Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe will allow the U.N. World Food Programme to distribute several hundred thousand tonnes of food aid, a senior U.N. official said on Wednesday. "Three to four million people will need help in the next year," James Morris, global WFP chief and U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan's special envoy to the region, said on his arrival in Johannesburg from Harare. "The President said they intended to purchase 1.2 million tonnes of food. They confirmed they had issued tenders and made orders. They intend to purchase another 600,000 tonnes to restock their grain reserves," he said, Reuters reported. Mugabe said earlier on Wednesday that he welcomed food aid from the U.N. but it was not yet clear how much the southern African country would ask for. "My sense is several hundred thousand tonnes of food (will be needed from WFP) to close the gap," Morris said.
