Paul Nyathi|President Emmerson Mnangagwa has reportedly made a personal donation of more than 3 000 tonnes of rice to all rural constituencies throughout the country. Each constituency expected to get 15 tonnes of the commodity.
Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare Deputy Minister Lovemore Matuke confirmed that they have received the rice and they were already on the ground where their officers were distributing it to the villagers.
“We have received more than 3 000 tonnes of rice from President Mnangagwa. The instruction is for us to give out the rice to all rural constituencies in the country before Christmas and we are working right now to ensure that it is distributed to the intended beneficiaries,” said Matuke.
“The President sourced the rice with the rural people in mind. We are thrilled that they have been cushioned. The prices of such niceties as rice is now beyond the reach of many rural dwellers. We have families that do not have anyone in town and they are not looking forward to anything other than what they have, so, the gesture by the President goes a long way to cushion them,” said Matuke.
“This rice is for everyone. The idea of politicising food aid given by the President should not be tolerated. The President is everyone’s despite political affiliation. No one is equal than the other and no one is going to get first preference because they belong to a certain political party,” he said.
In May this year, China donated more than 10,000 tonnes of rice to assist people who were affected by Cyclone Idai as well as vulnerable households facing hunger due to drought.
Chinese Vice Minister of Commerce Qian Keming handed over the consignment of 10,165 tonnes of rice to the Zimbabwean government that was represented by Public Service, Labor and Social Welfare Minister Sekesai Nzenza.
The Zimbabwean government clashed heavily with the Chinese government after Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube failed to disclose the rice food aid during his budget presentation.
Finance minister Mthuli Ncube said that China had provided Zimbabwe with US$3.6m in “development support” ranking it below the United States and UK, who both provided US$50m. The EU has provided US$41m in support.
In the wake of the budget, China’s embassy in Harare disputed the figure, saying in a statement it was “very different from the situation on the ground.”
The embassy said its records show that bilateral financial support to Zimbabwe was far greater, at US$136.8m between the period of January and September.
“The embassy wishes that the relevant departments of the Zimbabwean government will make comprehensive assessments on the statistics of bilateral supports and accurately reflect its actual situation when formulating budget statement,” it said in a statement.
