By James Gwati-Paul Tungwarara, a close ally of President Emmerson Mnangagwa and a key figure in the so-called 2030 agenda, has been awarded yet another lucrative government contract—this time to construct 50,000 houses for war veterans.
Local Government Minister Daniel Garwe, himself a vocal Mnangagwa loyalist and 2030 cheerleader, announced that Tungwarara’s company, Prevail Group International, would lead the project.
Tungwarara also serves as a Special Presidential Investment Adviser, cementing his growing influence within the inner circle of Mnangagwa’s patronage network.
Prevail Group will be responsible for identifying and servicing 50,000 housing stands nationwide, then allocating them to war veterans through the Ministry of Local Government.
Yet, critics are crying foul, pointing to the continued hand-picking of companies for billion-dollar state tenders without public bidding—especially under Mnangagwa’s ever-expanding “Presidential” branding schemes.
Tungwarara is no stranger to controversy.
He has quietly amassed contracts under a litany of initiatives: the Presidential War Veterans Borehole Scheme, the Presidential Solar Programme, and now the Presidential War Veterans Housing Scheme, raising questions about cronyism, profiteering, and the true purpose of these projects.
Even more troubling is the math.
According to the government’s own statistics, fewer than 30,000 liberation war veterans are still alive. So why commission 50,000 houses?
Observers warn the discrepancy suggests the housing scheme could be a smoke screen for looting and vote-buying, rather than genuine empowerment of the ageing and impoverished veterans.
Many of the real freedom fighters, now old and destitute, lack the means to build homes even if given the stands.
The project’s timing—45 years after the liberation struggle—only fuels suspicions of political opportunism.
With calls growing louder from disillusioned war veterans for Mnangagwa to step down, this latest gesture appears calculated to pacify dissent and tighten his grip on power.
Mnangagwa is preparing to override the constitutional two-term limit expiring in 2028 and extend his rule to at least 2030, if not beyond.
The launch of the housing project in Harare was attended by Garwe, Veterans Affairs Minister Monica Mavhunga, and a visibly beaming Tungwarara—while real war heroes remain in rural poverty, forgotten and used as political props.
In a chilling echo of the past, Vice President Constantino Chiwenga recently warned against the rise of a new elite class of looters masquerading as patriots.
He called them “Zvigananda”—a scathing reference to those who plunder state resources under the guise of serving the liberation cause.
“Mark my words,” one senior war veteran told this reporter, “these so-called investors and their political godfathers will rot in jail when this system collapses. They’re looting in broad daylight, but justice always catches up—especially when the people they betray are armed with history and truth.”