(Adds fresh quotes, detail, background) By Phumza Macanda PRETORIA, May 16 (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund said on Friday higher food prices could lead to further social unrest in sub-Saharan Africa and it warned the region against using subsidies and price controls to tackle higher food prices. "Countries may face social unrest because of rising food prices... A significant amount of household income is spent on food," the fund's acting director for Africa, Benedicte Vibe Christensen, told a meeting to present the IMF's regional economic outlook. "We would advise governments to use a more targeted approach and not subsidies or direct price controls," she said, adding that temporary subsidies could help the most vulnerable. Labour unions in South Africa have warned of protests similar to those in other African and Asian countries against rising prices, and have demanded government intervention. The ruling ANC and its allies called for more subsidies for the poor to help alleviate hunger. Some South Africans have directed their anger about the difficult living conditions at foreigners, accusing them of taking their jobs and accepting lower salaries. Two people have been killed and more than four dozen others injured since the rampages began last Sunday in Alexandra township in Johannesburg. Most of the violence has targeted Zimbabweans, Mozambicans and other immigrants. The IMF said sub-Saharan Africa should register economic growth of 6.5 percent this year after 6.6 percent in 2007 while the region's inflation rate should come in at 8.5 percent, excluding Zimbabwe's more than 160,000 percent annual inflation. The IMF said the impact of higher oil prices in the region could cut the gross domestic product (GDP) expectations by 0.2 to 0.9 percent and more in energy-intensive countries such as South Africa. TIGHTENING NECESSARY The IMF said monetary tightening might be necessary when price pressures spread beyond food and oil. "Higher oil and food prices have built some pressures into the economies, including South Africa. In that case it is necessary to step on brakes," Christensen said. On Tuesday the Reserve Bank said in a bi-annual monetary policy review that the regional economic outlook remained positive, but that tensions over neighbouring Zimbabwe's disputed presidential election posed a downside risk. The IMF official would however not comment on Zimbabwe or whether South Africa's inflation targeting policy was appropriate. The central bank is also worried about spiralling inflation in South Africa, and has strongly hinted at further monetary tightening in a bid to bring the main CPIX consumer gauge back down to within a 3-6 percent target range. The targeted CPIX inflation gauge has persisted above the top end of the target range since April 2007, and jumped to a new five-year high of 10.1 percent year-on-year in March. The central bank lifted its repo rate by 50 basis points last month to 11.5 percent, adding to 400 basis points worth of increases since June 2006 to try to tame inflation. (Reporting by Phumza Macanda; editing by editing by David Christian-Edwards)
U.S. Marine Corps Lance Corporal Eric Clamor (L) and Sergeant James McCarty, both assigned to the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, fill boxes with 5-gallon bags of drinking water while en route ...
