APA-Harare (Zimbabwe) A Zimbabwean cabinet minister has threatened to ban aid agencies that get involved in the country’s politics by openly taking sides in the long-running power struggles among the main parties, state television reports here Wednesday.

Local Government Minister Ignatius Chombo accused some non-governmental organizations (NGOs) of deviating from their core mandates and meddling in Zimbabwe’s political affairs.

“Minister Chombo reminded the non-governmental organizations that the government has the power to stop them from operating within various communities if they continue meddling in the political affairs of the country,” Zimbabwe Television reports.

This is the latest threat by a minister from President Robert Mugabe’s ZANU PF party against NGOs which the party regularly accuses of using aid distribution to campaign for the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) led by former opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai.

Tsvangirai is now Zimbabwe’s Prime Minister after joining a unity government led by Mugabe last year.

Mugabe’s previous government banned three aid agencies in June 2008 on allegations of working with the MDC ahead of a second round presidential election between Mugabe and Tsvangirai later that month.

The Harare administration ordered Save the Children UK, CARE International and the United States-based Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) to stop relief operations in the country on allegations of using food aid distribution as a pretext to campaign for Tsvangirai.