Christian Aid has announced that continued efforts of Operation Hope for Zimbabwe that was launched by its partner, the South African Council of Churches (SACC), to help the victims of the ‘Operation Murambatisvina’, the Zimbabwean government’s clean-up campaign, which is translated as ‘drive out the rubbish’.

700,000 people have been left homeless or without jobs as their houses and markets were demolished by the government campaign.

The first relief convoy of Operation Hope; two trucks with maize, beans and oil, was scheduled to leave last month from South Africa but it has been waiting at the border due to custom delays for permission to enter Zimbabwe. In addition 37 tonnes of food donated by the SACC is stranded in South Africa.

According to Christian Aid, a third truck with 6,000 blankets was able to cross the border two weeks ago and the cargo can now be released as a duty-free permit was just granted to them after a long wait.

The distribution of the blankets which will keep people warm through the winter has begun through Christian Aid’s Zimbabwean partner, Christian Care. However, the food has still not arrived yet.

It was reported that the first two trucks carrying the food were initially delayed by requests from Zimbabwean authorities to assure that the maize was not genetically modified. Though the paperwork to assure this has been completed and handed in, more restrictions are keeping the trucks from entering the country.

“We’re in continued negotiations with the Zimbabwe authorities, and we’re hopeful that we’ll make progress soon,” said Eddie Makue, the SACC’s deputy general secretary. “We’re disappointed with the pace things are moving. Progress is slower than we’d anticipated.”

The SACC has called the Zimbabwean Operation Murambatisvina a ‘human tragedy’.

“The South African church leaders that visited Zimbabwe in early July were astonished by the deprivation and suffering experienced by people who were evicted during Operation Murambatsvina,” continued Makue.

“We felt we had to do something. Our African spirituality and our Christian faith both stress our obligation to look after our neighbours.

“It’s important that we transform our faith into action and bring a ray of hope to the people who’ve been left destitute in Zimbabwe. We’re committed to doing whatever we can, however little, to show our brothers and sisters in Zimbabwe that the church continues to care about them.”

SACC’s Operation Hope involves individual donors, churches and businesses from all over South Africa. Over £30,000 has been raised only in its public appeal and many donations have come in.

The Archbishop of Cape Town Njongonkulu Ndungane blessed the SACC convoy and said, “Zimbabwe needs to resolve its own political and economic crisis, and the South African government and President Mbeki must use whatever leverage they have got to further this cause.”