Zanu officials fingered in fuel scam

A Zanu (PF) provincial meeting held in Mutare last week heard that war veterans had alleged that senior party officials and Cabinet ministers were diverting fuel. The provincial meeting had been called to take stock of the state of the party ahead of key parliamentary and presidential elections next year.
Zanu (PF) sources told Zim Online at the weekend that debate over the alleged fuel scam took centre stage and discussions relating to the party’s electoral campaign for next year had to be shelved as a result.
The war veterans, a key cog in Zanu (PF)’s election machinery, said they had evidence that top party officials and Cabinet ministers had sold thousands of litres of fuel. They are accused of diverting fuel onto the parallel market where it is sold for at least three times the normal price.
At the stormy meeting, Vladimir Mukwada, an influential war veteran in Mutare, led the call to have senior party officials arrested over the fuel scam. “What is happening in Mutare is a reflection of the rot in Zanu (PF). People in Zanu (PF) are fuelling black market activities. We have their names and we are prepared to name and shame them,” Mukweda told the meeting.
The war veteran’s leader offered to name the senior party officials involved but was stopped from doing so by Manicaland provincial governor and Zanu (PF) provincial governor Tinaye Chigudu.
Chigudu refused to take questions from Zim Online, adding that it was an “internal” party matter.
Last week, Mukweda is said to have approached the police to prod them to investigate the matter, sources said.
Contacted for comment at the weekend, Mukweda said: “It’s an internal party discussion but we want those responsible for looting party resources, irrespective of their rank, to be arrested because they are destroying Zanu (PF).”