FORMER Hurungwe West Zanu PF legislator Temba Mliswa has accused the Zimbabwe Republic Police and the local authority of conniving to bar him from donating maize seed to impoverished villagers in the area.
BY OBEY MANAYITI
Mliswa, who recently lost the Hurungwe West by-election after contesting as an independent candidate, told NewsDay yesterday his inputs distribution programme had been stopped by police, who asked him to produce a Private Voluntary Organisation (PVO) certificate.
He claimed that he had sourced over 5 000 tonnes of maize seed, which he wanted to donate to the community.
“The distribution of maize seed in Hurungwe West is an annual programme that I have undertaken for the past 10 years. It is a programme aimed at boosting food security and assisting people who are struggling in Hurungwe West in my own small way,” Mliswa said.
“For reasons best known to the concerned individuals, whose agenda is as yet unclear, members of the Zimbabwe Republic Police were engaged to put a hold on the programme while we were in Karereshi, citing the fact that a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between myself and Hurungwe Rural District Council (RDC) had to be signed before any such disbursement was made.
“This, in itself, was a move shrouded with suspicion as, as I mentioned before, for the last 10 years, even before I became a Member of Parliament, this programme has been running.”
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He said the decision would affect the poor, who would not be in a position to raise money to buy seed.
However, Hurungwe RDC chief executive officer, Joram Moyo insisted that Mliswa had to follow certain procedures before he was allowed to distribute the donations.
“Generally, as per procedure, no one can just come to distribute anything without following procedure. We would like to know who is dealing with the community and there are MoUs to be signed,” he said.
Moyo said if Mliswa was coming in as a non-governmental organisation, then he should present his papers and no one would deny him the opportunity to help people.
“If he didn’t follow procedure, then he shouldn’t accuse anyone. He can’t bulldoze his way because procedures have to be followed.”
