The WFP is the premier international organisation for food aid distribution and has been playing an important facilitation role as the major supplier of food and non-food assistance to victims of humanitarian crisis in the region and other parts of the world.
Acting Foreign Affairs Minister Jeff Radebe and WFP Deputy Executive Director Sheila Sisulu, signed the agreement today declaring South Africa as the official host of the WFP regional offices.
This follows WFP discussions with Foreign Affairs in 2004, where the two parties agreed to establish a WFP regional bureau in South Africa.
The agreement will see the existing UN offices in Sunninghill, Johannesburg, upgraded to run WFP projects for the region.
The UN poverty relief agency has been operating from these offices since 2002, after Foreign Affairs gave it priority approval to establish a regional logistics unit for the sub-region.
Addressing the media at the signing ceremony here today, Ms Sisulu expressed her gratitude to the South African government for the “unwavering” support the country has offered to WFP operations in the region.
“The cash injection and the technical support we received from SA have been very important to our operations in the region.
“I hope this agreement will deepen the relationship we share with you (SA),” she said.
Sisulu also noted that her organisation was working closely with the country’s Land and Agriculture Department to foster closer ties with similar departments in other countries in the region.
She said that the relationship with the departments would help her organisation to move swiftly in identifying “vulnerable” people who were in need of help.
“The Regional Office in South Africa will make the WFP operations and humanitarian response to the region easier,” Foreign Affairs said.
It said the agreement also came amid continuous discussions in SA on how best to address food challenges in the region.
In response to the first WFP coordinated emergency appeal in 2002, the South African government donated R170-million to the organisation so that it could buy maize meal for humanitarian assistance to six Southern African countries.
The countries included Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Swaziland, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Namibia South Africa donated a further R100-million in 2003.– BuaNews
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