NATIONAL Constitutional Assembly (NCA) candidate for next week’s Bikita West by-election Madock Chivasa is up in arms with Zanu PF for allegedly distributing food aid to party supporters as a vote buying gimmick.
Chivasa, a top aide to party leader Lovemore Madhuku, told NewZimbabwe.com on Sunday that Zanu PF has resorted to the old tactic to woo hungry villagers to its rallies.
Chivasa, who is also NCA spokesperson, also said suspected Zanu PF activists were defacing his posters in attempts to frustrate his campaign.
“They are defacing our posters and we have resorted to printing more posters to replace those that would have been removed or damaged,” Chivasa said from his Bikita base.
“We have registered our complaints with ZEC but nothing is changing.”
He added: “Zanu PF is using food aid to buy votes; they are distributing rice, maize among their own supporters.
“Our position is that they cannot use food aid to look for votes. If they decide to give food, they must give it to everyone and not those who support you.”
Zanu PF has continuously denied abusing food aid sourced through non-governmental organizations as bait for party support and also to punish perceived supporters of its opponents.
However, Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa last week let the cat out of the bag when he admitted the Zanu PF led government was in the habit of distributing farming inputs, often at tax payers’ expense, to buy votes.
He was speaking during a recent tour of farms in Mashonaland Central to assess the progress of government’s Command Agriculture scheme.
“We used to give you (farmers) inputs so you could vote for us, but this time you will vote for us and we will follow up on our inputs. Tanga tajaira kukupai zvinhu tisingateverere kuti mutivhotere. Iko zvino toti mutivhotere tichikuteverererayi (We used to shower you with inputs without bothering to follow up because we wanted your votes. This time we will ask you to vote for us first then we come for you).”
Incidentally, Bikita was one of the problematic areas which were, in September last year spotlighted on by the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission for rampant cases of food discrimination by some Zanu PF linked officials and civil servants.
Meanwhile, Chivasa remains confident of causing the biggest upset in Zimbabwe's by-elections since the 2013 elections insisting he was just about to become the first party candidate to win a by-election which pits six candidates.
The NCA has been participating in different by-elections since 2013 but has performed badly.
“We are taking this election seriously. We are more than certain that were are winning this election,” Chivasa said.
The January 21 poll will see Zanu PF’s Beauty Chibaya, Kudakwashe Gopo (ZimPF), Tanyaradzwa Makumbo (Progressive Democrats of Zimbabwe) and independent candidates Heya Shoko and Innocent Muzvimbiri all competing for a seat which was left vacant when Munyaradzi Kereke was jailed last year for raping his niece.