Zimbabwe rapidly deteriorating, warns Methodist Church

The Methodist Church has warned that the humanitarian crisis in Zimbabwe is set to worsen in the next few months.

The beleaguered country has seen six recent harvests fail and inflation rocket to more than 200 million per cent, whilst the failure to implement a power-sharing agreement reached between President Robert Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai in September has further destabilised the country.

The Methodist Church said that the combination of the worst drought in a decade, bad government policies and a lack of seeds and fertilisers was "proving disastrous".

"The stalemate in negotiations between MDC and Zanu-PF is making the situation even worse," he said.

"This is a time when people should be planting for the following year, but the economy is devastated and seeds and fertiliser are in short supply.

"The delay in achieving a viable political agreement threatens to prolong the economic and humanitarian crisis."

Crowder urged people to support a Methodist Relief and Development Fund appeal launched after Zimbabwe lifted its ban on aid agencies operating in the country last month. Funds raised will go towards delivering food and agricultural support to vulnerable people in partnership with Action by Churches Together International.

"We urge people to support the Methodist Relief and Development Fund appeal because the current crisis is expected to result in catastrophe in the next few months," added Crowder.

The warning from the Methodist Church came in the same week as the convenor of the Zimbabwe Christian Alliance slammed churches in the country for staying silent on the suffering.

"The Zimbabwe Council of Churches has done nothing. The churches should have been speaking without fear of favour, just speaking on behalf of suffering masses of Zimbabwe. Their absenteeism is so pronounced," Methodist Bishop Levee Kadenge was quoted as saying by Ecumenical News International.