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Zanu-PF, MDC to get $100 million
27 Feb 2021 at 19:06hrs | Views
THE government says it will release a total of $100 million to the ruling Zanu-PF and the MDC this year, under the Political Parties (Finance) Act.
In an extraordinary government gazette that was published yesterday, Zanu-PF was earmarked to pocket $70 million of this money, with the rest going to the MDC.
"It is hereby notified, in terms of section 3(2) of the Political Parties (Finance) Act [Chapter 2:11], that the total amount of moneys payable to political parties in respect of the year beginning 1st January 2021 and ending on 31st December 2021 is one hundred million dollars.
"The money shall be disbursed to political parties that qualify in terms of section 3(3) of the Act as $70 030 000,00 to Zanu-PF, which received 70,03 percent of the votes cast; and $29 970 000,00 shall be paid to the MDC … which received 29,9 percent of the total votes cast," read part of the notice.
In July last year, the government also released $25 million which was shared proportionately between the country's two main political parties.
In December, authorities once again disbursed a total of $76 million to Zanu-PF and the main opposition MDC now led by Douglas Mwonzora.
Of this amount, Zanu-PF received $61 million - while the MDC got the rest, under the provisions of the legislation which sanctions the disbursement of funds to major political parties in Parliament.
According to the Political Parties (Finance) Act, the State should provide funding to parties that won at least five percent of the vote in a general election.
"(1) Subject to this Act, every political party shall be entitled in each Parliamentary year to receive from the State the sums of money that are payable to it in terms of this Act.
"Each political party whose candidates received at least five percentum of the total number of votes cast in the most recent general election shall be entitled to the same proportion of the total money appropriated as the total number of votes cast for its candidates in the election bears to the aggregate of votes cast for all political parties that qualify to be paid moneys in terms of this subsection," reads part of the Act.
In an extraordinary government gazette that was published yesterday, Zanu-PF was earmarked to pocket $70 million of this money, with the rest going to the MDC.
"It is hereby notified, in terms of section 3(2) of the Political Parties (Finance) Act [Chapter 2:11], that the total amount of moneys payable to political parties in respect of the year beginning 1st January 2021 and ending on 31st December 2021 is one hundred million dollars.
"The money shall be disbursed to political parties that qualify in terms of section 3(3) of the Act as $70 030 000,00 to Zanu-PF, which received 70,03 percent of the votes cast; and $29 970 000,00 shall be paid to the MDC … which received 29,9 percent of the total votes cast," read part of the notice.
In July last year, the government also released $25 million which was shared proportionately between the country's two main political parties.
Of this amount, Zanu-PF received $61 million - while the MDC got the rest, under the provisions of the legislation which sanctions the disbursement of funds to major political parties in Parliament.
According to the Political Parties (Finance) Act, the State should provide funding to parties that won at least five percent of the vote in a general election.
"(1) Subject to this Act, every political party shall be entitled in each Parliamentary year to receive from the State the sums of money that are payable to it in terms of this Act.
"Each political party whose candidates received at least five percentum of the total number of votes cast in the most recent general election shall be entitled to the same proportion of the total money appropriated as the total number of votes cast for its candidates in the election bears to the aggregate of votes cast for all political parties that qualify to be paid moneys in terms of this subsection," reads part of the Act.
Source - dailynews
