War veterans sound alarm over Mnangagwa's 'presidential schemes'

President Emmerson Mnangagwa has launched a series of empowerment initiatives aimed at war veterans, vendors, and rural communities, even as efforts to extend his second and final term to 2030 gain traction. However, mounting concerns suggest that these programmes are being implemented with minimal oversight, creating opportunities for abuse, mismanagement, and large-scale looting.

One of the flagship initiatives, the War Veterans Mechanisation Programme, promised to deliver 3,000 tractors to liberation war veterans. Yet by December 2025, provinces such as Matabeleland North, Matabeleland South, and Bulawayo had received far fewer tractors than allocated. Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association national chairperson Cephas Ncube revealed that "Matabeleland North received five tractors, Matabeleland South five tractors and Bulawayo seven, with four originally missing." Veterans had to personally intervene to recover the missing machinery.

Other presidential schemes, including the Borehole Scheme and the US$1.5 million War Veterans Fund, are being implemented by politically connected advisers such as Paul Tungwarara of the Prevail Group of Companies. Tungwarara has faced criticism for abandoning boreholes before completing solar installations, tanks, and pumps, despite government payments. He also admitted that funds intended for a vendor support initiative, Vendors4ED, were stolen by leaders of the group, yet no arrests have been made.

Critics argue that Mnangagwa's programmes are operating as a parallel patronage system, where projects are launched in the president's name, managed by politically connected cronies, poorly supervised, and shielded from public scrutiny. "This isn't about development; it's about looting using the levers of state power, sustaining it through illegalities, and buying loyalty for the 2030 term-extension push," said Jealousy Mawarire, a Mnangagwa critic and former journalist.

Other initiatives under scrutiny include the Presidential River Rehabilitation Programme, Hospital Refurbishment Programme, Youth Empowerment Scheme, and Constituency Empowerment Programme, all of which have been awarded without open bidding. Analysts say the lack of audits, public disclosure, and independent oversight has facilitated large-scale corruption, with political objectives overshadowing genuine economic relief.

Veterans and beneficiaries have called for better management of the programmes, warning that unchecked misappropriation threatens both the intended recipients and the credibility of state-led empowerment efforts. Observers contend that these initiatives, though marketed as empowerment, are increasingly functioning as a vehicle for wealth accumulation among elites while consolidating support for Mnangagwa's controversial bid to extend his term until 2030.