BINDURA – Vice President Kembo Mohadi says the government will not tolerate acts of banditry and hooliganism witnessed around the country last month when some people went on the rampage looting several shops, setting property and buildings on fire and barricading roads in what they branded a national shutdown.
One police man was killed during the disturbances, which resulted in the arrest of over 1000 people.
Several cases are before the courts with some hooligans having already been convicted and handed up to six year jail sentences.
Standing in for President Emmerson Mnangagwa, Vice President Mohadi today addressed a Zanu PF thank you rally in Mt Darwin, where he said the government is committed to ensuring that the recent events are not repeated.
“Those acts of banditry and hooliganism will not be tolerated and the government is going all in its power to make sure that it does not happen again. We are peace loving country and we should not allow ourselves to be used for selfish agendas,” he said.
“All these international and private media are not talking about the destruction caused by these hooligans, the massive looting, the burning of vehicles and government infrastructure like tollgates, over running of police stations and the eventual death of one of the policemen on duty. But they just want o concentrate on that the security forces were heavy handed in dealing with the protesters, that is not right,” he added.
The Vice President also said a foreign hand was evident in last month’s events.
“Some foreign agents acting through some non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and saboteurs have been trying to cause chaos in the country through violence and price increases,” he said.
Mohadi called for patience, likening the current challenges to labour pains which shall soon be a thing of the past as the government implements measures to resuscitate the economy.
He said government interventions like the re-introduction of ZUPCO and scaling up agricultural and mining production will soon bear fruit.
“President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s recent 4-nation tour was fruitful and it helped cement relations that date back to the days of Zimbabwe’s liberation struggle. Russia and Belarus have helped Zimbabwe before in fighting colonialism and the President got assurance that they shall continue assisting us in various sectors of the economy. The deal between the country and Al Rosa of Russia will result in improved diamond mining and beneficiation for the country to earn more foreign currency,” Mohadi said.
He also urged farmers to work hard and maximise land utilisation so that the country will export produce and earn foreign currency.
The Vice President also slammed corruption at all levels of society and called for fair distribution of government inputs.
On the food security, Mohadi said no one will die of hunger as the nation has enough grain stock for 2019.
The Thank You Rally was meant to appreciate the electorate for trusting the revolutionary Zanu PF party with a fresh mandate during last year’s harmonised elections.
