HARARE (AFP) — Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe accused aid groups of exploiting food shortages to turn voters against the ruling party during the first-round elections in March, in comments published Monday.
"Food assistance is required," the state-owned Herald newspaper quoted Mugabe as telling a rally in the central town of Silobela ahead of the June 27 presidential run-off pitting him against opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai.
"NGOs were cashing in on that and coming to you saying, 'We are feeding you so don't vote ZANU-PF, vote the MDC instead.
"Now we have shut down those NGOs. We want to scrutinise them," Mugabe said.
Mugabe's government suspended all aid work earlier this month after accusing non-governmental organisations of supporting the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) ahead of the run-off vote.
Mugabe's ZANU-PF lost its parliamentary majority for the first time since independence from Britain 28 years ago in the March 29 polls.
Tsvangirai beat Mugabe in the presidential race but with an official vote total just short of an outright majority.
Mugabe, speaking in early June at a meeting on the global food crisis in Rome, accused Western powers of seeking "illegal regime change" in Zimbabwe and of channeling support for the opposition through NGOs.
Charities have warned of a possible humanitarian crisis because of the ban on aid work with many Zimbabweans, particularly in rural areas, relying on food aid due to shortages of basic commodities.
UNICEF has said half a million children were no longer receiving health care, treatment for HIV/AIDS or food aid after the suspension.
Once seen as a potential breadbasket for the region, Zimbabwe's economy is now in freefall with the world's highest inflation rate.
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