Political Reporter

Donor fatigue has hit hard the MDC Alliance forcing it to devise cunning ways of mobilising money to fund their electoral programmes ahead of the 2023 watershed elections.

A source within the MDC Alliance told this publication that the party had been going around with a begging bowl but the responses have not been favourable. The party has now resorted to using unorthodox and cunning ways to get funds from their traditional funders.

According to the source, the MDC Alliance agreed to create what will be called the MDC Alliance State Repression Victims which will document all alleged cases of state repression against citizens. The idea is to convince the international community to release funds to the MDC Alliance to support these alleged victims.

The party’s Social Welfare Deparetment is seized with the production of videos capturing some coached and alleged victims of state torture.

The latest unorthodox way of fundraising designed by the MDC Alliance, in conjunction with its United States of America chapter, was to seek funds from the US ostensibly to stage demonstrations meant to embarrass President Mnangagwa during the United General Assembly (UNGA) meeting scheduled for New York next month.

The source revealed that the MDC Alliance was fully aware that President Mnangagwa would not attend this year’s UNGA, but they approached the US with a request for funds to stage the demonstration. The source said that the US, through its Secretary of State Antony Blinkern, had already availed US$213 000 to MDC Alliance American chapter chairperson, Tawanda Dzvokora.

Dzvokora told the US that the money would cater for transport, allowances, print regalia and hotel accommodation for those who would participate during the demonstrations. Dzvokora reportedly told Blinken that some funds would be used to fly Charlton Hwende, Godfrey Kurauone, Ostallos Siziba and other MDC Alliance officials to the US to lead the demonstrations.

According to the source, the MDC Alliance, through Dzvokora, convinced the US to fund the demonstrations as would also use the platform to petition the United Nations to compel President Mnangagwa to institute electoral reforms and allow diaspora vote. They also said they want to force the UN to slap President Mnangagwa, Ministers Kazembe Kazembe, Ziyambi Ziyambi and Mthuli Ncube with sanctions for alleged human rights abuses.

The source added that the MDC Alliance plans to tell the US Government at the eleventh hour that President Mnangagwa had chickened out to attend the UNGA. Their hope, the source said, was that the US would not demand the money back.

Efforts to get a comment from Dzvokora were futile as he did not respond to messages sent on his mobile phone.