This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 HARARE 001330 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DCHA/FFP FOR LANDIS, WELLER, MUTAMBA, PETERSEN 
DCHA/OFDA FOR GOTTLIEB, PRATT, MENGHETTI, MARX 
AFR/SA FOR LOKEN, COPSON, HIRSCH 
EGAT FOR HOBGOOD, THOMPSON, HESS, MCGAHUEY, GILL, 
RUSHIN-BELL, HURDUS 
STATE/AF FOR NEULING, MOZENA 
USUN FOR EMALY 
NAIROBI FOR ESTES, DNIRANGO, PUTNAM 
PRETORIA FOR SINK, DISKIN, HALE 
ROME FOR FODAG FOR NEWBERG 
 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAID EAGR PREL US ZI
SUBJECT:  NGO study highlights enormous 
destruction from GOZ'S Operation Murambatsvina 
and UN launches appeal. 
 
REF: (a) Harare 1186 
     (b) Harare 1307 
 
¶1. (U)  Summary:  ActionAid International 
recently presented to the US Mission the findings 
of the first nationwide assessment of the impact 
of the Government of Zimbabwe's (GOZ) Operation 
Murambatsvina.  Their staggering conclusions 
indicate that nearly 1.2 million people were 
directly affected and over US$60 million in 
assets of some of the poorest people in Zimbabwe 
were destroyed.  The recommendations of the 
report are consistent with those of the recently 
released UN appeal.  Post supports the call to 
address the emergency humanitarian needs of the 
victims of this disastrous operation, but 
cautions that some of the UN's proposed 
activities are not appropriate to the emergency 
situation.  End Summary. 
 
¶2. (U)  ActionAid International, a South African- 
based NGO formed in 1972 and now working in over 
42 countries to assist the poor, recently 
completed the first nationwide study looking at 
the impact of the GOZ's Operation Murambatsvina 
(Restore Order, or Drive Out the Trash). 
ActionAid undertook this study in conjunction 
with several local NGO partners.  The study was 
based on data collected from over 23,000 
households in 66 different affected neighborhoods 
in 6 different urban centers.  (Note: While 
ActionAid's study is the first comprehensive 
attempt to assess Operation Murambatsvina's 
impact, it is important to note that it is based 
on a non-random sample.  The large sampling size 
provides useful information on general trends, 
but its "unscientific" methodology means that the 
findings cannot be conclusively extrapolated to a 
nationwide scale.  End note.) 
 
¶3. (U) Based on its research, ActionAid estimates 
that nearly 1.2 million people were directly 
affected by the GOZ's violent cleanup campaign. 
In July, the UN Special Envoy's report had 
estimated the number of people affected by the 
operation at 700,000 (Comment: Due to Actionaid's 
methodology, we suspect that its estimate of 1.2 
million people affected is high, and that the 
UN's estimate is likely more accurate.  End 
comment).  Some highlights of ActionAid's 
findings are: 
 
- - 70% of respondents lost their shelter; 
- - 73% lost their primary source of income; 
- - 22% of children dropped out of school, but 
- - a further 44% of respondents reported that 
they were unlikely to be able to continue paying 
school fees for long; 
- - 48% of households lost property (in addition 
to shelter); 
- - 54% of households reported that they were now 
food insecure; 
- - 38% of households reported 
separation/disruption of families, but 
- - over 40% of households hosting orphans 
reported such disruptions; 
- - 35% of households stated that women and 
children had become more vulnerable to abuse due 
to the operation; 
- - 15% of households reportedly lost access to 
ARV treatment for AIDS. 
 
¶4. (U)  ActionAid estimates the value of the 
assets/property of the urban poor destroyed by 
Operation Murambatsvina at nearly US$30 million, 
excluding Harare.  (Note: The first phase of the 
study only covered Harare and did not include a 
question on the value of assets lost.  A question 
to this effect was added only in the study's 
second phase, which covered five other urban 
centers. End Note.)  Given Harare's large size 
compared to other urban centers in Zimbabwe, 
ActionAid estimates that if asset losses in 
Harare were included they would likely more than 
double the total loss of property to over US$60 
million. 
 
¶5. (U)  This week, the Ambassador toured some of 
the affected areas to assess the continuing 
impact of the damage.  In Hatcliff, which used to 
be a vibrant community, he witnessed large 
numbers of people still left to sleep, eat and 
bathe out in the open.  These people are 
completely exposed to the elements, with the 
rains expected to start in late October.  The 
Ambassador talked to a young woman who started a 
pre-school on her own for over 20 children (many 
of them orphans) who no longer had access to 
school.  In Mabvuku he talked to a dozen elderly 
women whose sole source of income (selling 
tomatoes) had been destroyed by the police 
multiple times, including as recently as a week 
ago. 
 
