A ZANU PF MP last week heckled Finance deputy minister Clemence Chiduwa, demanding that he explains to Parliament how much money the government had so far disbursed to assist vulnerable citizens facing hunger during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In April, President Emmerson Mnangagwa said the government
had set aside $18,2 billion to cushion industry and to cater for social grants
to vulnerable citizens whose income were hit by the vagaries of COVID-19.
But almost seven months after announcing the bailout
package, government still lacks transparency on how many people benefited from
the fund and how they were identified. MPs also said they did not know of
anyone who have benefited from their constituencies.
Hurungwe North MP Ability Gandawa (Zanu PF) said: “We did
not hear the Deputy Minister of Finance comment on the support on social safety
nets they were going to put in place to support those in rural areas.”
In his response, Chiduwa said: “We also had cash transfers
targeting the urban vulnerable and those who are in the peri-urban. Our target
was to get around one million beneficiaries. I think as of now, we are around
210 000. These are some of the statistics and I can assure you that we are
continuing to do the registrations.”
Labour and Social Welfare minister Paul Mavima in June told
Parliament that government had assisted 210 000 vulnerable people, which means,
government has not made other payments nearly four months later.
Mavima said the households were given $180 each,
transferred to their mobile accounts. The figure has increased to $300 per
individual.
A survey by NewsDay targeted at vendors showed that people
do not even know about the COVID-19 assistance funds to support vulnerable
people.
“I have never heard about such a fund and where I can
access the assistance,” said Tichaona Musve, who sells wares in the central
business district.
Naomi Sibanda, who sells bananas around the Avenues area
said: “For me, $300 sounds too little. The government should increase the
amount in order to motivate vulnerable people to go to the government offices
to get their names registered for the assistance.”
Harare East MP Tendai Biti (MDC Alliance) said while
government has claimed that it disbursed $18,2 billion in fiscal interventions,
as an urban MP, he had not come across anyone that benefited.
“In papers that were filed before the courts, the ministry
of (Labour and) Social Welfare confesses that you (Finance ministry) have only
disbursed $90 million to the relevant ministry,” Biti said.
In May, Mavima said government had promised to disburse $8
billion to assist vulnerable people.
MPs demanded that the two ministers should bring detailed
breakdowns of the people assisted and how much was disbursed to avoid the
confusion. Newsday
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