Executive Summary
THE price to pay for those who venture into, or are merely suspected of dabbling in or
related to those in opposition politics continues to be severe. In a drought-stricken
country, with perennial hunger which is expected to be even worse this season than
before, most of those linked to opposition parties find they have to pay through their
stomachs.
With the majority of people in the rural areas, which is inhabited by over 60 percent of
the country’s population, facing increased hunger this season; partisan food
distribution which excludes those with political affiliations alternative to Zanu-PF has
become a cruel tool of punishing those not amenable to the ruling party. Yet
politicising food aid and agricultural inputs assistance has become a common
phenomena. And the more hunger there is in the country due to drought that has hit
the Southern Africa region and other macro-economic deficiencies specific to
Zimbabwe, the more vulnerable those associated with opposition politics become.
In December 2015 alone, Zimbabwe Peace Project (ZPP) recorded a total of 62
instances of food violations where individuals linked to opposition politics and to a
minor extent those Zanu-PF members who were not seen at party meetings were
denied food aid. A persistent trend shows such cases being mostly common in the
three Mashonaland provinces. With 15 out of the 62 cases, Mashonaland Central had
24% of the cases (almost a quarter). Mashonaland West’s 14 cases made up 23%;
and Mashonaland East had 16% with 10 cases.
Food and input distributions have opened up ways of exploitation by those in
privileged positions who have taken to charging anywhere from US$1 to US$3.50 as
transportation fees for either food aid of agricultural inputs donations. Yet, these
goods are understood to be for free and in the past no fees have been necessary. This
new manipulation has seen those linked to the oppositions in some instances being
charged more than Zanu-PF members, which is another literal price they must pay for
being associated with the opposition.
If citizens linked to the opposition are not paying with their stomachs or for their
stomachs for not toeing the Zanu-PF party line, those linked to the opposition do so
when it comes to land allocations. Most land allocation in urban Zimbabwe is being
undertaken by Zanu-PF cooperatives, a mechanism which systematically excludes
those linked to the opposition. So not only are opposition members deprived of food,
but they are also even deprived of homes. In certain serious instances some of them
are evicted from their homes or land they would have been allocated.
6