Lands Parliamentary Committee chairperson Justice Mayor Wadyajena Wednesday clashed with MDC-T MP David Tekeshe over alleged ‘partisan’ distribution of inputs under the government-run Pfumvudza or Intwasa programme.
Tekeshe, who is also the MDC-T deputy chief whip, alleged that the distribution of the inputs was done in a partisan manner with only Zanu-PF supporters benefitting while known opposition members failed to get any support. Tekeshe claimed:
Chairperson, my question is in connection with the Pfumvudza programme. In Rusape, councillors did not distribute inputs but it was done by party chairpersons.
In response, Wadyajena asked how the MDC-T legislator knew that the people who were distributing the Pfumvudza inputs were members of the ruling ZANU PF. He said:
Hon. Tekeshe you said party councillors and then reverted to party chairpersons. Are you a member of Zanu-PF? How do you know those people who distributed the inputs belong to Zanu-PF?
Tekeshe said he was present on the day the distribution of inputs was done adding that he knows the distributors belonged to ZANU PF because they contest against each other for political positions. He added:
So does Pfumvudza belong to a party?
Wadyajena who is also a ZANU PF MP for Gokwe-Nembudziya then ordered the Parliament committee clerk identified only as Majoni to mute Tekeshe’s microphone.
He also asked if there was evidence to substantiate the claims that the inputs were being distributed on partisan lines but Tekeshe said he had none. Wadyajena then said:
Hon. Tekeshe do not bring silly issues in this committee. We have no time for such.
The government introduced the Pfumvudza/Intwasa programme in 2020 to assist small-scale farmers with agricultural inputs to sustain food security at the household level and bumper harvest is expected this year due to favourable rains.
It is not the first time the ruling party has been accused of abusing state resources to gain political mileage.
Last year, then Minister of Health and Child Care, Dr Obadiah Moyo, allegedly wrote and signed a letter addressed to Victor Matemadanda at Zanu-PF headquarters assuring him that medicines he had requested to be supplied to clinics in Lupane East ahead of a by-election would be supplied by NatPharm.
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