Southern Eye
By Nduduzo Tshuma
10 July 2013
ZANU PF has threatened to sabotage the Education and Health Transition funds that it claims are being administered by Western donors who are pushing a regime-change agenda.
According to the party’s manifesto launched last Friday, non-governmental organisations had, during the life of the Global Political Agreement (GPA), poured $2,6 billion to support “nefarious activitiesâ€.
The party said the activities had “been camouflaged by the sanitised language of humanitarian and developmental assistance to cover up sinister regime-change intentionsâ€.
“The $2,6 billion has been disbursed via opaque parallel budget channels that are not accountable and which have been used to damage national accounts and Treasury processes,†the party said.
Zanu PF said under the GPA, a cluster of regime-change donors took a sinister advantage that the ministries of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture and that of Health and Child Welfare fell under the progressive parties.
“. . . they (NGOs) have been pouring funds into the two ministries through illegal parallel structures,†the manifesto reads.
“One such parallel structure is called the Education Transition Fund (ETF) illegally controlled by David Coltart, which has since 2009 received over $200 million outside government accountability structures.â€
The party alleged that the ETF has been used to undermine indigenisation and people’s empowerment in the book publishing industry for primary and secondary education by ensuring that setbooks are published and printed by foreigners outside the country.
“The ETF has been used to bribe and corrupt headmasters, teachers and provincial and district education officials, some who are now hostile to the established system of education in the country,†the manifesto continues.
“Even more worrying is the fact that the donor-led ETF has specifically targeted school development committees to transform them into political structures of opposition formations that run schools while also linking up with headmasters, teachers, schoolchildren and parents for purposes of political mobilisation at the grassroots level.â€
The education and health delivery service delivery systems had literally collapsed during the Zanu PF reign and the transition. funds helped restore order in both sectors.