HARARE - Organisers of the just-ended Soap and Shirt Winter Donation festival say government must allow them to directly donate proceeds of last weekend’s concert to the Tokwe Mukorsi, Tsholotsho and Muzarabani flood victims.
Zimbabwe Human Rights Association (ZimRights), the Women’s Trust (TWT), Batanai HIV, Aids Organisation (Bhaso) and Crisis In Zimbabwe Coalition jointly held the charity concert last weekend that generated over five tonnes of clothes.
The show that featured Jah Prayzah, Cynthia Mare, BaShupi, Suluman Chimbetu, Leonard Zhakata, Pastor G, Dadza D as well as Charles and Olivia and Charamba, also generated various essential goods that will be donated to victims of the three floods.
Machisa told the Daily News that they were willing to cooperate with authorities in the handing over of the goods to the flood victims but would not “simply dump the goods at the government’s doorstep.”
“We will follow all the necessary protocols and we are going to engage the entire provincial ministers in the respective areas,” said the ZimRights director.
“While we appreciate government’s position that donations have to go via them, we are determined to push for the chance to deliver our goods directly to the affected people.
“We will seek clearance from the government to be able to distribute the goods ourselves.”
Machisa and the other partner organisations want the donated goods to reach affected people by the end of July.
The government’s insistence that all donations to the flood victims be routed through them contributed to the delayed handover of proceeds from the Green concert held in Harare on May 9 that featured South African musician Zahara.
The proceeds only reached the beneficiaries more than a month after the show.