Human Rights Monitors (HRMs) trained by Heal Zimbabwe in Masvingo Province have pointed out that the continued partisan distribution of government aid during the Covid-19 lockdown threatens existing social cohesion.
Reporting weekly to Heal Zimbabwe, HRM reported that since the lockdown began in January 2021, there has been an increase in cases of partisan distribution of government aid by unscrupulous local leaders in Masvingo province.
“We have seen even deserving recipients of state aid being marginalized during the lockdown. In these desperate times, with limited economic activity, we have seen councilors and traditional leaders withhold government assistance (mainly from the Ministry of Social Welfare) to deserving beneficiaries. This, in turn, has undermined our trust in our leadership and created serious conflicts here,” said an HRM from Chivi.
In Gutu (district 6), on February 15, 2021, councilor Wenceslaus Madhai and youth leader Patrick Marimazhira distributed fertilizer under the Pfumvudza agricultural input program in a partisan manner, despite the fact that both had declared during the previous distribution that they were using fertilizers from this Distribution that could not benefit would be prioritized the same day.
This led to chaos, people resorted to physical violence and seized the remaining bags of fertilizer.
Magondo and the Zanu PF leader, who identified himself only as Chikanga, distributed fertilizer in a discriminatory manner and prioritized 28 members of the 2018 Zanu PF campaign team. The distribution took place at Madzivire reservoir.
On February 18, Councilor Tedios Wafawarova and Zanu PF official Nicholas Chivende at Bikita Station 12 biasedly distributed fertilizer under the Pfumvudza agricultural input program.
Most of the people who benefited were known supporters of Zanu PF, which led people to protest against the city council. The distribution took place at the DDF offices at the Nyika growth point.
To address these challenges, HRDs operating in areas where misconduct is prevalent have decided to engage in dialogue with relevant stakeholders.
The proposed dialogue meetings will respect the Covid-19 regulations which limit the number of participants to 50 people.
Heal Zimbabwe uses different strategies to resolve conflicts in local communities. One such avenue is through Community Dialogues, an initiative for communities to collectively discuss and identify ways in which they can come up with solutions to their communities’ problems.
The platforms also provide communities with relevant information on Covid-19, gender-based violence and human rights. These platforms also facilitate conversations at the local level on relevant issues affecting communities and create socially cohesive communities.