Movement for Democratic Change deputy spokesman Luke Tamborinyoka says government spokesman Nick Mangwana is lying that funds due to political parties under the Political Parties Finance Act have not yet been disbursed.
The government in June said it had disbursed $12 million under the Act with ZANU-PF expected to get 70 percent and the MDC 29.97 percent.
Tamborinyoka said the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front had already been allocated its share but the MDC was being moved from pillar to post.
It needed the money for its congress and when the funds were not disbursed, outgoing secretary-general Douglas Mwonzora said the government wanted to sabotage its congress.
Now the party argues that the government is withholding the funds to scuttle its planned mass demonstrations set for next week.
Below is the full statement by the MDC:
MDC Information Department
Thursday, 08 August 2019
Govt brazenly withholds MDC grant while paying Zanu PF
In a brazen act of political thuggery, the government has withheld the MDC grant entitled to the party under the Political Parties Finance Act while Zanu PF has already been paid their dues. The past one week has seen top MDC officials being sent from pillar to post in their quest to get the grant entitled to the party under the laws of the country. The government grant is the money that as a party we use to support parliamentary work and other administrative and political purposes that advance the agenda of the people who continue to support the MDC, as evidenced by the 2,6 million votes received by President nelson Chamisa in last year’s stolen election.
Now Zanu PF is engaging in cheap political games to deny the party its share entitled to it under the Political Parties Finance Act.
We place it on record that it was none other than the permanent secretary in the Ministry of Justice, Mrs Virginia Mabhiza, who confirmed to the MDC last week that the government had disbursed money to political parties. She confirmed that she had already disbursed money to Zanu PF but upon being asked about the MDC share, she referred us to Justice Minister Kazembe Kazembe, who denied that they had received the money from Treasury.
On Tuesday, 6 August 2019, the MDC secretary General Hon. Chalton Hwende met with the Finance Minister Hon. Mthuli Ncube at Parliament in the presence of Minister Kazembe Kazembe. Minister Ncube insisted in the presence of Minister Kazembe that he had since disbursed money to political parties. Minister Ncube expressed shock that the MDC had not received its share of the money, to which minister Kazembe then promised to disburse the money the following day but he did not do so.
The next thing we heard from the Ministry of Justice was that they were not releasing our money because they had received a letter from
Lovemore Madhuku on behalf of Mrs Thokozani Khupe, the president of another party calling itself the MDC T, seeking to receive our share of the money. For that reason they said they could not disburse our money.
It is important to state that Madhuku was a presidential candidate who contested the last election. Mrs Khupe’s party also contested the last election and her party is represented in Parliament. It is shocking that a party with representation in Parliament, which representation fails to meet the threshold for receiving money under the Political Parties Finance Act, would claim money due to another political party.
The MDC bemoans the conflation between the party and the State which Zanu PF is using to deny us the money due to us under the laws of the land. We have seen statements from the government saying we cannot receive our money because government has other priorities. Yet this is the same government that is on record saying that they have a surplus. If they have a surplus on their budget as they claim, they should simply give the MDC its share.
We are tired of these cheap games. We are tired of being harassed, victimized and having our legitimate operations crippled for demanding that which is rightfully due to us.
MDC: Change that Delivers.
Luke Tamborinyoka
Deputy National Spokesperson
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