Govt struggles to fund political parties

Government is struggling to pay political parties the $6 million earmarked in this year's National Budget under the Political Parties Finance Act owing to the cash squeeze.

Zanu-PF and MDC-T are entitled to share $6 million proportionately after Finance and Economic Development Minister Patrick Chinamasa allocated the money during the 2016 National Budget.

The delay has seen the parties pursuing other alternatives as Government is weighed down by several national competing interests among them salaries for civil servants and importing food in the wake of the El Nino-induced drought.

This has also seen MDC-T falling into salary arrears, with some employees threatening legal action as donor fatigue takes its toll.

While Minister Chinamasa was not available for comment, a senior official in the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development confirmed that Treasury was still to disburse the money to political parties.