ZANU PF’s shadowy affiliate, Forever Associates Zimbabwe (FAZ) is allegedly denying Pfumvudza agricultural inputs to suspected Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) supporters.
A stand-off erupted when a suspected FAZ member, Enika Gomo, removed names of opposition sympathisers from the beneficiaries’ list in ward 25, Hurungwe West constituency, on Saturday.
The incident happened at Zvipani shopping centre.
One of the victims Morris Mubaiwa told NewsDay that he was denied the agricultural inputs because of his links to the opposition.
“Mai Gomo — a well-known FAZ operative — tampered with the database and said anyone who was not attending Zanu PF meetings was not supposed to getthe agricultural inputs. Several households were denied the inputs. I confronted her and she quickly mobilised Zanu PF youths to harass me,” he said.
Zanu PF ward 25 councillor Edmore Nyamukumba confirmed the incident.
“I confirm that the incident happened and Mai Gomo is a member of FAZ. We have people who are in our database who have complied with the prerequisite of being a beneficiary of Pfumvudza. To be a beneficiary, one needs to have dug holes which are inspected but in this case, the people had not qualified,” he said.
FAZ president Kudakwashe Musanka said his organisation was just monitoring the distribution of the presidential inputs.
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“As an organisation, we don’t choose the beneficiaries. We are there to avoid pilferage and make sure that the presidential inputs are reaching the intended beneficiaries. We also make sure that they are not being abused,” he said.
Government says it has mobilised over 360 000 tonnes of agricultural inputs, including seed and fertiliser, to support smallholder farmers under the Climate-Proofed Presidential Input Scheme (Pfumvudza/Intwasa).
According to weather experts, this year’s summer cropping season will likely be affected by the El Niño weather phenomenon, which typically leads to delayed and below-normal rainfall.
Government is targeting cereal production of 3 512 658 tonnes — 2,8 million tonnes of maize and 712 658 tonnes of traditional grains and oil seeds — which are enough to meet local demand.
The country needs about 2,2 million tonnes of grain annually.
However, distribution of inputs to the targeted 3,5 million beneficiaries — which commenced on April 18 in Mt Darwin, Mashonaland Central province — has been marred by accusations of looting and nepotism.
