BVR equipment purchasing duty of govt, says Mnangagwa

Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa says the acquisition of biometric voter registration (BVR) equipment is the duty of the government of Zimbabwe first and foremost and cannot be delegated to other international bodies.

In a wide-ranging interview with local media, the vice president explained that government had initially approached the UNDP for assistance in the acquisition of the BVR equipment because it did not have the resources.

Mnangagwa was responding to allegations by the opposition that government reneged on the agreement with UNDP on the procurement of the equipment.

Mnangagwa said the Ministry of Finance has since found the US$17 million that is required for the procurement of the BVR machines.

The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission has said the biometric voter registration system will be used for updating and cleaning up the voters roll but will not be used for voting in the 2018 harmonised elections.