Zanu PF youths in fresh bid to crack whip on cartels… say ready to die
By Abel Karowangoro
The Zanu PF Youth League has revived its purported fight against cartels whom they accuse of sabotaging President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s policies meant to revive the economy which has been in comatose since he took over after the military intervention of November 2017.
Zimbabweans have experienced a cocktail of austerity measures and an unstable foreign exchange rate which has had a knock-on effect on the prices of basic commodities.
Besides the austerity measures introduced by government to cut on expenditure, the economy has also been on the receiving end of cartels, from the fuel industry to the supply of basic commodities.
The cartels control means of production, importation and supply of fuel among other commodities.
The cartels, according to the Zanu PF youth league, are also responsible for the sharp rise in the parallel exchange rates.
In a bid to stop the run away exchange rates in September last year the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) ordered all banks to freeze accounts of at least four entities to pave way for investigations on alleged money laundering activities.
Among the entities and accounts that were frozen was that of fuel mogul, Kuda Tagwirei’s Sakunda Holdings, Access Finance, Spartan Security and Croco Motors.
Last week the Zanu PF deputy youth league leader, Lewis Matutu, took to his microblogging site, Twitter and warned the cartels that the youths will soon confront them “to defend their future.”
“Stop destroying our country pretending to support government initiatives. As young people we are not going to watch as you destroy our future, it’s enough and it must end now. The last and final message from here we are taking action to defend our future,” Matutu wrote.
“Corruption is destroying our country my brother, if l am to die so be it but the voice of reason will never die and our economy will prosper,” he added.
Godfrey Tsenengamu, who is the Zanu PF youth league political commissar, also took to Facebook and warned that youths are ready to wage war against the cartels.
“From this moment l choose to confront unequivocally the anxiety of my generation and ready to pay the price for l know the ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in times of comfort but where he stands in times of challenge and controversy.
“I will not be afraid to be kicked in the teeth for my blood and bruises will define my legacy for legacy is greater than wealth which may last a lifetime,” said Tsenengamu on his Facebook post.
The threats to confront cartels come at a time when the youths last year in June, held a-no-holds-barred press conference addressed by Matutu.
He raised allegations against top politicians and government officials accusing some of them of being the kingpins of the illegal foreign currency dealings on the streets.
Some were accused of being land barons while others were fingered in illegal diamond trading among other vices.
However, until to date no action has been taken against the bigwigs fingered by Matutu.
Some observers say ruling party youths’ call against corruption is insincere as they rarely sustain the corruption fight amid accusations of being paid off by the cartels they purport to fight. Zim Morning Post
