Zimbabwe asked the UN Development Programme for $80 million to pay for the referendum on a new constitution but the request was turned down because the application had been left too late. Justice Minister Chinamasa says the money has now been found from ‘local sources’ – but refused to name them.
The government is now looking to the UNDP to provide about $200 million it says it needs for the elections, said by Jonathan Moyo likely to be held in late June. We are sending the following letter to the UNDP: “We believe that President Mugabe’s Zanu PF cronies have syphoned off billions of dollars of diamond revenue and that the President could easily arrange to finance the elections. But if the UNDP is of a mind to squander donors’ money on the Zimbabwean elections we believe it should be conditional on UN observers being allowed to monitor them. We suggest that the observers should be drawn from those countries such as the US and EU members which provide most of the funds.”
The Vigil believes that unless the UN takes a more robust approach, Mugabe will use the same violent methods to cow voters and then go on to rig the elections as he did five years ago.
The diaspora organization Yes We Can Zimbabwe (www.yeswecanzimbabwe.org) joined us at the Forum. David Kadzutu, Organising Secretary, said there was growing concern that the MDC as part of the GNU no longer provided an opposition. Darlington Sibanda, said it was necessary to have a plan to counteract Zanu (PF) if they won the elections. One suggestion was that we should campaign for the MDC to refuse to join a new GNU so that it can distance itself from Zanu (PF) and regain credibility.
Post published in: News