Unpaid fees threaten food aid distribution

Transport operators engaged by the Zimbabwean government to distribute food aid across the country have raised serious concerns over unpaid fees, threatening the continuation of this crucial relief effort. NewsDay has gathered that several transporters and district development coordinators overseeing food distribution through the Department of Social Welfare have expressed frustration over the delay in payments, plunging the country into yet another crisis.

Zimbabwe launched a three-month food aid blitz from May to July last year, targeting more than 6.2 million vulnerable members of the community following an El Niño-induced drought that decimated agricultural output. A second blitz ran from August to October, with continued distribution planned until the end of the lean season in March 2025.

However, investigations by NewsDay have revealed that despite this urgent need, the government has only secured wheat for distribution, leaving maize - the staple food - scarce. Reports from Mashonaland Central, East, West, Masvingo, and Matabeleland North and South provinces indicate that unpaid transport fees are severely affecting the food aid programme.

"One transporter based in Mashonaland Central province told NewsDay: ‘It was agreed that payments were to be done soon after submission of invoices within two weeks, but nothing has materialised since last year. We are not sure when the funds will be released, but our own service providers, especially fuel providers, are demanding the money we owe them.'"

Another source from Masvingo revealed that fees per bag of grain, especially wheat, vary from US$1.50 to US$3, with some transporters owed over US$300,000 over the extended period.

"The Department of Social Welfare has not been forthcoming about the financial status of the food aid programme. We are also in the dark over how the funds will be paid to transporters," said a government official speaking on the condition of anonymity.

District development coordinators corroborated these claims, stating that the prolonged non-payment is putting the government in a difficult position.

"The non-payment is an open secret but it has taken longer than expected. The issues have been raised at both district and provincial meetings nationwide," said an official.

Sources indicate that the Department of Social Welfare is struggling to raise more than US$300 million to cover food aid distribution.

"We are still yet to get finer details, but as it stands, the transporters are owed millions of dollars. We hope finances will be availed to pay them on time for service rendered," said the sources.

Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare secretary Simon Masanga confirmed on Friday that the government has not yet paid the transporters.

"We are mobilising resources. The food aid distribution is a massive programme requiring huge funding, hence the delay in paying," Masanga said. He, however, could not provide an exact figure of the outstanding debt.

"We currently have some pressing issues, but the non-communication is obvious because there are no resources to give a time frame. Hopefully, all will be sorted in due course," he added.

Zimbabwe continues to grapple with an acute food shortage, with international agencies stepping in to mobilise resources to secure food ahead of the next harvest in late April. President Emmerson Mnangagwa declared a state of national disaster following the 2023/24 season's impact of the El Niño-induced drought, leaving more than half of the population in dire need of food aid.