FOOD AND OTHER AID VIOLATIONS
Bulawayo
On Friday 6 May maize from the social welfare department was distributed in
Makokoba. Later Zanu PF activists claimed the food had been bought by Minister
Tshinga Dube who is also the area MP. Three hundred and ninety two elderly people
received 25 kg bags of maize each and 100 × 50kg bags were given to Zanu PF
branch officials with about 100 elderly people reportedly going back empty handed.
Manicaland
In a case of militarization of food aid programs, on 14 May in Maguta village ward 12
Chipinge East, two army trucks, brought food to the village. While doing the
distribution, the uniformed soldiers were said to be telling villagers to note well who
was giving them food aid so as to vote wisely come 2018 elections. The food aid
consisted of a 50kg bag of maize for each identified beneficiary availed by Social
Welfare to the area to mitigate the effects of drought.
On 13 May, two identified MDC-T supporters of Mutauto village ward 18 Buhera
Central were denied access to food aid by Stanford Mugombe (Zanu-PF). The actor
accussed the victims of being sell-outs and asked them to get food from their own
party. The food consisted of a 50kg bag of maize per beneficiary from Government to
mitigate the effects of drought. Buhera Central is perennially a drought prone area.
Militarization of food aid was also noted on 12 May at Marange Growth Point ward
10 Mutare West where two army trucks off loaded the maize at Domboshava Training
Centre. The date for distributing the maize to deserving individuals was yet to be
made public. However, the soldiers were said to be stationed at the Training Centre
providing security for the consignment. From a political point of view, the use of
soldiers in food aid programs has the potential to intimidate villagers and influence
political events and outcomes.
Mashonaland Central
On 22 May in Rushinga, it is reported that ward 11 villagers were being made to pay
US$1 per person as transport to ferry maize from the Grain Marketing Board. A
report was made to Social Welfare as people kept complaining about the payment. It
is alleged that an identified man was assaulted by Kudakwasha Tawayo who accused
him of taking money contributed by people for his own use claiming to be a full Zanu
PF member. Gwashure labelled the victim a ZimPF party supporter. The case was not
reported to the police. The incident happened at Chongomaga.
Mashonaland East
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