He challenged the district administrator, Mark Kadaira, to visit Chipfunde village, Mtawatawa, and ensure that all villagers benefit from the scheme regardless of their political affiliation, sex, race, tribe or religion.
“Zanu (PF) should stop buying support and persecuting the opposition through public funded schemes. The party has turned our citizens into beggars for its benefit . Instead of perpetuating this confusion and misery, inputs should be availed in shops at affordable prices not the free goodies policy which benefits unpopular parties,” he said.
Mutize said Kadaira assured him that he would bring normalcy and advised the discriminated MDC followers not to leave the input distribution place until they got their share.
Kadaira, who is the district inputs distributions chairperson, told The Zimbabwean that the distribution was still in progress. “So how can one conclude that MDC has been discriminated against? It is premature to make such conclusions,” he said.
When asked if MDC supporters would benefit from the current distributions, Kadaira struggled to respond. “I cannot guarantee that they will get something today or give a specific date since the inputs would come in trickles,” he said.
A woman who was denied access to the inputs said: “Zanu (PF) officials and partisan government workers on the ground identified MDC supporters and ordered us to get aside, as we were not the intended beneficiaries.”
Recently, five MDC-T activists were arrested at Samanga Village in Honde Valley, Mutasa Central Constituency for demanding their share of the farm inputs. Police at Hauna Growth Point forced them to pay $10 admission of guilt fine each.
Two paid the fine but the rest refused and were later released without charge after the intervention of Lawyers for Human Rights.
Post published in: News