Letters: Partisan distribution of govt aid is wrong

By Amh Voices | Jan. 20, 2023

Food distribution at Gwangwava business centre in Zaka

VILLAGERS from Zaka district have condemned the politicisation and unfair distribution of government-subsidised aid.

In Zaka Central constituency ward 8, the villagers highlighted that the unfair and politicisation of the presidential inputs could be ascribed to factional fights between Zanu PF Member of Parliament Davison Svuure and other aspiring candidates for the same seat.

The villagers said on January 11, 2023, there was chaos at Gwangwava business centre as Svuure and his team abruptly stopped ruling party ward 8 councillor Tererai Tererai and the ward development committee (Wadco) from distributing seeds under the Presidential Inputs Scheme.

It is stated that the MP and his team hijacked the process and circumvented the councillor and the committee, and distributed the seed himself to people aligned to his faction, depriving some party members alleged to belong to other factions and opposition supporters.

The residents highlighted that the MP is accusing Tererai of belonging to a faction that aims to unseat him in this year’s election.

The villagers explained that the community members, traditional leaders and other stakeholders tried to stop the MP from taking over the distribution process, arguing that the committee and the councillors should preside over the process guided by the beneficiary list agreed by community members.

However, their efforts were to no avail as the chaos continued until the councillor, the committee and some community members dispersed, leaving the MP and his team doing the distribution work.

In another incident, ruling party chairperson for Zaka ward 19, a Mr Charuka was accused by the villagers of presiding over the unfair distribution of maize, sunflower and cow peas seeds allocated to the ward under the Presidential Inputs Scheme programme.

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It is stated that on December 23, 2022 at Jerera Growth Point, Charuka distributed the seeds only to one beneficiary per village and he and his team took the remainder.

Charuka informed the villagers that they took the larger portion of the seeds as their reward for serving the party. This did not go down well with the villagers, who are engaging public officials and stakeholders over the issue.

There is need to involve village development committees and Wadcos and the citizenry starting from the selection process up to distribution for transparency and accountability purposes.

The unfair and partisan distribution of aid and other resources is cancerous to social unity, peace and development, therefore, as Cotrad, we expect community members and public officials to respect leadership hierarchy and protocols in community development processes.

Cotrad also urges community members to peacefully and fearlessly engage their public officials on community issues and concerns. - Cotrad Information

Zanu PF should desist from violence and vote rigging

EVANS Mathanda’s Village Rhapsody column in The Standard is spot on. It is high time we had an end to the vicious cycle of violence in Zimbabwe.

What are the chances of this happening? As Mathanda so rightly points out: “The deliberate use of power and force to achieve political goals dates back to the early days of independence”.

Even during the 1980 elections, Zanu PF had cadres strategically placed in the queues to ensure everyone voted for it, not that it was necessary, but a safeguard.

It has used intimidation and violence one way or the other in every election to ensure its victory. Violence is in its DNA, just like the Taliban.

People say Zimbabweans have no spine, are cowards and will not stand up to the regime, but this is not true. They have had their self-worth demolished by Zanu PF over the years. In 2000, there emerged a glimmer of hope in the form of the MDC led Morgan Tsvangirai.

People started to reject the tyranny we were being subjected to and pursued their rights to real freedom and good governance despite the violence that Zanu PF unleased on them.

Many brave people have risked their lives during elections since independence. Tyranny and bad governance are not peculiar to Zimbabwe, but are prevalent all over Africa.

In 2000, Africans put their hope in us being able to wrest our freedom from the “freedom” party and show that democracy and good governance is possible in Africa, alas, everyone underestimated Zanu PF and its penchant to hold on to power by whatever foul means.

Citizens had awoken and the number of people fighting for true freedom increased until the 2008 elections when the opposition won by a huge majority (late former President Robert Mugabe let slip, it was 71%).

This victory was thwarted by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, Zanu PF under Mugabe’s leadership, South Africa and Sadc.

The violence meted out on the opposition by Zanu PF during the election re-run was just too much for the electorate and opposition to bear and we were forced into a government of national unity.

Zimbabweans are crying out for a free and fair election this year. Only Zanu PF can deliver that. Does it have the guts to face the electorate without having to resort to violence or rigging?- A Mbire

No value in the delimitation report?

HOW can Parliament deliberate on the delimitation report without a voters roll?

It has to be a comprehensive document for parliamentarians to analyse the report.

It boggles the mind that Parliament has not called the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) chairperson Justice Priscilla Chigumba to explain why she has failed to avail it.

The fact that President Emmerson Mnangagwa hung on to it for 10 days before sending it to Parliament without the voters roll can only mean he did not look into it seriously before forwarding it.

The delimitation exercise is an integral part of our elections. It seems that everyone involved is taking it casually that it leaves one wondering why money was spent preparing it if it is of so little importance.

It is supposed to be deliberated on by Parliament as a whole, but Clerk of Parliament Kennedy Chokuda in his wisdom, or lack of, selected only 13 members to dissect it.

The electorate voted for all MPs to look after their interests, not for their MPs to assign that responsibility to a mere sub-committee of 13 people.

The message sent to the electorate is that their representatives are too lazy or ignorant to do their work diligently.

Zec’s determination to keep the voters roll away from any form of scrutiny, even of the highest offices in the country, can only mean that there is something to hide, or the commission has no faith in its ability to prepare it.

This makes us conclude that there is a plot to rig the polls or that the commission knows it is too incompetent to supervise elections.

The body must be dissolved forthwith and another way of delivering proper elections adopted by the State.

With the little time left, it appears the only competent people to run the 2023 elections should be drawn from the United Nations or another impartial body using our national registration cards.

Sadc and the African Union have already compromised themselves.- A Mbire