Source: Govt to pamper war collaborators – NewsDay Zimbabwe August 1, 2019
GOVERNMENT is drafting a law to legalise compensation and benefits for the restive war collaborators, who have not been rewarded for their role in the liberation struggle.
BY BRENNA MATENDERE
Defence minister Oppah Muchinguri made the revelations on Saturday at a “thank you” rally held for President Emmerson Mnangagwa in Gweru.
“We are in the process of putting together a Bill that will legalise compensation of the war collaborators. Cabinet has already approved the idea and asked us to come up with a Bill. At the moment, we have put together the principles of the Bill and are now working on the other issues that should be in the Bill,” she said.
The Zimbabwe Liberation War Collaborators Association is an arm of the ruling Zanu PF party and its members have been consistent in supporting the party during elections.Muchinguri, who is also the Zanu PF chairperson, said government would be done with the Bill in about a month’s time.
“Once we are done drafting the Bill, we will take it to the Cabinet committee on legislation, which will work on it and that can take about two weeks. The committee will then send it back to Cabinet for approval, then we take it to Parliament. So, all in all, we must be having the Bill in a month’s time,” she said, much to the delight of the war collaborators.”
Muchinguri also revealed that government had resolved to give farms and mines to the war collaborators.
“We know that there are some war collaborators who got farms, but we also have others who did not. So, we are looking for farms to give to those that did not get them in the past,” she said.
“The farms could differ in sizes; some will be 1 000 hectares and others 3 000 hectares and so forth. We are also saying it is time our war collaborators to get mines. Vetting of the war collaborators is going to be done very soon.”Daniel Molokele, the MDC spokesperson, said government must be careful in its approach on gratuities for war collaborators.
“We are not against social packages being done for war collaborators. Proper consultations need to be done. We also need to talk about the budget. Where will the money come from since this is a time when the economy is under heavy pressure?” he asked.
“We need to be careful in having such large expenditures. So, the issue is about how practical it is in these circumstances. That is something the minister needs to be careful of and give serious consideration.”
COMMENTS
This should be a national process not ZPF thing. War collaborators fought for democracy. They happened to be under ZPF and Zapu then, there is nothing in a democracy to say they have not changed their minds and now support other democratic parties in our democracy. They still remain war collaborators and their disassociation with ZPF does not disqualify them. Do not use this for party political advantage. The collaborators did a lot for the war and without them there would have been many more armed casualties. Let’s respect them, and the mothers and fathers who also fought alongside them with their lives and property – goats, chickens, maize, time and so forth by doing the right thing. Lastly, I do not think vetting people now will produce credible outcomes. Rather work to ensure the economy is good for them all. Hope the 3000 Ha was meant to say 3000 Sq meters? If ever we do it a Ha per person is a lot but again that is not essential, that is not enough qualification to assign arable land. We need real, trained young farmers from colleges who are probably war collaborators children.
Talk of economic reform under zanu pf is utter nonsense. Instead of shifting from the usual vote-buying and patronage approaches they are busy entrenching them. Surely farms need to be given individual’s with capacity to utilize them productively. Not on basis of been zanu pf worshiper cum war veteran or collaborator. What does being a war collaborator have to do with capacity to farm? Yes, they can get subsistence land like anyone else but not farms. They are not farmers and they don’t even have capacity to become farmers. Nonsense! And no wonder why these guys are being bought now. This is clearly to replace the now aged war veterans who no longer has any ability to instill into the masses and coerce them into voting zanu pf. War veterans are too old and can no long play that role effectively. So, in come the relatively younger war collaborators. This is pathetic. So taxpayers will never stop paying zanu pf militia of various sorts for as long as zanu pf is power right????