The ruling ZANU PF party has been accused of diverting Zimbabwe United Passengers Company (ZUPCO) buses from urban constituencies where it lost to those constituencies where its candidates won in the recent by-elections.
This comes after newly-elected Epworth MP, Zalerah Makari (ZANU PF), revealed that her constituency received more buses after they made a request to authorities. She tweeted:
There have been transport challenges in Epworth. We requested more buses in order to solve this and I’m glad that we were given more buses for Epworth.
I will continue to represent the interest of the people of Epworth, affordable transport for our people!
Meanwhile, former Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU), Peter Mutasa accused the ZANU PF-led Government of playing with people’s lives. Responding to Makari, Mutasa said:
lf these are not new buses as we see in the pictures, then it means they have been diverted from other suburbs.
Those suburbs are now worse than they were. It is now where ZANU PF won more buses and less where it lost.
Why does your government play politics with people’s lives?
Mutasa also bemoaned the ongoing transport challenges that are being experienced by commuters after the Government banned private transporters in 2020. Said Mutasa:
Whoever is benefiting through the ZUPCO monopoly doesn’t do this to citizens These are workers who work over 8 hours, some while standing
Then they come to stand again in the cold in the rain and in the sun for another 3 hours. Why?
Zimbabweans have been experiencing transport challenges since 2020 when the Government banned private buses and kombis and ordered them to join the ZUPCO franchise.
The banning of kombis resulted in the emergence of a thriving pirate taxi industry (mushikashika) but ZRP is now targetting the unlicensed taxi operators leaving commuters stranded.