Soldiers offered land to vote for Zanu PF
April 14, 2013 in Politics
HUNDREDS of soldiers, police officers and other security agents are set to
get residential stands ahead of elections in a move being viewed as an
attempt by Zanu PF to buy votes, it has emerged.
BY OUR STAFF
Officials in the Ministry of Local Government Rural and Urban Development
said they had been instructed to ensure that housing cooperatives and
organisations linked to Zanu PF get land to be dolled out to mostly members
of the uniformed services.
“Ordinary soldiers and other security agents have been complaining that they
are not benefitting from government programmes yet their bosses are living
lavishly,” said an official in the ministry. “In order to pacify them ahead
of elections, hundreds of stands are being allocated to members of the army,
police, prison and the intelligence.”
He said Apostolic and other Independent African Initiated churches were also
benefitting from the same programme. Most leaders of these churches have
openly shown their allegiance to Zanu PF.
Some of the organisations which were distributing land to soldiers include
Destiny of Africa Network (DAnet) led by Zanu PF sympathiser Rev Obadiah
Msindo.
Msindo yesterday said there was nothing wrong with members of the military
and other security agents getting stands ahead of elections.
“No one is going to stop us from giving them stands and houses because they
are underpaid by Tendai Biti (Finance minister) yet the peace and
tranquillity we are enjoying now is because of them,” he said. “They cannot
continue to be lodgers in a country they are protecting and defending.”
Msindo said over 200 soldiers in Mutare and Bindura have already been given
complete houses, while several others were set to get residential stands in
various cities and towns.
“We are pushing that by 2015 over 100 000 stands should have been fully
developed for soldiers and other security agents,” he said.
The Ministry of Local Government officials said several other housing
cooperatives specifically for the uniformed forces have mushroomed in
different parts of the country. The cooperatives were given priority in
terms of allocation of land. Local authorities were being also directed to
reserve land.
Local Government minister, Ignatious Chombo, whose ministry is in charge of
all state land and controls local authorities, could not be reached for
comment.