Zanu-PF youths target ministers

ZANU-PF youths have called on President Robert Mugabe to fire all his four Cabinet ministers in charge of economic ministries, accusing them of spending much of their time politicking instead of crafting turn around strategies for the country's comatose economy.

The call was made by the ruling party's youth leader, Kudzanai Chipanga, in his address at Mugabe's 93rd birthday celebration in Matobo, Matabeleland South province, on Saturday.

"We are in a war-like situation. We are fighting sanctions, which were imposed on our country, which are hurting our economy and we are glad that the President has been doing whatever he can to transform our economy, but we see that the foot soldiers, who happen to be ministers in charge of economic ministries, some of them we feel they are not doing enough," he said.

"Some of them are busy politicking, but we feel that when it comes to the issue of the economy, it needs full attention and full commitment, hence, we have this feeling that there might be a need for His Excellency to appoint some people, who are not politicians, but technocrats qualified for those jobs."

Zimbabwe's economy has been in a comatose state for the past two decades, with the ruling party blaming it on travel and economic restrictions imposed on its elite by Western countries, although government critics have often cited high-level corruption as slowing down economic recovery.

Chipanga declined to name and shame the targeted ministers, but proposed that their ministries be turned into a department falling under the Office of the President and Cabinet.

Mugabe's Cabinet has four ministries directly linked to the economy. These are Finance and Economic Deveopment headed by Patrick Chinamasa, Macro Economic Planning and Investment Promotion (Obert Mpofu), Policy Coordination and Promotion of Socio-Economic Ventures (Simon Khaya Moyo), and Industry and Commerce (Mike Bimha).

Chipanga hailed Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor, John Mangudya for single-handedly hoisting the economy despite his controversial introduction of bond notes.

"I don't mind what they think, I mind about my principal, who is the President, because I believe they are also serving the same principal, whom I am also serving, so we must come out with plans, all of us as a party to try and assist the President, who was voted to lead the nation," Chipanga said.

"Maybe if we were to have some ministers of economic ministries, who are not politicians, maybe they were going to commit themselves fully rather than this crop. We feel this crop is not committing itself fully in trying to support the initiations that are being done by the President to transform this economy," he said.

Government critics have blamed the entire Zanu-PF regime for running down the economy and looting national resources for personal gain.

"The whole Zanu-PF Cabinet has utterly and completely failed the people, starting with Robert Mugabe himself.

There is absolutely nothing tangible that this Cabinet has done to benefit the majority of the people. All they are good at is corruptly amassing wealth for themselves, looting and diminishing State resources and engaging themselves in endless factional feuds. This Cabinet is the worst since independence in 1980," MDC-T spokesperson, Obert Gutu said.