The villagers are being charged $10 each to take part in training/drills and promised security jobs at Nkayi sports ground/arena. But once they complete the training, they never get the jobs. More than 1,000 people are said to have been trained in the exercise that began about two months ago and is still ongoing.
When The Zimbabwean visited the grounds where the exercise is being carried out, angry instructors refused to have their photos taken or to communicate with this reporter. On the first day 234 people attended the training, and 178 came on the second day. The exercise started at eight am and went on until five pm. “Our desperate people are losing their money to these criminals for nothing,” said a village head on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.
“It is very sad to see that people who should be protecting citizens are the ones victimising them through this fake programme. People borrow money in the hope of getting a job, not knowing they are enriching these criminals. Every day, these people enrol more than 200 villagers who are desperate for jobs. We are scared that if we question them we will end up disappearing as people running this thing are friends of dangerous Central Intelligence officials residing in our area,” he added. Amanda Moyo, an angry mother of three who participated in the initiative when it was launched two months ago, urged the community to stop participating in the exercise.
“We were fooled into believing that after training we would be given jobs at Econet, Telecel and Netone to guard network boosters. What surprises me is that the exercise is attracting hundreds of people every day while we all know there are less than three boosters in Nkayi. People must not be fooled any longer,” said Moyo.
A police and a prison officer, both stationed at Nkayi, said they were aware of the exercise. “Remember if you tamper with what the bosses are doing you lose your job or you get burnt. We are very much aware of the exercise as our bosses and their retired friends are making money out of desperate people. This project started in Gokwe and if they are not stopped they will continue ripping-off poor citizens. They are determined to continue with their project in other remote areas of the country where they won’t be noticed,” said the two officers. Contacted for comment, Nkayi ZRP and ZPS officials refused to comment.
“These security chefs think we are fools,” said a businessman at Nkayi Business Centre. “They came here telling us that we should start employing people through them. We are very much aware that they want to make money out of poor citizens. People should unite and get rid of them from our communities as they represent evil.”
Post published in: News