¶6. (U)  UN Appeal:  Just last week the UN 
released it long-awaited "Common Response Plan 
for the needs of vulnerable persons affected by 
Operation Murambatsvina/Restore Order," 
requesting US$29.8 million between now and 
December 2005.  The appeal, released after 
protracted discussions with the GOZ but without 
GOZ concurrence, identifies approximately 300,000 
people as the most vulnerable and in need of 
emergency assistance.  Most of these people have 
lost their homes, their source of livelihood, or 
both.  (Note: Donors have already responded to 
many of these immediate humanitarian needs, with 
the major donors, including the U.S., having 
provided approximately US$6 million to date for 
emergency food, water, sanitation and household 
items.  End note.)  Proposed humanitarian 
interventions in this new appeal include: 
 
- -  provide temporary shelter and household 
items for up to 100,000 individuals (20,000 
households) who are currently homeless, and 
advocate to the GOZ for the allocation of stands 
(lots) to those most vulnerable (US$18,000,000 
through UN-Habitat and IOM); 
- -  provide food and nutrition information to up 
to 200,000 people (US$1,538,304 to UNICEF;  WFP 
has available foodstocks); 
- -  protect vulnerable populations, focusing on 
children, women and girls (US$1,150,000 to 
UNICEF, UNIFEM, RC/HC); 
- -  provide basic health services, including 
Child and Maternal Health, immunizations, and 
reproductive health (US$2,181,000 to WHO, UNICEF, 
UNFPA); 
- -  meet HIV and AIDS prevention and treatment 
needs, including home-based care, referrals, VCT, 
behavior-change communications, and access to ART 
(US$994,000 to UNAIDS, WHO, IOM, UNICEF); 
- -  provide access to adequate and safe water 
and sanitation (US$1,306.100 to UNICEF); 
- -  provide access to quality education for 
20,000 children (US$653,000 to UNICEF); 
- -  develop an information, education, 
communication (IEC) program targeted at 20,000 
households in nutrition, immunizations, water and 
sanitation, and life skills.  (US$248,000 to 
UNICEF); 
- -  expand facilities, including shelter, water, 
sanitation and health to Tongogara refugee camp 
for the additional 4,500 refugees  (US$600,000 to 
UNHCR); 
- -  develop a livelihoods recovery program for 
100,000 individuals  (US$3,000,000 to UNDP);  and 
- -  support to the office of the UN Humanitarian 
Coordinator/HST  (US$200,000 to UNHC). 
¶7. (U)  Donor views on UN Appeal:  We have 
discussed the appeal with other major donors in 
country (i.e., British, Dutch, Swedes, 
Norwegians, Canadians), all of whom have views 
similar to ours.  Donors recognize the urgent 
need to provide immediate humanitarian assistance 
to those households most at risk as a result of 
the operation.  Donors stressed the importance of 
limiting humanitarian assistance to the provision 
of temporary shelter, food, water, and 
sanitation, urging that it not extend to longer- 
term recovery activities in health, education and 
microfinance, which, as the responsibility of the 
GOZ, are not appropriate for a humanitarian 
appeal. 
 
¶8. (U)  Donor views on UN Appeal cont.: 
Consistent with our perspective, the major donors 
acknowledge that the provision of temporary 
shelter raises particular complications in the 
context of Operation Murambatsvina and the GOZ's 
own reconstruction program: Operation Garikai 
(reftel A).  Shelter remains a serious 
humanitarian concern for approximately a hundred 
thousand people.  The major donors, however, are 
unanimous in their insistence that donor-funded 
structures must be in the nature of temporary 
shelter, and must be provided within a framework 
that responds to the ongoing problems of 
delivering humanitarian assistance in Zimbabwe. 
First, given the GOZ's intentional and 
unnecessary destruction of houses, humanitarian 
support must not relieve pressure on the GOZ to 
live up to its responsibilities.  Second, 
proposed temporary shelter interventions must be 
appropriate and in-line with internationally 
accepted standards.  Third, in light of numerous 
credible allegations that the GOZ has used its 
patronage system to allocate stands under 
Operation Garikai to party supporters and state 
employees (including police), it is essential 
that any temporary shelter program have 
monitoring systems in place to assure donors that 
the process of beneficiary selection is fair and 
that all beneficiaries are actual, vulnerable 
victims of Operation Murambatsvina.  Fourth, with 
the GOZ continuing to allege that some people are 
"illegally" occupying land, the donors also 
insist that the right of beneficiaries to remain 
on their lots must be clear.  Finally, with 
recent problems both donors and NGOs have 
experienced gaining access to victims of 
Operation Murambatsvina, all donors emphasize the 
need for the GOZ to allow unhindered access to 
assess, respond to and monitor humanitarian 
needs. 
 
¶9. (SBU) Comment:  It is clear that the impact of 
Operation Murambatsvina will be with Zimbabwe for 
many, many years.  While ActionAid's study is not 
a comprehensive analysis of the operation's 
impact (because it is based on self-reporting by 
respondents), it nonetheless paints a dreadful 
picture.  Poverty in Zimbabwe was already 
deepening and expanding due to the country's 
rapid economic deterioration, but this wanton 
destruction of livelihoods and property only 
further exacerbates an already dire situation. 
Responding to the humanitarian needs of this 
population is going to be a tremendous challenge 
with the GOZ still not granting unimpeded access 
to the vulnerable and refusing to acknowledge the 
humanitarian consequences of its actions.  The 
relatively high cost of temporary shelter 
solutions proposed by the UN must also be 
carefully reviewed.  The good news is that the 
UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian 
Affairs, OCHA, has renewed interest in Zimbabwe 
and is taking steps to strengthen humanitarian 
coordination, information sharing and the overall 
response (reftel B). The recently issued UN 
appeal, if funded, will address many of the needs 
identified by ActionAid.  The challenge will be 
how to respond effectively to emergency needs 
while maintaining accountability and pressure on 
the GOZ for their action. 
 
DELL