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Minister Chinamasa

Tendai Mugabe and Tinashe Farawo
GOVERNMENT has secured US$85 million required to cover logistical arrangements and processes for the July 31 harmonised elections.

Justice and Legal Affairs Minister Patrick Chinamasa said the Government mobilised the funds  from domestic resources.
He said the Government was committed to ensuring the elections are funded through domestic means.
“We have managed to mobilise enough money for the elections. We cannot have our national processes being funded by foreigners.

“All the money we have been using so far was mobilised locally. We have decided to fund our national processes as a sovereign country to avoid external interference. Remember, donor support comes with a lot of conditions,” he said.

Government, Minister Chinamasa  said, had to stop Finance Minister Tendai Biti, who is also the MDC-T secretary-general, from seeking foreign funding.
“You know the MDC-T’s uncontrollable love for foreigners . . .We have said ‘no’ to their machinations to have foreigners run our internal processes.

“Zimbabwe is ready for these elections. Believe you me, they are going to be a resounding success; we are going to shame our detractors.”
Addressing a Press conference later in the day, Minister Biti confirmed that the money had been secured and the balance of US$36 million was largely for allowances of officers who would conduct the voting process.

He said the allowances could be paid after the elections like what happened with the national census and the constitutional referendum.
“I am pleased to say that as of the 25th of July 2013, we have disbursed US$96 million, US$40 million which has been disbursed this week,” he said.

“This is in support of voter education, voter registration and Nomination Court expenses as well as some requirements of the actual conducting of the elections.
“This leaves the balance of US$36 million. This US$36 million is largely for the allowances of the officers who are going to conduct the election.

“That means that the money to hold the elections is now there. With regards to allowances, if worse comes to the worst, arrangements can always be made to pay the allowances afterwards. We did that with the referendum and the census but that is not our intention.”

Minister Biti said he was hopeful that before the end of this week Government could liquidate the outstanding balance.
He said his efforts to raise money from the United Nations Development Programme and the donor community were frustrated by his counterpart Justice and Legal Affairs Minister Patrick Chinamasa.

Minister Biti, however, did not mention the untenable conditions outlined by the UNDP in return for the funding.
He said all the money was raised locally without assistance even from Sadc.

“I want to say to Zimbabweans that we are ready for the elections. We have done our constitutional obligation to raise money for the elections without basically no help from anyone, no cent from Sadc and no cent from anyone.

“I am also happy to say that we have done this without raping the economy,” he said.
Minister Biti said the country would face serious budgetary pressures after the elections.

He said in the ‘unlikely’ event of a run-off, the country was virtually incapable of raising another US$132 million to fund the exercise.
Analysts say a runoff was unlikely as President Mugabe would wrap up business in the first round.

The Government, he said, was also facing challenges of financing the United Nations World Tourism Organisation General Assembly to be co-hosted by Zimbabwe and Zambia from August 24 to 29.

He said although Government had disbursed a significant amount towards the hosting of the UNWTO General Assembly, it had to pay another US$3 million before August 14.
Minister Biti said Government was also struggling to pay US$76 million to contractors undertaking capital projects in the country among issues.
The Finance Minister was quoted in the media saying Zimbabwe had no money for the holding of elections on July 31 without external support.