Commissions Watch 3/2017
Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission Report:
Report on Food Aid Cases
5 May
COMMISSIONS WATCH 3/2017
ZIMBABWE HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION
[5th May 2017]
Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission: Report on Food Aid Cases
In Parliament recently, the Deputy Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social
Welfare made a Ministerial Statement on the Government’s Food Deficit
Mitigation Programme, which was repeated in the Senate the following day.
He denied that there was widespread partisan distribution of food aid and
stoutly maintained that the system for implementation of the programme was
such as to rule out partisan distribution; he said the Ministry had received only
half a dozen complaints. In both Houses MPs’ responses, based on personal
observations, indicated that what was still happening on the ground was very
far from the ideal situation painted by the Ministerial statement, which is
available on the Veritas website in a document that includes MPs’ responses
[available here].
Surprisingly there seems to have been no reference to the Zimbabwe Human
Rights Commission’s [ZHRC] September 2016 report on its investigation into
the subject [report available here]. The report is summarised below.
The ZHRC Investigation into Food Distribution
The Constitution empowers the ZHRC to, among other things, receive and
consider complaints from the public concerning violations of human rights and
to take such action in regard to the complaints as it considers appropriate.
Further, in terms of section 244(2) of the Constitution, the Commission may
submit reports to Parliament on particular matters relating to human rights and
freedoms which, in its opinion, should be brought to the attention of Parliament.
The report on Food Aid cases, which documents its investigations of alleged
discrimination on the basis of political affiliation in the distribution of agricultural
inputs and food aid in various areas in the country, is one such report.
Background
The Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission’s report on Food Aid cases was in
response to complaints about the exclusion of members of opposition groups,
primarily members of the MDC-T, from the Food Deficit Mitigation Programme
− a national initiative rolled out by the Department of Social Welfare and Plan
International to address the humanitarian crisis caused by the drought. The
Programme provides cash and food aid for work or directly to vulnerable
families in the country. Individuals in Buhera North Constituency, Mazowe
Central Constituency, Muzarabani North and South Constituencies and Bikita
East Constituency complained about the political use of food aid, and
corruption in the administration and distribution of food aid. After conducting
investigations in the affected areas between May and August 2016, and after
taking into account the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare’s