Families of the six people who died during the August 1
post-election violence last year are set to receive compensation from
Government soon, as authorities begin implementing recommendations of the
Motlanthe commission.
A working group of senior officials has recommended to the
Inter-Ministerial Committee on Political and Electoral reforms the need to
prioritise compensation for families of the deceased, which could include
school fees for their children.
Those who were injured will also be reimbursed the money
they spent on medical assistance. The proposals will, however, have to be
approved by Cabinet.
Government, through the Ministry of Industry and Commerce,
is also setting up a fund to assist small businesses that were caught up in the
mayhem.
Treasury and the Department of Social Welfare are currently
computing the quantum of payouts.
Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs permanent
secretary Mrs Virginia Mabhiza – who was also secretary to the Motlanthe
commission – told The Sunday Mail that only “direct dependents” of the deceased
will receive compensation.
“The President (Emmerson Mnangagwa) set up a taskforce to
implement recommendations from the (Motlanthe) commission, together with other
reports from the various election observer missions,” said Mrs Mabhiza.
“But with respect to compensation, we have dealt with the
issue at the working party level, which I co-chair together with Foreign
Affairs (and International Trade), and what we have done is that we have made
recommendations to the (Inter-) Ministerial taskforce requesting a budget that
should be provided through the Department of Social Welfare to compensate the
victims of the August 1 post-election violence,” he said.
The commission of inquiry into the August 1 post-election
violence, which was chaired by former South African President Kgalema
Motlanthe, recommended, among other things, that Government sets up a special
committee to assess and determine the quantum of damages and compensation to be
awarded to victims on a case-by-case basis.
The Department of Social Welfare will work on facilitating
the payouts.
Mrs Mabhiza said: “In terms of implementation, that will
largely depend on the availability of funds, so the Department of Social
Welfare, who we have brought on board the taskforce, will look into issue of
facilitating the compensation.
“The quantum of the compensation will have to be assessed
by the Ministry of Finance, sitting together with the Department of Social
Welfare – those are the people who are supposed to quantify and cause Cabinet to
approve.”
Government also plans to liaise with the Zimbabwe
Association of Doctors for Human Rights (ZADHR), a non-governmental
organisation that reportedly assisted some of the victims, to identify those
who may require assistance.
Thorough vetting will precede the planned disbursements.
“One of the findings was that a third force could have been
involved and, maybe, police have to further investigate some of the issues
before they can qualify for the compensation, but that is just my opinion,” she
said.
ZADHR director Mr Calvin Kobiri said: “We produced a report
which we duly submitted to the commission of inquiry. I will refer to that
document and the final report produced by the commission.
“We only provided assistance for the injured for that time.” According to the ZADHR report, 29 people in Harare were
injured during the disturbances, while eight others were injured in
Chitungwiza.
However, it is believed that families of the deceased will
be given priority. Relief will also be given to businesses, especially small
enterprises, which were affected by the violence.
The six people who died are Brian Zhuwawo, Challenge Tauro,
Jealous Chikandira, Gavin Dean Charles, Ishmael Kumire and Sylvia Maphosa.
The commission nailed several senior officials from the
MDC-Alliance for incendiary rhetoric during the campaigns which resulted in the
street riots. Sunday Mail
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