A Zanu PF youth leader has accused a deputy minister of
sabotaging President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s economic reforms by refusing to
embrace the local currency, in yet another sign of widening rifts in the ruling
party.
Lewis Matutu, the deputy secretary for youth affairs and
close ally of Mnangagwa from the Midlands, claimed Industry deputy minister Raj
Modi’s businesses were charging in foreign currency. Matutu also accused Modi
of corrupting police officers in Zvishavane.
“Deputy minister of industry and commerce demands US dollar
payments at his businesses, pays police officers for protection and police in
Zvishavane are making a lot of money out of it, no to corruption,” he tweeted
early yesterday morning.
“The vision of the president is simple, no to corruption
and that for us to have a strong economy we need our own currency and all
government ministers and party members especially leaders should support that.”
The government last month outlawed the use of foreign
currency in local transactions.
This was after Zimbabwe in June ended a decade of
dollarisation and began the process of reintroducing a local currency.
Matutu has been on a warpath against senior Zanu PF
officials, whom he accuses of sabotaging the economy by fuelling the foreign
currency parallel market and engaging in corruption.
Modi, however, said his businesses were not charging in
foreign currency and that he had no business interests in Zvishavane.
“I do not own any business in Zvishavane and I certainly
don’t charge in US dollars at my businesses in Bulawayo,” he said.
“The allegations that I am paying off police are totally
false and I just don’t know where this is coming from.
“I don’t know what will be going on in his mind as he makes
those allegations or what is motivating him, I am not sure why he is after me.”
Zanu PF secretary for administration Obert Mpofu is suing
Matutu for $10 million after the youth leader accused the former minister of
corruption.
Mpofu’s name was included in a list of alleged corrupt
government and ruling party officials that was released by Zanu PF youths led
by Matutu early this year.
On Friday, Mnangagwa seemed to be backing Matutu when he
said the issues must be resolved internally.
Zanu PF has set up a committee to investigate allegations
that some of its senior officials are corrupt and are behind the forex black
market. Standard
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