By Prince Njagu- The Emmerson Mnangagwa led ZANU PF government has once again proven beyond no doubt that they are clueless and a bunch of mediocre buffoons.
They impose policies which are half baked and result in the masses suffering. Implosion of the ZUPCO (Zimbabwe United Passenger Company) monopoly is the latest failed project and the haphazardness in the acquisition of the buses from a shady company linked to Emmerson and shady Kudakwashe Tagwirei has corruption written all over it.
MDC Alliance leader Advocate Nelson Chamisa castigated the ill-planned government move to create a ZUPCO monopoly when the company does not have capacity.
Chamisa said, “Command transport has failed, it must fall and end! Zim deserves quality. We will provide efficient world-class urban transport, trams, trains and modern buses.”
Zimbabweans are already suffering from this corrupt and oppressive ZANU PF regime and they go on to ban private companies from transporting citizens. The circus; ill-planned ZUPCO monopoly has failed from the onset, but some top corrupt government officials are benefiting from the acquisition of the buses so they will not abandon the project for now.
Activist Sandra Bvungidzire said, “The ZANU PF administration is rot from the head, corruption is in their veins and they have no shame in what they do.”
ZUPCO does not have the capacity to transport the citizens, people are being left stranded for hours whilst they queue, waiting for the next bus to come and ferry them to their desired destinations.
The acquisition of the ZUPCO buses was shady and they were sold to the government at an inflated price. Everything is so suspicious, from how these buses are being acquired to how the tender was even awarded. Everything about this project is fishy.
Corruption is the norm with ZANU PF and they have no shame in their shady dealings.
ZANU PF top dogs do not care about who they will hurt in the process; they do not care about who will suffer in the end, all they think about is making their bellies and pockets fatter.
Emmerson Mnangagwa is involved in the shady ZUPCO deal, and the company Landela Investments has corruption written all over it. This company is the one that is selling the buses to the government. This same company is linked to the corrupt fuel tycoon Tagwirei. It has been heavily linked to many corrupt activities involving many top ZANU PF government officials.
Landela purchased the buses from China for US$58 900 and sold each bus to the government for US$212 962. More than double the cost price of each bus from China.
Finance minister Mthuli Ncube has passed the blame to the Procurement Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (PRAZ) and said they were responsible the the purchase of the buses.
ZUPCO has failed dismally to provide Zimbabweans with the much needed service and the populace are paying the price, long waiting queues, having to wake up so early in the morning to catch transport and having to wait late into the night when they need to be ferried back home.
The Passenger Association of Zimbabwe (PAZ) has implored the government to break the stupid ZUPCO monopoly by licensing more private players to provide this basic need.
Public transport provision is a basic service which the populace should not struggle to access. If ZANU PF has people at hearts, it should not be letting them suffer like this.
“The only reason the ZANU PF government is turning a blind eye to this crisis is because the top dogs are benefiting from the shady acquisition of these buses,” said Bvungidzire.
ZUPCO will continue acquiring these buses at exorbitant prices as the corrupt ZANU PF fill their pockets until a time when they will decide to make a u-turn on this stupid monopoly and then admit that the project has been a failure.
ZUPCO has failed to provide transport timeously, which has been leaving thousands of commuters stranded, waiting in winding queues across the various terminuses in Harare.
Private transporters had been filling the gap of ferrying people in the country, but the government ordered the police to impound all of these private vehicles. This was all done in a bid to make the ZANU PF project a success and to push for ZUPCO monopoly.
Tafadzwa Goliati PAZ national coordinator urged government to reconsider licensing more private transport providers so as to alleviate the transport crisis.
ZUPCO monopoly only means more government spending in acquiring buses, and more looting from the corrupt government officials.
Hopewell Chin’ono wrote on his Twitter account addressing Mnangagwa.
“Dear Mr Mnangagwa, this is Copacabana now, you promised us good public transport system. You removed Kombis, replaced them with ZUPCO, you made it to buy buses from your favourite businessman, Kuda Tagwirei. You have criminalised anyone except ZUPCO,” said Hopewell.