News / National
Police roadblocks used to fund-raise for Zanu-PF
08 Mar 2012 at 21:51hrs | Views
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's MDC party says police roadblocks mounted by the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) throughout the country were excessive and were being used to fundraise for Zanu-PF the Daily News reported on Thursday.
Addressing journalists after the party's national executive meeting in Harare yesterday, party spokesperson Douglas Mwonzora said police roadblocks were too many, inconveniencing travellers and encouraging corrupt activities.
This comes following a dispute between the police and kombi operators in Harare last week which ended up in the courts.
Some operators boycotted transporting people to work in protest against a heavy police presence on the roads. "These roadblocks are excessive and are apparently a ploy to fund raise for Zanu-PF.
"We are not saying roadblocks should disappear, but they are too much and they are serving no legal purpose.
"You don't fundraise by inconveniencing people, neither can you mount artificial roadblocks to fundraise. One day when we were travelling from Masvingo to Harare, there were 14 roadblocks for that 300 kilometre distance. This is not the situation in other countries in the region," said Mwonzora.
Asked to comment, Rugare Gumbo, the Zanu-PF spokesperson rubbished the claims by the MDC.
"It is nonsense, I cannot comment on that, the police are simply doing their work," Gumbo said.
According to Mwonzora, worse still was the fact that the money raised from these roadblocks did not find its way into treasury and said his party does not trust that the police commissioner-general will be responsible with the money raised.
"He has acted improperly before in favour of Zanu-PF and as a party, what can prevent him from doing the same today?" asked Mwonzora. He said his party also condemned the practice by the police to smash windscreens of vehicles as a way of enforcing the excessive roadblocks.
Police spokesperson Inspector James Sabau last month told an interparty peace body, Joint Monitoring and Implementation Committee, (Jomic) that the police were sometimes forced to use unorthodox means to force the kombi crews to obey police orders.
Mwonzora also told journalists that his party was restructuring its grassroots structures to prepare for the elections that are expected this year or next year but maintained that his party will only participate when conditions for a free and fair poll are in place.
President Robert Mugabe, who turned 88 on February 21, has said elections will be on this year with or without reforms but Tsvangirai has maintained that he will boycott any election modelled in the interests of Zanu PF and is demanding electoral reforms
Addressing journalists after the party's national executive meeting in Harare yesterday, party spokesperson Douglas Mwonzora said police roadblocks were too many, inconveniencing travellers and encouraging corrupt activities.
This comes following a dispute between the police and kombi operators in Harare last week which ended up in the courts.
Some operators boycotted transporting people to work in protest against a heavy police presence on the roads. "These roadblocks are excessive and are apparently a ploy to fund raise for Zanu-PF.
"We are not saying roadblocks should disappear, but they are too much and they are serving no legal purpose.
"You don't fundraise by inconveniencing people, neither can you mount artificial roadblocks to fundraise. One day when we were travelling from Masvingo to Harare, there were 14 roadblocks for that 300 kilometre distance. This is not the situation in other countries in the region," said Mwonzora.
Asked to comment, Rugare Gumbo, the Zanu-PF spokesperson rubbished the claims by the MDC.
"It is nonsense, I cannot comment on that, the police are simply doing their work," Gumbo said.
According to Mwonzora, worse still was the fact that the money raised from these roadblocks did not find its way into treasury and said his party does not trust that the police commissioner-general will be responsible with the money raised.
"He has acted improperly before in favour of Zanu-PF and as a party, what can prevent him from doing the same today?" asked Mwonzora. He said his party also condemned the practice by the police to smash windscreens of vehicles as a way of enforcing the excessive roadblocks.
Police spokesperson Inspector James Sabau last month told an interparty peace body, Joint Monitoring and Implementation Committee, (Jomic) that the police were sometimes forced to use unorthodox means to force the kombi crews to obey police orders.
Mwonzora also told journalists that his party was restructuring its grassroots structures to prepare for the elections that are expected this year or next year but maintained that his party will only participate when conditions for a free and fair poll are in place.
President Robert Mugabe, who turned 88 on February 21, has said elections will be on this year with or without reforms but Tsvangirai has maintained that he will boycott any election modelled in the interests of Zanu PF and is demanding electoral reforms
Source - Daily News
