ZPF officials starving opposition in Chimanimani

By Tererai Karimakwenda
13 November, 2007

We have received reports that officials from the ruling party are blocking opposition supporters from accessing much needed food in the Chimanimani area of Manicaland. Villagers named a ZANU-PF coordinator known as “Mai Knight” as the chief perpetrator. They said she is hoping to win the party’s Senate seat for the area in the elections next year.
The latest incident occurred last Thursday when six hundred 50 kg bags of maize meal were delivered by the Grain Marketing Board, to be sold to all residents of Chimanimani urban. Party affiliation is not supposed to influence who gets the food, but according to our Chimani contact Peter, Mai Knight and the ZANU-PF Senator named Munama controlled the distribution of the maize meal. Peter said Knight blatantly announced that only those who have a ZANU-PF card would be allowed to get the food. Peter said she warned the villagers that tough times were coming and they know what to do if they want to eat.
Mai Knight has been named in many reports by opposition supporters who say she denies them food and other services meant for the general public. The ZANU-PF coordinator is also reportedly quite outspoken about her political bias. If she becomes a Senator for the area, many Chimanimani residents fear they will be starved even more.
Peter reported another disturbing incident that occurred in Nyanyadzi near the Hot Springs area of Manicaland. The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) was due to distribute food there earlier this year because of the serious shortages. According to Peter, ZANU-PF officials intervened, claiming there was no need for food aid at the time. Peter said that Munacho Mutezo, the non-constituency MP for Chimanimani, convinced the WFP officials to delay food distribution. He was assisted by the provincial administrator named Fungai Mbetsa.
Peter told Newsreel that there are very few ZANU-PF supporters in the Eastern border towns of Zimbabwe. He explained that the ruling party is aware of this, and has decided to intensify the use of food as a political weapon ahead of the elections next year.