A rowdy group of suspected Zanu PF youths on Thursday barred Transparency International Zimbabwe (TIZ) from conducting a public hearing on corruption in the education sector, threatening unspecified action to anyone who dared attend.
The meeting was called off after about 15 youths ordered everyone out of the venue at Building Brigade Hall in Mucheke high-density suburb.
TIZ legal officer Patience Ndlovu said they were not sure who was behind the sabotage, but said the move was “very regrettable”.
“That is clear sabotage and unwarranted hooliganism. We received calls earlier that some people were ordering people away from the venue. When we arrived at the venue before starting time, people were streaming out and they told us that they were ordered to leave by unknown persons,” she said.
Zanu PF Masvingo provincial chairman Lovemore Matuke could not be reached for comment as his mobile phone went unanswered.
Ndlovu said the hearings were meant for information gathering after they received complaints of corruption in the education sector.
“This is a countrywide project meant for information gathering. We received numerous complaints of corruption in the education sector. The trends were just the same countrywide, be it in rural or urban areas.
“We will have a consultative workshop with the Ministry of Education where we will present the findings and they will also map the way forward. We also need to engage the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Education to influence policy,” she said.
