MDC-T Women's Assembly deplores partisan food distribution

The MDC Women Assembly feels heavily disheartened by the hunger that has bedeviled and gripped the country.

As the women's leadership of the party, we are in solidarity with every citizen of Zimbabwe and express our displeasure with the government of ZANU PF that is engaged in a needless and senseless campaign to distribute food on partisan lines.

We feel that a government with people at heart, was supposed to take measures to mitigate hunger before a sustained onslaught of starvation ravaged the people and their livestock. While the hunger is being attributed to the effects of El Nino, we strongly believe that if the ZANU PF government was efficient and effective, it should have taken decisive plans before hunger befell the people.

The Assembly of Women is convinced that the ZANU PF government has failed  to provide food to all Zimbabwean citizens regardless of political affiliation,   when in fact food is everyone's  right. Section77 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe gives the State the obligation to provide food. It is therefore the responsibility of government to provide food security to every citizen across the political divide.

Currently, in most parts of the country, people are struggling to make ends meet and provide a decent meal to their families, with others reported to be fighting for wild fruits. The deteriorating socio economic conditions in this country have seen multiple rights being violated As a result of inadequate food supplies, diseases are increasing, especially malnutrition to the children, thereby violating their right to health.
 
The Assembly of Women is outraged by the partisan distribution of food aid by the Zanu PF government and some of its partisan headmen and chiefs. This has been very prevalent in most areas of the country.

As  mothers, wives and grandmothers, the effects of the partisan distribution of food aid  has hit us hard in our households .Our children are failing to access food, education and jobs. As such this has led to emotional distress among many women in Zimbabwe at a time when we are expected to be stepping up towards achieving sustainable development goals.

The Assembly of Women strongly condemns such practices and would like the government to at least uphold both the dictates of the Constitution and the cultural spirit of empathy. The issues of gender discrimination during the partisan distribution cannot go unnoticed at a time when the world is making serious strides towards gender equality. As an Assembly we demand the immediate end to gross and multiple violations of people's rights to access food aid.

Cognizant of all the political , economic and social woes presided over by ZANU PF in the past thirty years in its power, the MDC  government led by  Morgan Tsvangirai will ensure that people have access to an efficient, effective, competent and a responsive government that respects people's rights, promote equity and equality and provide opportunities  that would make people realize their full potential in different spheres of life.

Lynette Karenyi
MDC-T Assembly of Women National Chairperson