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MDC Alliance slams 'brazen injustice' as Mwonzora gets its $60 million
30 Aug 2021 at 19:19hrs | Views
The MDC Alliance is raging after the government gave Z$60 million due to the party under the Political Parties (Finance) Act to the MDC-T instead.
MDC Alliance treasurer David Coltart called the decision a "brazen injustice."
Political parties are allocated annual funding by treasury based on their electoral performance in the last election. Justice minister Ziyambi Ziyambi on Friday okayed the disbursement of Z$59,940,000 for the MDC Alliance and Z$140 million to Zanu-PF – but the MDC Alliance share was sent to the MDC-T party led by Douglas Mwonzora.
Coltart fumed: "Ziyambi has confirmed that Z$60 million (about US$428,000) has been paid to the MDC-T, whereas the Government Gazette says it should be paid to the MDC Alliance. The MDC-T and the MDC Alliance are two separate entities, so on what basis has this been done?
"There're a few things Zimbabwean taxpayers should know. This is illegal; the money will not be accounted for and subjected to independent audit as we did when state money was paid to MDC Alliance and the money will be used to promote a Zanu-PF agenda not a democratic agenda.
"The payment of this money is a brazen injustice which runs completely contrary to the provisions of the Political Parties (Finance) Act which states funds are issued in proportion to votes secured. MDC-T got less than 50,000 votes (in 2018)."
Section 3 of the Political Parties (Finance) Act states that each political party whose candidates received "at least five per centum of the total number of votes cast in the most recent general election shall be entitled to the same proportion of the total moneys 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."
The MDC Alliance accuses the MDC-T of being a Zanu-PF surrogate, and says the decision to deprive it of its funding is designed to decapitate the party while propping up Mwonzora's project. This way, the MDC Alliance says, Zanu-PF hopes Mwonzora can split the vote at the next election, denying the MDC Alliance victory.
MDC Alliance treasurer David Coltart called the decision a "brazen injustice."
Political parties are allocated annual funding by treasury based on their electoral performance in the last election. Justice minister Ziyambi Ziyambi on Friday okayed the disbursement of Z$59,940,000 for the MDC Alliance and Z$140 million to Zanu-PF – but the MDC Alliance share was sent to the MDC-T party led by Douglas Mwonzora.
Coltart fumed: "Ziyambi has confirmed that Z$60 million (about US$428,000) has been paid to the MDC-T, whereas the Government Gazette says it should be paid to the MDC Alliance. The MDC-T and the MDC Alliance are two separate entities, so on what basis has this been done?
"The payment of this money is a brazen injustice which runs completely contrary to the provisions of the Political Parties (Finance) Act which states funds are issued in proportion to votes secured. MDC-T got less than 50,000 votes (in 2018)."
Section 3 of the Political Parties (Finance) Act states that each political party whose candidates received "at least five per centum of the total number of votes cast in the most recent general election shall be entitled to the same proportion of the total moneys 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."
The MDC Alliance accuses the MDC-T of being a Zanu-PF surrogate, and says the decision to deprive it of its funding is designed to decapitate the party while propping up Mwonzora's project. This way, the MDC Alliance says, Zanu-PF hopes Mwonzora can split the vote at the next election, denying the MDC Alliance victory.
Source - zimlive
