Air Chief Marshal Perrance Shiri

Nqobile Tshili, Chronicle Correspondent
THE Government does not discriminate against its citizens along partisan lines and is in the process of conducting land audits whose outcome will benefit everyone, a Cabinet Minister has said.

Speaking during a question and answer session in Parliament on Wednesday, the Minister of Lands, Agriculture and Rural Resettlement, Air Chief Marshal Perrance Shiri (Retired), clarified the criteria used to select beneficiaries of the Command Livestock programme.

MDC-T Harare Central legislator Mr Murisi Zwizwai had claimed that members of the opposition were sidelined in Government projects in the previous era.

“In the first place, I am not aware of the fact that some people were discriminated against in participating in programmes in the past but we are now looking at the new dispensation. When we address farmers, we are going to talk to people who are bona fide farmers, whether they are communal farmers, A1 or A2,” said Air Chief Marshal Shiri.

“All we want is the evidence that one is a bona fide farmer. We are not going to discriminate along partisan lines. Everybody should participate in the development of the country.

“I have been approached by many people, including people from various political parties, who also want to benefit from the land reform programme.”

He said the Government is working on a land audit which upon completion could result in allocation of land even to opposition members.

“I have highlighted to them that they should submit their applications because there is a land audit which is going on. When there is a need for them to benefit, they will definitely benefit. May I please pinpoint that if Hon. Zwizwai also wants to benefit, we will take him as an example of the non-partisanship approach of the Government towards its programmes,” the Minister said. — @nqotshili