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PASTOR GENERAL'S REPORT, MAY 27, 1983
PAGE 7
Africa: Bread a Status symbol
Here is a rundown of the current weather/food production crisis--certainly
a fulfillment of Matthew 24:7--"And there will be famines.... " First of
all, from the May 9, 1983 issue of NEWSWEEK:
Once again Africa is caught in a lethal drought.
Unlike its
predecessor a decade ago, the tragedy that is now sweeping Africa
is not confined to a narrow band of arid nations. This time it
runs from Mauritania in the west to Ethiopia in the east, from
Chad in the north to the Cape of Good Hope. Nearly every country
in Africa is affected..••
For a continent already losing the battle to feed itself, the
result is nothing short of catastrophic.... Few African govern
ments are capable of dealing with the drought. They are hampered
by corruption, incompetence, high birth rates, a failure to learn
from the past or lack of money. Already, observes one harassed
U.N. relief worker, "bread has become a status symbol in many
parts of Africa."
•
Black Africa is not alone in facing the drought. This time almost all of
South Africa is affected as w�ll. This is an ominous development since
South Africa--so despised politically in the world--has nevertheless been a
food lifeline to several black African countries. Without its exports, the
lives of millions of Africans are in peril.
South Africa is now in the grips of its worst drought in 50 years--��
for 200 years.
Agricultural production has already been devastated.
Production of corn (called "mealies" in Africa) has been slashed from 12
million tons to four million tons. Worse yet, the rainy season has now
passed, with the country now facing its traditionally dry Southern
Hemisphere winter.
In South Africa's rural black homelands, some doctors have warned that
there could b� widespread deaths from malnutrition and accompanying
diseases such as typhoid, cholera and measles.
The government of neighboring Botswana has already proclaimed a drought
emergency.
Not only agriculture but industry as well is impacted. In Johannesburg,
details have been disclosed of an emergency 32.5 million dollar plan to
reverse the flow of the Vaal River, one of four major rivers in South
Africa, to keep major power stations and the vital Sasol oil-from-coal
plants functioning.
The State-owned Electricity Supply Commission has warned that without
sufficient water, massive power cuts can be expected this winter. Some of
the country's gold mines, which are the biggest consumers of electricity,
might have to cut production substantially.
The situation is nearly as bad in the rest of the continent, continued the
NEWSWEEK article quoted above.
Zimbabwe's corn crop last year was but a third of that of 1980.
Thousands of cattle in Matabeleland have been slaughtered for