On Friday, Zimbabwe’s First Lady Grace Mugabe, the wife of President Robert Mugabe, declared that the non- governmental organizations (NGOs) was welcomed to the Southern African country no more.
Saying this, the First Lady who is too the leader of the ruling Zanu-PF’s women’s wing was addressing the party supporters at a rally held in Marondera, found in the east of the country.
Grace said that, it was high time they got vet of the NGOs operating in the country.
She was also reported saying that Zimbabwe was poised for a bumper harvest this year. Therefore, the country did not need any more humanitarian support.
“We are having a bumper harvest this year. In this case, there is no need for NGOs anymore. We don’t need them anymore for they always come to disturb our politics,” said the First Lady
Basing on all the previous general elections in Zimbabwe, Mugabe’s government had accused NGOs of interfering in the country’s national politics.
However, prior to the drought that affected most parts of the country last year, President Mugabe’s administration sought for international support and this brought in the NGOs with the necessary aids.
The non-governmental organizations had been aiding the Zimbabwean people owing to the drought and poor harvests. They also have helped in assisting the country in areas like; education and health. The organization has also assisted with the country’s economy.
“It is publically known that Zimbabwe requested for international assistance from the international community to respond to the induced drought,” said Memory Kadau, the director of CiZC.
“NGOs being in Zimbabwe providing necessities to the people has been as a result of the government’s failure to feed the starving communities,” he added
Sources depict that, the First Lady’s remark was announced just a day after Sweden increased its support to the Zimbabwe Resilience Building Fund, by 8 million dollars to support the vulnerable communities in 21 districts.
In an interview with the journalists, the crisis in Zimbabwe coalition (CiZC), criticized Grace Mugabe saying that her utterances smacked of “hypocrisy”.
Correspondent: Shamira Abdallah
