Lawmakers have demanded a ministerial statement from Finance minister Mthuli Ncube explaining the source of funding and criteria used for selecting beneficiaries under various presidential support schemes amid reports of their politicisation.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s investment advisor to the United Arab Emirates, Paul Tungwarara, is coordinating most of the presidential support schemes.
Tungwarara, a Zanu PF benefactor, recently unveiled the Presidential War Veterans Fund with a US$1,5 million budget after a section of war veterans called for Mnangagwa’s removal from office.
Under the project, war veterans loyal to Zanu PF and who attended the provincial launches of the scheme were being given around US$200, which is not enough to start any serious income generating project.
He also unveiled the war veterans’ rural housing scheme to buy the support of ex-combatants.
The two projects were dismissed by observers including war veterans as a desperate attempt to hoodwink them into supporting plans to extend Mnangagwa’s term of office from 2028 to 2030.
The war veterans have rallied Zimbabweans to oppose the 2030 agenda.
Legislators raised concern over the transparency of the presidential support schemes with Lupane West Member of Parliament (MP) Charles Sibanda demanding a ministerial statement.
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Sibanda, raising a point of national interest, highlighted potential challenges arising from these programmes concerning adherence to good public resource management systems as enshrined in Chapter 17 of the constitution.
The MP raised questions on the source of funding for the initiatives and the criteria used for selecting beneficiaries as areas of particular concern.
“While these are very noble initiatives,” Sibanda said.
“They, however, create a challenge with respect to adherence to good public management systems as envisaged by Chapter 17 of our Zimbabwean constitution because of the source of these funds and also because of the selection criteria of beneficiaries, where in most cases, these programmes have been viewed as skewed in terms of selection of beneficiaries, making them difficult to achieve their intended goals and objectives as the president may desire.
“Accordingly, I request that the minister of Finance may come to this august House with a ministerial statement to advise the House on the evaluation reports on these presidential programmes on how they achieve their desired goals and objectives.”
Some of the presidential support schemes include presidential solar scheme, presidential poultry scheme, presidential input scheme, presidential heifer scheme, presidential borehole and goat scheme with most of the projects targeting mainly Zanu PF supporters.
Zanu PF linked businesspersons Mike Chimombe and Moses Mpofu are currently in remand prison on charges of misappropriating US$7,7 million from the presidential goat scheme.
According to the state, the two allegedly forged tax and compliance certificates to secure a tender to supply goats while misrepresenting their company’s compliance status.
They were arrested in June 2024.
