ZANU PF has splashed millions of dollars on cars, party regalia and improving the welfare for its chefs ahead of next year’s polls.
This is despite that the majority of citizens in the
country are wallowing in poverty.
The party’s central committee (CC) report to the 7th
National People’s Congress, which was held in Harare last week, readily admits
that the majority of people in the country are wallowing in poverty.
The report states that in 2017, before the late former
President Robert Mugabe was removed from power, the party only had 45 vehicles.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa has boosted the fleet to 531
vehicles — the largest in Zanu PF’s history.
At the weekend, Zanu PF was in the eye of a storm after it
emerged that it bought top-of-the-range vehicles for the provincial leaders of
the women's league, and the newly-formed war veterans’ league despite the
deteriorating economy.
The central committee report also revealed that for the
elective congress, which ended on Saturday the ruling party spent $1,8 billion
and over US$4,8 million from January to September on staff salaries,
gratuities, transport, health and allowances for party bigwigs among other
expenses.
“In 2018, the Zanu PF party acquired an additional 438 new
motor vehicles bringing the fleet size to 486,” the report read.
“In 2020, the department of transport and social welfare
received 15 new Isuzu double cab vehicles from the party treasury, bringing the
fleet size to 501. Between December 2021 and September 2022, his Excellency the
President and first secretary of the Zanu PF party, Comrade Dr Ed Mnangagwa
donated 30 double cab vehicles to the party bringing the current fleet size to
531. Accordingly, the department of transport and social welfare remains
grateful to leadership for this, and other interventions that saw unprecedented
acquisition of the biggest motor vehicle fleet in the history of the party.”
The report claimed that Zanu PF sources its funds from
membership subscriptions, donations, allocations from government under the
Political Parties Finance Act and
“investments”.
In the report, Zanu PF also acknowledged that the majority
of Zimbabweans were not formally employed but earned their living from the
informal sector, which it described as the “new mass employer.”
“Vending has become the major safety net for most people
who predominantly are women. The lack of
formality makes entry (easy), however, this flexibility of informality is
accompanied by many hazards, for example, running battles with the law
enforcement agents and losing money to imposters of state agents and also space
barons,” the report read.
“The resurgence of street money changers has posed even
greater risk as this high value trade operates on streets outside the secure
banking system. Cross border trading is another age-old trade that has gained
prominence by the year and has become the lifeline for most homes.”
At his inauguration in 2017, Mnangagwa pledged to create
more jobs.
The latest ZimStat survey on the labour force showed that
half of youths in the country aged 15 to 34 years were loafers, with no
employment, education or training (50%).
Human rights organisations have red-flagged lavish
lifestyles of the elite in the country at a time when ordinary citizens are
struggling to put food onthe table due to economic hardships. Newsday
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