MDC Alliance MP Jasmine Toffa (Proportional Representative), was this Thursday reportedly blocked by police from delivering mealie in her constituency (Bulawayo).
Police allegedly blocked her from going ahead with the delivery and also instructed millers not to sell the product to her. A tweet by the MDC read:
MDCA MP, Hon Jasmine Toffa had started implementing the delivery of mealie meal in her Bulawayo constituency consistent with the Party’s program to assist the vulnerable during the lockdown. The Police are blocking her and have instructed millers not to sell to her.
The development comes when residents in Bulawayo have called for mealie-meal to be distributed door-to-door so that residents adhere to social distancing.
In a statement, Bulawayo United Residents Association (Bura) secretary for research and development Shephard Maphosa said:
One of the key issues at the discussion has been social distancing. The general public feeling is that, while it is a noble preventative measure, there are some notable constraints to it.
Observation around the city is that people are in defiance as seen in mealie-meal queues, supermarket queues and even at some Zupco pick-up points.
One resident suggested that if the city council can pick up waste from residential areas door-to-door, perhaps this same model could be adopted in the distribution of mealie-meal.