Mpofu's decisions 'unpeople'

The Zimbabwean community on 1 june woke up to be greeted by a spine chilling headlines that the ministry of Transport and Infrastructure Development led by Dr Obert Mpofu had issued an irrevocable ban on kombis and kombi operators and his ministry will not be issuing or renewing permits for kombi operators. The catastrophic decision of Mpofu should not take the transport operators and the people of Zimbabwe by surprise as his political history is marred by a catalogue of footprints that are treacherous, unpeople and retrogressive.

It is therefore the purpose of this article to detail the evil and treacherous history and nature of Mpofu and the consequences of his actions.

It is common knowledge that Obert Mpofu joined ZAPU Youth movement in 1966 and became an occasional messenger between ZAPU comrades in Rhodesia and Zambia. Mpofu was proved to be divisive and untrainable and dismissed from the role by ZIPRA Commander Alfred Nikita Mangena. Mpofu then sought the Academic road and studied journalism in India. When Zimbabwe attained Independence Mpofu betrayed ZAPU and opportunistically joined ZANU PF as a matter of survival. His betrayal should be read in context that Mpofu joined ZANU PF at a time when the party was maiming mercilessly 20 000 Matebeleland citizens.

Mpofu worked as a manager of Customs in Harare and his corrupt colours emerged to the public. He began smuggling televisions to Zimbabwe and none but Enos Nkala the butcher of Matabeleland came to his aid and protected Mpofu under the wings of ZANU PF catapulting him to be ZANU PF non-constituency MP in 1987 and 1995. Robert Mugabe rewarded Mpofu his Only Beloved Son for betraying the people of Matabeleland by making him Governor of Matabeleland North and later Minister of Industry and Trade. Such is the nature of the person that the Zimbabweans are dealing with.

As I write this piece, thousands of Entrepreneurs who run small to Medium transport business are at the brink of watching their businesses collapsing and God knows what will happen to the thousands of dependants who feed from their hands.

The green lies that the gorvenment will create a fund to assist transport owners to buy buses should be dismissed as a false Gospel preached by a false Angel to deceive the very elect. Mpofu knows very well that his ZANU PF government is cash strapped and is failing to meet the salaries deadlines. Mpofu knows in his heart of hearts that his ZANU PF Party has failed to secure any funding for the unpopular ZIMASSET Policy document. And lastly Mpofu knows very well that he is the last person to speak about creating a fund to assist transport operators when he failed to declare even one cent from the diamond proceeds to the Finance Ministry during the GNU. The fallacy peddled by Minister Mpofu that congestion is caused by kombis is unexpected from a holder of Doctorate Degree. Even a grade one pupil can tell you that congestion is caused by the increased inflow of imported Ex-Japanese cars.

The Minister went on further to declare that the public transport operator's age should be 35 years. For Godsake can someone educate the Minister that life expectancy in Zimbabwe is 34 years. So does the Honourable Minister want graves to operate the transport Industry? One wonders the rampant unemployment that will prevail just by the decree from the Minister. Where will all the young people employed by the kombis turn to at a time when the government through Mpofu is retrenching them? Is this part of the ZANU PF Agenda to Indiginise, Empower, Develop, Employ? Is this part of the 4 million jobs that we were promised by the ZIMASSET?

As a young person and community activist, I dare ask where is the Minister of SMES Sithembiso Nyoni when SMES are closed by Mpofu overnight? I dare ask where is the Minister of Youth when young people are rendered jobless by Mpofu? The people of Zimbabwe should be given answers on why the ZUPCO project to ferry people from the suburbs to the city centre failed. The government must first account why it has failed to ban ipsums that have evidently became moving coffins? Is it because the majority of these cars are owned by the police officers?

At a time when the country especially the Southern Region is gripped by the blood curdling muders, Mpofu wants to drive our citizens out of employment to the underground world of unconventional means of survival.

The Minister of Transport instead of inflating toll fees, and making life ‘ hell hole' for Zimbabweans must focus on fixing potholes, erecting rural road networks and restoring order at the crumbling Air Zimbabwe.

Cde Minister Give us a break.