Gift Mashoko

Masvingo District Administration (DA) Office has lifted the suspension of Zimbabwe Association of Church Hospitals (ZACH) which was imposed on 24 March 2019 after the association was accused of meddling in politics.

In a correspondence dated 13 May 2019, the District Administrators (DAs) office advised Masvingo Rural District Council (RDC) Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Martin Mabviro, District Joint Operations Command (JOC) and the Provincial Administrators (PAs) office in Masvingo of the upliftment of the suspension.

The upliftment followed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between ZACH and the authority to implement HIV/AIDS care treatment and Gender Based Violence (GBV) programs which will run until July 2020 in the 10 wards of the Masvingo District.

The NGOs operations were suspended in March 2019 as it was involved in politics and operating without MOUs with the local authority. The NGO had recruited 30 people, 3 from each of the 10 wards in Masvingo saying they had trained them on GBV. The NGO had also secured and donated bikes to the 30 people paying them US$25 monthly since July 2018.

Despite warnings from Masvingo Provincial Affairs Minister Ezra Chadzamira that ZACH had to suspend its operations pending investigations of its activities, it continued with its unsanctioned activities within the district. ZAC also roped in the Ministry of Health and Child Care (MoHCC) hiding behind the Ministry and making their activities look legitimate.

Of late NGOs, CSOs and Churches are anti-Government hiding behind churches and doing social programs but preaching the opposition gospel secretly. Most have set aside their main agenda to do politics and ZACH had joined the same band wagon.