MDC condemns grab of Meikles assets

MDC press statement 

The MDC condemns the inclusive government’s mafia-style grab of the assets of the Stock Exchange-listed Kingdom Meikles Limited group of companies. 

As a party, we believe that asset-grabbing sends wrong signals at a time when the country wants to attract investment. Grabbing property and assets belongs to the politics of yesterday when we had an entire government pursuing people’s properties and stripping them of their value through maladministration, looting and corruption. 

We believe that if the Kingdom Meikles Limited committed any crime, there are better ways of dealing with them than the mafia-style grab of their assets which erodes all hope that has been engendered by the new dispensation. 

We urge the inclusive government to be serious in creating an atmosphere of confidence, investment and goodwill. No serious investor will pour in their money in an economy where a government can grab their assets in the wink of an eye. Seizing people’s assets is inimical to investment, economic growth and development. 

The co-Ministers of Home Affairs Hon Kembo Mohadi and Hon Giles Mutsekwa have more pressing issues to attend to than seizing the assets of private companies. Zimbabweans want to see a professional police force that enforces the rule of law without fear or favour. They want to see perpetrators of violence brought to book. They want to see a corrupt-free police force which professionally discharges its duties. These are the issues that must grab the attention of the ministers rather than the unbridled pursuit of private property. 

The MDC is a party of excellence. We believe in delivering real change to the people of Zimbabwe. We believe in restoring people’s dignity, security, prosperity and basic freedoms. We want to give the nation hope for a new Zimbabwe and a new beginning. 

Since the company’s specification on Friday, Kingdom Meikles Limited is already facing serious operational challenges at it failing to access loans from the banks. 

The specification is also going to affect the lives of over 4 500 workers and their families. 

It is MDC’s position that certainty and predictability are fundamental ingredients of a vibrant business sector and a thriving economy. It is for this reason, that the MDC feels that proper action be taken to ensure that certainty and security are guaranteed. 

Together to the end, marching to a new Zimbabwe.