Vote Zanu PF and get funded?
Vote Zanu PF and get funding for your business proposal?
With elections coming up in Zimbabwe, political parties are trying to win voters. Recent studies have indicated that Zanu PF support is growing. In a country with unemployment as high as 95%, income generating projects are a sure way to win support.
Of course, no party can afford to fund every would-be voter’s income generating project. And clearly, bringing your business project proposal to the Zanu PF rally is no guarantee that it would get funded. But posters like this do raise eyebrows.
Recent reports including the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition‘s Pre-Election Detectors and the International Crisis Group’s Zimbabwe: Election Scenarios suggest that Zimbabwe’s 2013 election probably won’t be marred by the overt violence experienced in 2008. But they also won’t be free and fair. Rather, they suggest Zanu PF will use more subtle tactics – including the unfree press, executive powers, and its legacy of intimidation – to secure a win. Other recent studies have suggested that the March Constitutional Referendum might have been a practise run for Zanu PF to test their vote rigging mechanisms, and to ensure high turn out so that stuffed ballots in a general election are met with less suspicion.
The MDC might have a JUICE plan to revive the economy – including the promise of 1 million jobs. But I can imagine a “Vote Zanu PF and get your project funded” message could be pretty compelling.