ZIMBABWE: NGO urges unity to counter socioeconomic emergency

JOHANNESBURG, 18 Apr 2005 (IRIN) - As Zimbabwe marked 25 years of independence on Monday, Actionaid International urged the government, opposition and civil society to unite in confronting an economic crisis that has hit the poorest hardest.

With the 31 March election over, the advocacy group called for national attention to be focused on the rights of the vulnerable, especially women, bruised by the ever-rising cost of living, food shortages and an HIV/AIDS epidemic that has infected one in four Zimbabweans.

"Until Zimbabwe's socioeconomic crisis is resolved, the country will continue on its current downward spiral and further entrenchment of poverty and marginalisation. The need to resolve the crisis is much more urgent than before, regardless of who won or lost the election," said Ian Mashingaidze, ActionAid International's Zimbabwe country programme manager.

More than 80 percent of Zimbabweans are living below the poverty line. The development agency called for a "governance system" that would provide the most vulnerable with jobs, food security, and access to quality health services.

After the ruling ZANU-PF won the March legislative election by a landslide, President Robert Mugabe, who has ruled Zimbabwe since independence, said rescuing the economy would be the priority of his new government.

Zimbabwe posted impressive development gains in the 1980s, but by the mid-90s the economy was in trouble, with donors critical of the government's inability to stick to agreed reform targets. A violent land reform programme and controversial elections in 2000 and 2002 led to a freeze on western aid.

In a speech marking independence day, Mugabe blamed the economic crisis on "ruinous" World Bank and IMF programmes during the 1990s.

One Zimbabwean in 10 has a formal sector job, half the figure in 1980, according to ActionAid. "Even optimistic growth projections suggest that it will take 15-20 years to regain the living standards of the mid-1990s because of the breakdown of the country's economic backbone - agriculture."

Prices of basic goods were capped prior to the elections, with industry agreeing not to raise them. However, the cost of basic commodities began to increase immediately after the 31 March poll, while the availability of goods contracted.

When available, the price of maize per kilogram ranges from the equivalent of US 27-38 cents, which is "well above the casual daily wage equivalent of $0.25", according to the latest situation report by the World Food Programme.

Zimbabwe's health system, once one of the best on the continent, has crumbled due to a shortage of funding. Of the estimated 260,000 HIV-positive people requiring antiretroviral therapy, only about 5,000 are receiving it.

"ActionAid International is a willing and able partner to those who seek social justice for the poorest and most marginalised. The agency calls on the Zimbabwean government, the opposition and civil society movements to come together and seek a lasting solution to the current multifaceted crisis in Zimbabwe," the NGO said.

[ENDS]