Government orders Christian Care to stop feeding displaced families at Hopley Farm

By Tererai Karimakwenda
06 April 2006

It has been reported that the Christian Care relief agency was ordered to stop feeding most displaced families at the Hopley Farm holding camp in Harare and to limit their food assistance programme to the chronically ill and child-headed families only. The orders were allegedly given at a meeting chaired by Ezekiel Mpande, an officer in the Department of Social Welfare. Officials from food relief agencies generally do not criticise the government openly for fear they will be cut off from feeding anyone at all. However, Abel Mutsakanyi of the ZimOnline news site reports that a Christian Care official confirmed the agency had been ordered to confine their activities at Hopley to what is known as "targeted feeding" only. This means the sick, child headed-families and the disabled. The official feared that many will starve because the majority of the people at the farm have no other source for food. Mutsakanyi said his sources believe the whole affair is political, a way to starve MDC supporters.

Hopley residents are reported to have little patches of food growing at the farm but nothing significant enough to avoid starvation. Mutsakanyi said even with the food they were receiving from Christian Care, the more than 1000 people in need were barely surviving. Ironically, it is the same government that destroyed their homes and businesses during Operation Murambatsvina last year that is now denying them food. Mutsakanyi said they are allowed to go in and out of the camp in order to look for food but even that’s not much help since there isn’t much out there. Most people in Zimbabwe are now struggling to survive. Analysts say the ruling party is using food as a political weapon to punish opposition supporters. Mutsakanyi said Chistian Care has already started scaling down their operations at Hopley Farm.