Vice President Constantino Chiwenga has warned that the Government will show no mercy to individuals who engage in politically-motivated violence ahead of the 23 August 2023 general elections.
Chiwenga made the remarks while addressing ZANU PF supporters in Stoneridge, Harare South constituency on Monday, 24 July. He was quoted by NewsDay as saying:
What we expect is the peace, unity and love that you have maintained till today. We want peace till the voting day. We want love, unity and tolerance among ourselves as Zimbabweans.
That way we are going to shame what has been happening all these years. That is not going to happen again.
Those bent on violence will get your VIP ticket to Chikurubi [Maximum Security Prison]. We are not going to be merciful.
Elections are coming on August 23. The father will remain the father, mother, wife, grandfather, aunt or nephew.
So why should we attack each other? Are we not Zimbabweans? Let’s unite the children of Munhumutapa.
We are the most literate State in Africa. Why should we downgrade ourselves? What happened in the past remains in the past. We no longer want to see that in our country.
Chiwenga claimed that Zimbabwe has the fasted GDP growth, not only in southern Africa but in the world, adding that the Government has managed to stabilise prices of goods and services.
He said the ZANU PF-led Government has made significant progress on infrastructure development in the past five years. Said Chiwenga:
Dams are now everywhere. We are not just constructing but at every dam, we are generating electricity.
If the construction of the Tugwi-Mukosi and Mutirikwi hydroelectricity stations in Masvingo are completed, we won’t be solely relying on electricity from Kariba or Hwange. It will be a standalone [project].
The Hwange units 7 and 8 to be commissioned by the head of State has enabled us to stop importing electricity.
There is no longer load shedding. If they switch off, it will be because of maintenance. We now have enough electricity.
However, Zimbabweans continue to experience load shedding almost on a daily basis but for short periods of time compared to late last year into the first half of 2023 when the power cuts lasted more than 18 hours.
More: Pindula News