JUSTICE minister Patrick Chinamasa yesterday said Finance minister Tendai Biti should allot adequate funds for the forthcoming referendum and harmonised elections set for next year in his 2013 National Budget presentation today.
BY OUR STAFF REPORTER
Chinamasa, who was officiating at the handover ceremony of the $6 million Mahachi Quantum building to the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) in Harare, thanked Biti for availing funds for the refurbishment of the building, but said the Finance minister should ensure he set aside money for the referendum and polls because Zimbabwe would not accept foreign funding for the two processes.
“In this regard, allow me to call on the Minister of Finance to include provision of financial and other resources in his budget presentation tomorrow (today) which will make for the successful holding of the referendum and elections set for March next year.
“Such processes cannot be funded by other governments or non-governmental organisations,” he said.
The seven-storey building was handed over to the Justice ministry by Minister of Public Works Joel Gabbuza Gabuza before the keys to the building were handed over to ZEC acting chairperson Joyce Kazembe.
Kazembe said it was a major relief for ZEC to “finally” get decent accommodation, adding the commission’s plans for an ICT system would now proceed.
“We are thrilled that plans for an ICT system will come to fruition in the near future. To us, we don’t mind whether the building belongs to the Ministry of Public Works, handed over to the Ministry of Justice and bought by the Ministry of Finance, the good thing is it is now occupied by ZEC,” Kazembe said.
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