Mugabe Welcomes Food Donations
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa – President Mugabe of Zimbabwe told U.N. officials yesterday he would welcome a resumption of food donations, backtracking on public assurances last year that Zimbabwe would grow plenty to feed itself.
Mr. Mugabe’s statement, made in a meeting with U.N. envoy James Morris in the Zimbabwean capital of Harare, comes amid growing fears of widespread famine and deepening shortages of staples such as sugar, corn meal, and flour. Hours-long lines for gasoline, meanwhile, have crippled the economy, and few families can afford more than one or two meals a day.
A presidential spokesman, George Charamba, said Mr. Mugabe had stopped short of formally requesting U.N. food aid but made clear Zimbabwe’s “openness to goodwill.
