‘Don’t waste State resources’

party failed to hold rally at Zimbabwe Grounds last Saturday and yet uniformed personnel had already been deployed to guarantee security.
In a statement yesterday, Harare provincial police spokesperson Inspector James Sabau said they had deployed personnel after MDC-T had notified them of their intention to hold a rally as per the law.
He said the police were operating on a constrained budget and its resources should be used productively.
“The MDC-T applied to hold a rally at the Zimbabwe Grounds on April 3, 2011. The regulating authority of Harare South District granted them the authority to hold the rally. On the 3rd of April, 2011, the police deployed personnel at the venue to provide security and ensure that there was no political violence. A lot of human and material resources were committed to the event to ensure security of those who were going to be at the rally. The police are surprised that no one turned up for the rally. No communication was made to the effect of that the rally has been cancelled.
“When parties apply for permission to hold rallies, the duty of the police is to ensure the safety and security of our people.
“When political parties start to play games with the police as is in this case, it is very disturbing. The police have meagre resources that are at its disposal and as such they should be used judiciously,” he said.
Insp Sabau said the security of the nation was of great importance and should not be compromised by politicians.
MDC-T spokesperson Mr Nelson Chamisa said he was not aware of that development.
“I don’t know what they are talking about and what they are trying to extract. In fact they (police) have barred our rallies four consecutive times,” he claimed.