Starving Zimbabwe rejects GMO maize imports

Wow principles, if only more Americans could find some...

Even a broken watch is right twice a day and this just might be one of those times. If this contaminates the Zimbabwean seed supply what stops Monsanto from suing them in court as they have done with US farmers?

nothing like trying to take advantage of others in a weakened or hardship position. the drought affected their ability to farm enough food to feed the people, so as opposed to giving a genuine helping hand by providing support to their farming and self sufficiency, all the international help we can muster is to poison the people and their land with frankenstein food...

http://www.jubileeaustralia.org/_blog/Latest_news/post/Zimbabwe_Debt_Trap/

And this is one main reason why Zimbabwe like many countries in Africa are starving: IMF debt.

Excerpt:

"Although, by virtue of its high debt to exports ratio of about 150 percent, Zimbabwe could qualify as an HIPC, measures such as mandatory privatisation of state enterprises, adopting an economic adjustment programme and other such pre-requisites could be more harmful to the economy.

Zimcodd director Dakarayi Matanga also expressed this view: "We need to be careful. HIPC in its current form will give problems for Zimbabwe."

Debate has been raging over the strategies Government can employ to get the country out of debt. Finance Minister Tendai Biti has come up with an External Debt Clearance strategy which includes the HIPC as one of the possible routes to take.

Although this he argues out his case, experts say the options needed to be weighed.

In his study launched at the workshop yesterday entitled the Legal Framework of the Public Loan Contraction and Debt Management system in Zimbabwe, Lawyer Zviko Chadambuka also argues that HIPC is not the way to go.

"HIPC has in fact been viewed as having served as a weak bribe-the promise of minimal cancellation after long delay and damaging SAPs (Structural Adjustment Programmes)-so governments would remain in debt system.

"An example justifying this view is that of Tanzania where less than three months after Tanzania received its HIPC debt relief agreement, the World Bank in its CAS was of the view that as long as Tanzania stays on track with its IMF supported adjustment programme, the World Bank intended to lend the government at least US$790 million over the next three years, with a proposal to increase lending in the third year of the CAS by US$200 million . . . this would increase lending over the period to some US$990 million," read the document.

HIPC was launched in 1996 and by 1999 only five countries had made some "progress" under the initiative.

The paper said the World Bank acknowledged that the programme was failing to meet expectations and had to adopt the Enhanced HIPC strategy.

Zimcodd chairperson Rutendo Hadebe also urged caution.

"Let’s think outside HIPC. There are alternatives outside HIPC and we should look at them.

Lets check who we owe, what is legit and what is odious," she said.

Professor Lloyd Sachikonye from the University of Zimbabwe said Zimbabwe could use alternative sources such as migrant remittances to help salvage the economy.

"Zimbabwe’s burden is very heavy. There is need to explore alternative ways of financing to avoid further heavy debts and dependency on foreign aid," he said.

The workshop, which ends today, also stressed the need for a debt audit first before pursuing strategies to get over it.

Zimbabwe owes the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the African Development Bank among other multilateral and bi-lateral institutions.

Its present debt has constrained efforts to finance social services such as education and health, with statistics showing that debt repayments annually are 40 times more than the funds budgeted for social sectors."
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IMF "structured loans" to corrupt politicians have increased debt to export ratios with nothing being budgeted for social services, agriculture, etc. There is now also the added threat of climate change and drought in these areas affecting agriculture, but it doesn't seem to matter to the governments making money off these loans at the expense of feeding their own people through providing the sustainable tools they need and want to preserve food sovereignty.

This is a viscious cycle including the World Bank, IMF, the U.S., and governments of the world working in tandem to keep multinationals and politicians rich while subjugating the poor. I am glad that they rejected Monsanto/US GMO food aid. It is obvious this is part of a broader scheme to force GMOS down the throats of the poor in developing countries for profit, thusly also ruining their organic agriculture. There is absolutely no reason why any such 'aid' could not include sustainable agricultural tools that preserve organic standards and allow farmers to grow their own natural food. This is clearly using the poor for their own global agenda. To me this is beyond evil.