Zanu-PF snubs US$10m western poll donation, dares CCC to accept grant

Zanu-PF has pulled rank and issued a chilling warning on political rivals not to accept a US$10 million donation offered to Zimbabwean political parties by Western countries through their agencies for training of election agents ahead of the crucial August poll.

In a statement Wednesday, Zanu-PF treasurer general Patrick Chinamasa said the donation was a veiled strategy to prop up fierce opponent and Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) leader Nelson Chamisa's poll campaign.

Chinamasa said the donation was in violation of Zimbabwe's Political Parties (Finance) Act which forbids political parties from soliciting or receiving funding from foreign sources.

The controversial law, enacted in 2001 coincidentally by Chinamasa who was then justice minister, provides for stiff penalties, including disqualification for those violating the law.

Said Chinamasa, "It has come to the notice of the Zanu-PF Department of Finance that the UK, France, Australia, USAID, Sweden, Japan, the US Embassy in Harare, the US based National Democratic Institute (NDI) and the EU, USA and the UK funded Zimbabwe Election Support network (ZESN) and Election Resource Centre (ERC) have announced that they are putting together a donation of US$10m for the training of 12,500 election agents for each of the political parties participating the forthcoming harmonised elections.

"I wish it to make it abundantly clear that such offer of funding is illegal and in direct violation of section 6 of the Political Parties (Finance) Act chapter 2:11 which provides that ‘no political party, member of a political party or candidate shall accept any foreign donation whether directly or from a donor or through a third person'."

Chinamasa said Zanu-PF will turn down the donation which he insisted was "illegal and in violation of our laws".

He went on to threaten opponents against accepting the funding and further urged police to be on high alert for any untoward transfer of huge amounts of money into the country during the run-up to the high stakes poll.

"Zanu-PF calls upon all political parties in Zimbabwe including CCC and MDC-A not to accept this offer of funding as this would be in violation of the Political Parties (Finance) Act," Chinamasa said.

"Zanu-PF considers the offer of US$10 million to train political agents of whatever political party as not only a direct interference in Zimbabwe's political processes but a disguised strategy by the donors to prop up the waning political fortunes of Nelson Chamisa and his CCC party."

Formed off a faction of the MDC in 2022 and with a decent parliamentary representation, CCC does not receive any government funding under the cited law which affords proportional grants on political parties that reach a threshold of 5 percent of the national vote during the country's five-year poll circle.

Chinamasa added, "Zanu-PF calls upon the law enforcement agencies and financial institutions to monitor any flow of funds into Zimbabwe, especially during the election campaign period so as to prevent any violation of the Political Parties (Finance) Act to bring to book any perpetrators."