Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. The ruling ZANU PF party has reportedly appealed to State-owned parastatals to exhibit at its Congress slated for this week for a cost between US$3 000 and US$6 000.
Considering that Zimbabwe has 107 such enterprises, the party could potentially raise between US$321 000 and US$642 000 from parastatals alone.
ZANU PF is holding its 7th National People’s Congress from 26 to 29 October, the first since the ouster of the late former leader and President Robert Mugabe who was deposed in November 2017.
ZANU PF secretary for finance Patrick Chinamasa asked the parastatals to exhibit at the congress, according to letters seen by NewsDay.
The letters were copied to Zanu PF secretary for administration Obert Mpofu and deputy secretary for finance Tshinga Dube. Read the letters:
The Zanu PF party is appealing for your co-operation to utilise space allocated to advertise your products and services during the Zanu PF 7th National People’s Congress scheduled for between October 26 and 29, 2022.
The party is selling exhibition space as follows: 6-metre x 3-metre cubicle, US$6 000 or ZWL equivalent at the official auction rate and for 3-metre x 3-metre cubicle US$3 000 or ZWL equivalent at official RBZ auction rate.
However, a top official from a parastatal under the ICT ministry told NewsDay that most parastatals had no financial capacity to fund the exhibitions. Said the source:
We are broke and we do not get government support but we are being forced to pay these large amounts to sponsor this event which is not fair on our part. Where do we find such amount of money when there is not enough already to fund our retooling efforts?
It’s not the first time ZANU PF has been accused of using parastatals and State-owned enterprises as cash cows for its events.
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