Executive Summary
Cases of food and other aid violations have been on the increase since September
last year. Due to a persistent drought, government availed food aid to vulnerable
households. The government has also availed farming inputs for both the
Presidential Input Scheme and Command Agriculture programme.
The government has identified over 800 000 households around the country who
qualify for food aid and inputs for farming. This has increased cases of food aid
violations with the ruling party mostly implicated. Many Zanu PF MPs have been
giving away rice at party rallies for example, the latest one being in Highfield by
Psychology Maziwisa. There is no clarity whether this rice belongs to the MP or the
state. In Masvingo villagers have accused Zanu PF MP Lovemeore Matuke of taking
rice to his Sandon Boarding School and hotel at the expense of starving villagers.
Many violations were reported against the backdrop of worsening economic
conditions. Cash shortages have persisted while diaspora remittances have gone
down according to the RBZ. This has increased the vulnerability of many households
in the country.
In urban areas the government and local government authorities have been
removing vendors from the streets and other areas of informal trading. Government
has been encouraging small businesses to register with the revenue authority and
introduced various statutory instruments that have affected the small business such
as Statutory Instrument 64 of 2016 which makes it harder for people to import
goods for resale.
These economic hardships have affected children the most as some are being turned
away from school for non payment of school fees. Some children are being forced to
engage in paid work in order to pay their own fees and this deprives them of vital
learning time.
Section 75(1b) of the constitution states that every citizen and permanent resident
of Zimbabwe has a right to further education which the state through reasonable
legislative and other measures must make progressively available and accessible.
Several cases have been reported where children have failed to proceed with their
education because of a failure to access results for non payment of school fees. In
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