbabwe.
Francesca Erdelmann the country representative of WFP-Zimbabwe tweeted and said:
"📣 @WFP is currently assisting 1.2 million in rural areas & 327,000 in urban areas thanks to the support of our donors.
WFP must continue to scale up its efforts ahead of the lean season, but we can't do this without an additional US$204 million in funding," read the tweet.
Teedzai cited the WFP projections indicated that by year's end, the number of food insecure Zimbabweans will have surged by almost 50 percent to touch 8.6 million – a staggering 60 percent of the population – owing to the combined effects of drought, economic recession and the pandemic.
"Emej Zimbabwe is pursuing a moral policy agenda through which it seeks to put pressure on government to do the honourable thing and pave way for democratic transform. My plea is for the international community to assist impoverished Zimbabweans with the support they need as they've become helpless and hopeless and are stuck in between their present woes and the dream for a New Zimbabwe where everyone can thrive. The people are demanding an equal share of the national cake and as Emej Zimbabwe we promise to deliver that New Zimbabwe without economic injustices and social inequalities and where the rule is not selectively applied," said Teedzai.
He added saying despite having opposition movements in Zimbabwe the plight of the poor continued to go unwatched and nobody seemed to care what they eat, wear or drink in this heavily depressed Zimbabwean economy.
"I sincerely want to personally thank the U.S. State Department and the people of America for remaining committed to helping the impoverished millions in my country and the facts tell me the United States remains the largest bilateral donor of emergency humanitarian assistance in Zimbabwe and that in Fiscal Year 2019 USAID's Office of Food for Peace (FFP) provided more than $100 million to the UN World Food Program (WFP) to distribute in-kind food and cash transfers to food-insecure populations. I pray the people of America understand that people are not the cause of our country's institutional failure but government and for that they should continue to assist wherever and however they can because our people are suffering and moreso women and children and that's why we have increased cases of child rape, malnutrition, high child mortality, early child marriages and high incidences of gender based violence etc," Teedzai pointed out."
"I think food security is key for peace and keeps conflict out of our fields. A hungry people know no politics and that means when people are food secure they can think of fixing the ills blocking their wellbeing such as accountability, transparency and oversight of public goods."
"It disheartening to note that Zimbabweans continue to starve in the midst of plenty. It is our strategy to call for a just electoral system for it is the only democratic way to win back the freedoms and justices of the people of Zimbabwe which are in the hands of a few greedy who think they are the Lord's chosen."
There are about 18-20 million people who are poor and struggling against these injustices in the one of the richest countries in the world.
The Zimbabwean society is sick with these interlocking injustices and our voice rooted in our deepest Constitutional and moral values is what we need now as Zimbabweans to remind us of who we are and who we must be.
"We're putting the few resources we're getting from supporters of our Wear khaki revolution so that soon we launch a Moral Policy Agenda Campaign to Heal Zimbabwe, our vision is create a New Zimbabwe for all, a country where everyone can thrive and that way I'm confident we will emerge from these challenging times as a stronger, fairer, and more resilient state–one where no one lacks for basic needs, dismantling systemic discrimination and poverty and let's do this as a collective commitment. It's time to build a human economy that benefits everyone, not just the privileged few," concluded Teedzai.
Wearing khaki speaks to those who choose solidarity with the cause of Emej Zimbabwe. The khaki wear is symbolic of the khaki clothes prisoners wear in Zimbabwe's jails.
"We wear khaki because this lawfare regime has made us prisoners of conscience, detaining, incarcerating and denying us freedom to assemble and express our political views openly."
Teedzai said he was grateful at WFP and her donors supporting emergency response to COVID-19 in Zimbabwe, including the United States, the United Kingdom, CERF, the European Commission, France, Switzerland, Sweden and Germany.
"Millions of students, whose schools remained closed due to COVID19 for most of 2020, are struggling with remote learning and the trend will even loom larger in January 2021 when schools reopen. Government must therefore prioritize equipping schools with remote learning facilities in order to protect their futures and help them fulfil their potential," Teedzai commented in connection with COVID-19 and remote learning among the impoverished Zimbabwean populace.
Source - own correspondent
