Chiwenga condemns corrupt businesspeople

Vice President Dr. Constantino Chiwenga has issued a strong condemnation of corrupt businesspeople operating without traceable capital or legitimate enterprises, describing them as a serious threat to national economic development and a poor example for Zimbabwean youth.

Speaking at the Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce (ZNCC) annual conference in Victoria Falls earlier today, Dr. Chiwenga vowed that those engaged in such "economically corrosive" practices will be held accountable.

The ZNCC conference, which brings together private sector leaders and policymakers, serves as a platform to foster dialogue aimed at driving the national economic development agenda championed by President Emmerson Mnangagwa.

Addressing delegates, Vice President Chiwenga called for a united, "whole-of-society" approach to sustainable development, emphasizing that economic transformation is not the sole responsibility of government.

"Our developmental vision is not the remit of Government alone," he said. "Sustainable transformation demands a whole-of-society approach – unifying public institutions, private enterprise, civil society, and development partners."

He warned against "phantom entrepreneurship" — unscrupulous business activities characterized by the sudden appearance of money with no clear source.

"We must shun unscrupulous so-called business people operating from briefcases with no traceable capital or legitimate enterprises. This culture of phantom entrepreneurship, where money appears without any known source, is not only economically corrosive but ethically bankrupt," Dr. Chiwenga stated.

The Vice President emphasized that real businesses are built through "hard work, discipline, sacrifice, and value creation," and cautioned that the day of reckoning is inevitable for those undermining Zimbabwe's economic integrity through illicit dealings.

"Let us not mortgage our nation's future to fleeting gain," he concluded.