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| Africa Subsaharan |
| ZimBob Oppo Party blames "expats" for missing overseas funds. |
| 2010-01-01 |
| The overseas offices of Zimbabwe's opposition [Movement for Democratic Change (MDC)] face a "huge" corruption problem, with £57,000 missing from the British branch alone, according to a senior official of the cash-strapped party. In February the MDC joined an inclusive government with Robert Mugabe's Zanu PF, and is dependent on the activism and support of up to 4 million Zimbabweans who have left the country in the past 10 years. The MDC's treasurer-general, Roy Bennett, said yesterday that the British branch – second only to the South African office of the party in importance – had been suspended in the wake of what Mr Bennett describes as a problem the party faced "everywhere". Mr Bennett, 52, said that although a formal instruction had yet to be given, all other overseas branches would be disbanded. The UK and Ireland provincial executive has been suspended pending an investigation into what the MDC Finance Minister, Tendai Biti, described as "shocking" financial irregularities in a November letter announcing the action. But UK-based MDC officials yesterday played down the claims, insisting that any financial irregularities under its supervision were not the result of corruption. The MDC has about 800 active members in the UK. According to UK-based officials, about 70 per cent of funds raised from members are sent back to Zimbabwe, with the rest used to cover administrative costs. But the MDC in Harare says that the British branch failed to submit adequate financial reports. The former opposition party is trying to convince highly educated Zimbabweans abroad to return home. According to Zimbabwe's finance ministry, the diaspora sent home £100m in remittances to relatives in 2009 – about the same amount as the European Union gave in aid. But repeated calls by the Prime Minister, the MDC's leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, for the return of teachers, nurses, doctors and business people have met with reluctance, amid scepticism over the progress of the inclusive government. Earlier this year, Mr Tsvangirai was booed when he addressed hundreds of Zimbabweans at Southwark Cathedral in London. The MDC was established 10 years ago. In March 2008, it won a slim majority in the parliamentary election, but Mr Mugabe, who has held power since 1980, disputed the outcome of the presidential poll. Zanu PF launched a campaign of violence, and Mr Tsvangirai pulled out of the June 2008 presidential run-off. Mr Tsvangirai became Prime Minister under an agreement brokered by South Africa that has yet to be fully implemented. Nevertheless, the economy has improved and supermarkets this Christmas were well stocked with goods. Soon after the MDC entered government, Tendai Biti halted inflation by abolishing the Zimbabwe dollar, previously printed at will to fuel Mr Mugabe's patronage system. Now the South African rand and US dollar are used. The MDC is tight-lipped about its funding, which is believed to come largely from members of the business community who do not wish to be identified while Mr Mugabe is in power. European embassies admit only to providing the MDC with trainers and bursaries for courses in subjects such as international relations. |
| Posted by:Pappy |
| #1 Boodle export, a perpetual growth area... |
| Posted by: M. Murcek 2010-01-01 14:03 |