Recycled campaign gimmicks fool nobody

According to reports, Zanu (PF) is looting fertiliser stocks at the Grain Marketing Board (GMB) depots. The top dressing is distributed to party supporters for $7.50 for a 50kg bag. Recipients of the farm inputs have said, though, that while they are collecting the fertiliser, their political allegiance cannot be bought so cheaply. It has long been a Zanu tactic to desperately distribute goodies as soon as elections emerge on the horizon. Losing Zanu (PF) officials masquerading and distributing farm inputs as councillors are simply making life easier for MDC city fathers. We all know who won the presidential, parliamentary and local government elections. Results so far indicate that Tsvangirai and the MDC are the only political agents capable of pulling the nation out of the current economic quagmire we find ourselves in, said Maxwell Neshuro (60), of Yellow City.

A packet of fertiliser issued to a household once in 30 years is of no significance to our lives. Mugabe and Zanu (PF) cannot fool us all the time. Another resident, Senzia Nherudzo (58), of Paradise Park, said: At least the staggering inclusive government offered us an opportunity to have a test of some democracy. We know what Zanu (PF) stands for and what the MDC means by political change. Come the 2011 elections, everybody will be informed and wiser. I want an environment that provides jobs for my children and other unemployed people across the political divide. Social, economic and political stability are central to my future ambitions. Two weeks ago, Zanu (PF)s Joseph Made allegedly visited the local GMB and ordered the management at the depot not to forget his children. He implied that fertiliser should be reserved for Zanu (PF).

Mades visit was immediately followed by requests for the top dressing fertiliser by senior provincial Zanu (PF) officials and losing councillors. The GMB gave in to Mades orders and distributed the fertiliser as suggested. Losing councillors distributing the fertiliser said the farm inputs were sourced by Zanu (PF) for the people. They indicated that the Zanu (PF) fertiliser was selling at $7, while the consignment procured by the MDC through Minister of Finance Tendai Biti was going for $29 at the GMB. We know who facilitated the purchase of the fertiliser, said another resident from Paradise Park.

Senior officials at the GMB said a ship-load of fertiliser arrived at Beira port and deliveries would be trickling into depots by road and rail soon. Zanu (PF), knowing about the consignment, had already collected some $7.50 sums from dwindling party supporters. Beneficiaries of the cheap inputs were promised free fertiliser if they attended party meetings. In rural areas, farm inputs provided by non-governmental organisations were distributed mainly to Zanu (PF) supporters. Villagers were reportedly misled into believing the inputs were provided by Zanu (PF).