Political Reporter

The United States through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has reportedly blacklisted and withdrew funding to four Civil Society Organisation (CSOs) after investigations exposed gross abuse of funds and demanded that the looters be replaced.

The affected CSOs which purportedly deal in governance and political issues are Counselling Services Unit (CSU), Zimbabwe Human Rights (ZimRights), Election Resources Centre (ERC) and Zimbabwe Elections Support Network (ZESN).

However, noticing the importance of these organisations in the regime change scheme in the country, the USAID reportedly gave several conditions to the affected CSOs to be met before they are considered again for funding. USAID reportedly told these CSOs that they should change their leaders who were implicated for abuse of funds in an audit and replace them with clean leaders who had no record of financial abuse.

According to an impeccable source, former ZimRights national director, Okay Machisa was replaced by Dzikamai Bere, the current coordinator of National Transitional Justice Working Group (NTJWG), while ERC Executive Director, Tawanda Chimhini is to be removed and replaced by current ERC Programme Manager, Solomon Bobosibuli.

ZESN Director Rindai Chipfunde Vava is also to be replaced by Executive Director of the Deaf Zimbabwe Trust, Barbra Nyangairi.

The source added that some of CSU’s roles such as provision of safe havens to alleged political victims, treating and counseling of same were transferred to Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) and Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights (ZADHR) respectively.

The USAID is reportedly working with Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum whose leader, Musa Kika, has reportedly become the darling of the US. It is reported that the US funded Kika’s court application that sought to challenge the extension of Chief Justice Luke Malaba’s tenure.

The USAID has been pouring money into the opposition-aligned NGOs for regime change-related programmes ever since the MDC was formed. However, the money has been abused prompting the agency to cut funding to some CSOs. US lawmakers have raised concern over the funding of the USAID, which they say was not producing the required results.