Terrence Mawawa, Masvingo| A few months after describing the First Lady Grace Mugabe as too junior to lead the nation, Masvingo State Minister Shuvai Ben Mahofa has pulled yet another shocker by blocking donations towards President Robert Mugabe’s AU cattle pledge.
The outspoken policitian who nearly died following a suspected food poisoning incident last year, has shot down an appeal by Zanu PF provincial secretary, Ailes Baloyi, to the province to donate cattle towards Mugabe’s pledge to the AU.
Mugabe made a pledge to donate 300 cattle to the AU when he was still at the helm of the continental body. Mugabe wants the beasts not to come from his farms, but from party faithfuls.
Mahofa dismissed the suggestion made by Baloyi who said the party should start getting the cattle from the province. Baloyi gestured at the at a Provincial Co-ordinating meeting held at Masvingo Polytechnic on Saturday.
But Mahofa said Masvingo Province did not have the capacity to donate the cattle because the area has been savaged by drought. “The people of Masvingo do not have food so we cannot move around asking for the said donations. The people of Masvingo are hungry as a result of drought that hit the province.
On the contrary, the people of Masvingo are in dire need of food aid,” Mahofa added.
Party insiders revealed at the meeting there are only 169 out of the targeted 300 cattle -gathered so far and Mugabe has tasked Kadoma business tycoon Jimayi Muduvuri to spearhead the exercise countrywide.
The I69 cattle were gathered from the three Mashonaland provinces, it has emerged.