KENYA has pledged to donate US$1 million worth of maize to Zimbabwe, which will be delivered within the next few weeks to complement the Government’s drought mitigation efforts in the face of a prolonged El Nino-induced drought.
In his remarks during the signing of eight Memoranda of
Understanding (MoUs) between Kenya and Zimbabwe under the 4th Zimbabwe/Kenya
Joint Permanent Commission on Co-operation, at State House in Bulawayo
yesterday, President William Ruto called on the international community to
respond to the declaration made on a State of Disaster in Zimbabwe.
“The effects of climate change threaten the lives and
livelihoods globally, in particular, in the African continent. We are now
increasingly witnessing devastating weather events such as droughts and floods
whose frequency and severity are increasing,” he said.
“It is imperative that all countries, and especially the
developed world, meet their obligations and commitments under the Paris
Agreement and other multilateral environment agreements.”
President Ruto implored the community of nations to join
efforts to combat climate change and to promote sustainable management of
natural resources and the ecosystem.
“On this note, I wish to express Kenya’s solidarity with
Zimbabwe in the face of the prolonged El Nino-induced drought that has left a
severe food and humanitarian crisis in the Southern African region.
“We call upon the international community to respond to the
declaration you made on the State of Disaster in Zimbabwe following the El
Nino-induced drought. On its part, Kenya is committing to deliver US$1 million
worth of food items, particularly maize to the people of Zimbabwe in the next
few weeks,” he said.
Zimbabwe requires over US$2 billion for various
interventions envisaged in the spectrum of the national response.
The current agricultural season of 2023 to 2024 has not
performed according to expectations due to the El Nino-induced drought. As a
result, more than 80 percent of the country received below-normal rainfall.
The country had put 1 728 897 hectares under maize crop and
other cereals, which ordinarily would have guaranteed a bountiful harvest.
Further worsening the situation characterised by poor rainfall was the outbreak
of fall armyworm across the country.
President Ruto also slammed the Western countries for
imposing illegal sanctions on Zimbabwe and called for their immediate removal.
“Your Excellency, we both share a strong commitment to
multilateralism and a rules-based multilateral system. It is for this reason
that we have always maintained a principled position against unilateral
coercive measures,” he said.
“Kenya regards the economic sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe
as illegal. We will continue to support the call for the immediate and
unconditional lifting of these illegal sanctions.”
President Ruto also thanked the Government of Zimbabwe for
gifting his country with 100 tonnes of medical oxygen in 2022 at the time of
the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Your gift is a demonstration of the true spirit of African
solidarity that informed Africa’s liberation movement. More importantly, the
fact that Zimbabwe has been able to develop local capacity to produce
high-quality medical oxygen speaks to the vast innovative potential in Africa,
that we need to nurture and promote,” he said.
President Ruto also wished President Mnangagwa success as
he assumes the chair of the Sadc in August when the country hosts the regional
bloc summit in Harare.
“Your Excellency, I am also aware that you will be hosting
the Sadc Summit in Zimbabwe in August this year and taking over the
chairmanship of the Summit. May I wish you at this very earliest opportunity a
very successful Sadc Summit and chairmanship tenure,” he said.
“I was appointed the Champion of the African Union
Institutional Reforms during the 37th Ordinary Session of the Heads of State
and Government. I seek your support as we strive to restructure the AU organs,
conclude the division of labour between the Africa Union Commission Organs,
Specialised Agencies, and Regional Economic Communities, and to streamline the
Agenda of the assembly to cover strategic issues.”
President Ruto also requested Zimbabwe to Kenya in its bid
to chair the Africa Union Commission between 2025-2028.
This was after the African Union Executive Council, on 15
March, unanimously adopted the decision that the Eastern Africa region should
submit candidates for the AU chairperson.
Earlier speaking during the banquet hosted in honour of
President Ruto on Friday night at the State House in Bulawayo, President
Mnangagwa thanked his Kenyan counterpart for the maize donation.
“Over the past four decades, Zimbabwe and Kenya have
fostered synergies across various sectors of the economy. I was briefing my
younger brother (President Ruto) about the drought situation here, and by the
way, they have no drought in Kenya because they are near the Equator.”
“When I told my dear brother that we have drought he
donated 30 000 tonnes of maize to Zimbabwe. Thank you, and that is what
brothers do to each other.”
Early this month, President Mnangagwa declared the drought
a State of Disaster, saying adequate resources will be mobilised and
re-directed towards boosting national food security, including through
supplementary grain imports as part of mitigation measures.
Humanitarian agencies including the World Food Programme,
which fed 270 000 people between January and March in four districts, have
described the hunger situation as “dire”, calling on donors to provide more
aid. Sunday News
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