News / National
Luxury cars for ex-Mugabe loyalists
22 Oct 2018 at 07:19hrs | Views
Top officials in Zimbabwe's ruling Zanu-PF party are set to receive expensive Land Cruisers from South Africa despite a severe foreign currency shortage, a newspaper is reporting.
The 50 new vehicles, which include Toyota VX 200 Land Cruisers, will cost the ruling party around $5 million and will be a perk for party heavyweights recently side-lined from President Emmerson Mnangagwa's new cabinet, reports the privately-owned Standard newspaper.
"The ruling party is said to have received the money to buy the top-of-the-range vehicles from a local tycoon with vast interests in the energy sector," the paper said.
Secret account
Mnangagwa's new finance minister, Mthuli Ncube, has said the government will not splash out on new vehicles for cabinet ministers and MPs due to shortages of hard cash and austerity measures announced this month.
These cars are for those who've been pushed out of the president's inner circle and have been procured by the ruling party rather than the government.
"For anyone to suggest that Zanu-PF is receiving vehicles from anyone and not buying on its own is total rubbish," the party's director for administration Dickson Dzora told the paper.
Ahead of the July elections Mnangagwa's party received new campaign vehicles and erected huge billboards and campaign banners. The Zimbabwe Independent paper reported in June that former president Robert Mugabe had handed over control of a secret bank account containing 24 million US dollars.
The 50 new vehicles, which include Toyota VX 200 Land Cruisers, will cost the ruling party around $5 million and will be a perk for party heavyweights recently side-lined from President Emmerson Mnangagwa's new cabinet, reports the privately-owned Standard newspaper.
"The ruling party is said to have received the money to buy the top-of-the-range vehicles from a local tycoon with vast interests in the energy sector," the paper said.
Secret account
Mnangagwa's new finance minister, Mthuli Ncube, has said the government will not splash out on new vehicles for cabinet ministers and MPs due to shortages of hard cash and austerity measures announced this month.
These cars are for those who've been pushed out of the president's inner circle and have been procured by the ruling party rather than the government.
"For anyone to suggest that Zanu-PF is receiving vehicles from anyone and not buying on its own is total rubbish," the party's director for administration Dickson Dzora told the paper.
Ahead of the July elections Mnangagwa's party received new campaign vehicles and erected huge billboards and campaign banners. The Zimbabwe Independent paper reported in June that former president Robert Mugabe had handed over control of a secret bank account containing 24 million US dollars.
Source - news24
