ZANU PF has withdrawn participation in the Joint Monitoring and Implementation Committee (Jomic) activities in Mashonaland West province, alleging the watchdog body was biased towards Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s MDC.
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The former ruling party also expressed concern that Jomic, a body formed to monitor implementation of the Global Political Agreement (GPA), had entertained organisations that were funded by the European Union (EU), which imposed targeted sanctions on President Robert Mugabe and his officials.
In a letter to Jomic recently, Zanu PF Mashonaland West chairman, John Mafa, accused the monitoring body of funding MDC-T after it reimbursed transport money to the party’s members called for a hearing, in cases of violence which occurred in Zvimba a few months ago.
Mafa said this was outside Jomic mandate.
He also said, of great concern was the “reluctance of Jomic to allow it to attend a multi-stakeholders meeting organised by Zimbabwe Civic Education Trust (Zimcet)” in the province.
Zanu PF also accused Zimcet of being funded by the EU, as evidenced by the organisation’s display of the union’s logo at its meeting recently.
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The EU logo did not go down well with some Zanu PF supporters who publicly questioned the motive behind the display.
The withdrawal of Zanu PF from participating in Jomic activities has rendered the body useless in the province as the two MDC formations cannot implement any activities on their own.
However, some sources said Zanu PF was trying to derail any peace-building initiatives in order to escalate violence ahead of the referendum and elections expected early next year.
national Jomic chairperson, Elton Mangoma, confirmed Zanu PF’s withdrawal, but added that the situation was under control.
“We discussed the Mashonaland West issue and it is unfortunate that Zanu PF is misguided, but we have tasked their chair, Nicholas Goche, to talk firmly to them,” said Mangoma.
Goche, who is the Minister of Transport and Infrastructural Development could not be reached for comment.
