Speaking after meeting the Polad principals on Thursday at
State House, Mnangagwa acknowledged that the country was in an economic mess,
but pointed fingers at “economic saboteurs”.
Polad was set up by Mnangagwa after the disputed 2018
elections and is made up of losing presidential candidates from obscure
opposition political parties.
“Help me to find economic saboteurs and deal with them,”
Mnangagwa pleaded.
“We have established that some members of the business
community were involved in fuelling the parallel market, thereby destabilising
our local currency.
“Our economy has been under attack from unscrupulous and
nefarious individuals and syndicates bent on sabotaging our way of life.”
Some basic commodities such as cooking oil have disappeared
from supermarkets while others have been priced beyond reach, of many as the
local currency keeps falling in value.
On Thursday, the Consumer Council of Zimbabwe said a
consumer basket for a family of five had shot to $120 000, up from $98 000 from
April as inflation continues on an upward trend.
In a bid to arrest the economic decline, Mnangagwa
announced a basket of measures such as banning banks from lending, but later
reversed the decree following an outcry.
Early this week, government lifted import tariffs to allow
Zimbabweans to buy groceries across the borders.
“The onslaught has created hardships for our citizens due
to the inflationary pressures caused by speculation on our local currency. I
believe that these activities have been caused by a third hand whose objective
is to interfere and derail our national development trajectory,” Mnangagwa told
the Polad members.
Inside sources revealed that Polad members continued to
enjoy taxpayers’ money in never-ending workshops disguised as strategic
meetings.
Political analysts said there was no need to continue
pampering Polad members.
Political analyst Pardon Taodzera said: “Nothing tangible
has come out from Polad members in the past four years. They have to push for
electoral reforms.
“They have failed to convince the United States and its
allies to remove the sanctions. They have failed to contribute meaningfully to
the economy yet they continue to abuse state resources.”
There was uproar last year when Mnangagwa gave Polad
members Isuzu D-Max double-cab vehicles, which cost around US$60 000 each.
Newsday
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