Masvingo Mayor, Advocate Collen Maboke has clashed with Masvingo District Development Co-ordinator over politicisation of the $600m Covid-19 relief fund put in place by Government recently to help the vulnerable.
Maboke confirmed to The Mirror in an interview that compilation of the list of would be beneficiaries is being done by losing Zanu PF candidates of the 2018 harmonised elections.
The entire MDC team of seven councillors in the city have been strategically left of the process, said Maboke.
He said the international community is justified to refuse aid to Zimbabwe if Government behaves in this manner.
He said there are hundreds of starving residents who will be refused aid by Zanu PF and left to starve simply because they don’t support the ruling party.
President Mnangagwa set up the fund a few weeks ago to cushion vulnerable individuals and companies from the effects of Covid-19 particularly after he declared a 21-day lockdown. However, there have always been strong sentiments and fears that Zanu PF would use the Fund for political expediency.
Maboke accused Roy Hove, the District Development Co-ordinator (DDC) for Masvingo of leading the illicit process and added that the lists are being submitted to his offices by Zanu PF operatives.
Asked for a comment Hove said he would find out.
However, Maboke told The Mirror that every Government office that he checked with identified Hove as the lynchpin of the process.
“After discovering that this fund has been politicised, I checked with every Government Department to establish the centre of the process.
I even confronted the Minister of State for Masvingo, Ezra Chadzamira but I did not get a clear answer.
“I asked Hove and he told me that he had no information on the process.
I went to his offices and actually saw Zanu PF activists bringing lists including one brought by Sylvester Chikondo from Ward 9. When I confronted Hove with this evidence, he excused himself and asked me to meet him the next day but he is now elusive,” said Maboke.-Credit :The Mirror
