By Own Correspondent- Finance and Economic Development Minister Mthuli Ncube said that negotiations are ongoing to acquire buses for the Zimbabwe United Passengers Company (ZUPCO) from three countries.

Ncube was speaking to journalists in Harare on Tuesday during a post-cabinet media briefing. He revealed that 500 buses are expected from Belarus.

Said Ncube:

The 500 buses from Belarus; all these are negotiations still underway. These (buses) are certainly coming on board, just watch this space and be patient.

It’s not just Belarus, we are procuring 100 buses from China and then 200 buses from South Africa. Our intention in the interim is to have a target of 1 000 new buses and also try to crowd-in the local suppliers.

But when Zupco is in full flight when the new partner comes in, we expect the bus yield to grow to 3 000 and higher.-StateMedia