THE ZIMBABWE
PEACE PROJECT
This image by Pindula’s Ruvimbo Muchenje, captured in Harare, shows passengers enduring the rain as
they travel home in an open truck at day end. Access to affordable, reliable and safe transport has
remained a challenge for many Zimbabweans since government banned private public transport and
allowed the inadequate and often unsafe Zupco registered buses
Let me reiterate that I will not hesitate to deal with any
corrupt or irresponsible behaviour in the distribution of
inputs,” Vice President Constantino Chiwenga
In the past six months, Harare recorded the highest number of human rights violations and
this was due to the tight lockdown enforcement by State security agents, who took
advantage of their heavy street presence to stifle human rights and clamp down on dissent
to protect the government.
But this November, the statistics shifted and there were more violations in other provinces,
mostly the ruling party strongholds and this was due to the intensification of the
distribution of inputs under the Pfumvudza input scheme, and once again, the handouts
were issued in a partisan manner.
Topping the list of human rights violations is Masvingo, with 43 cases, followed by
Mashonaland West at 36 and Mashonaland Central at 34.
Elsewhere, the Finance Minister, Mthuli Ncube presented the 2021 National Budget, which
proposed more taxation on the already hard-pressed Zimbabweans.
In light of these trends, the month of November 2020 – the third year of President
Mnangagwa’s leadership, - marked yet another low moment for Zimbabwe’s human rights
record, and as has been in the past months, the ordinary people have been on their own.
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