The Zimbabwean government says it will root out anyone who tries to politicize the distribution of food aid to distressed 2.7 million people across the country in a bid to deal with food insecurity.

Rutendo Maraire

Public Service and Social Welfare Minister July Moyo said no one will be excluded from the distribution system based on politics or their affiliation.

As the government when we give the president tells us that there is no place or household that we should leave behind so we cannot and we are not allowed to skip anyone because of their political party, we give every Zimbabwean who has hunger,” said Moyo.

This comes as the country braces for a poor harvest due to the El Nino- induced drought.

El Nino has been described as a natural climate phenomenon marked by warmer-than-average sea surface temperatures in the central and eastern Pacific Ocean that is near the equator, which occurs on average every 2-7 years.

In some areas, there has been some discrimination when it comes to food distribution by the government and other donors who would not give out food to people who do not belong to the ruling party.
 Moyo they are not going to ensure everyone gets food despite their political party.

He said they will be working with the World Food Programme to ensure everyone in every district gets to be food secure.

Some people do not support the ruling party Zanu-PF in different parts of the country being involved in the opposition such as the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC).

WFP is a leading humanitarian organization that changes the lives of people as it assists in delivering food assistance in times of emergencies and working with communities to improve nutrition and build resilience.

“To this end, the government is jointly working with WFP and its cooperating partners. The government will cover 56 districts and WFP will cover four districts (Buhera, Mangwe, Mwenezi and Chivi)” he said.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), nearly 3.5 million people are projected to be acutely food insecure and in need of urgent assistance up until at least March 2024.

Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) spokesperson Promise Mkwananzi said ZANU-PF was legendary for making fake promises as they abuse the system.

“It is not true. ZANU-PF has consistently abused food aid to punish those who support the opposition and we fear for this worst in this regard in light of the severe drought that engulfs the nation,” he said

According to a human rights monitoring group, Zimbabwe Peace Project at least 31 people were recorded to been denied food aid so far.