By Leonnel Mhuka
Opposition MPs in Parliament today pleaded with the Minister of Finance and Economic Development, Prof. Ncube, to allow at least half of the passport fees to be paid using ZiG after the minister sided with the passport office stressing the unlikelihood of allowing Zimbabweans to pay for the document using the country’s local currency.
The Minister and the Speaker of Parliament suppressed the questions and even refused to reveal the shareholders of the foreign entity that has a contract with the government to produce what is arguably the most expensive passport in Africa. The minister and the speaker jointly blocked the revealing of the details of the ownership of the contracted company saying they do not matter, they argued that only what matters is that the passport fees cannot be paid in ZiG, and the minister will investigate if there is a possibility of changing the contract. This is happening despite efforts by the government to build confidence in the ZiG.
But the question remains, “Who are the owners of this company that have led the whole country to disown its own currency and do nothing to bail out its suffering citizens?”
The video clip shows that there is no zeal to find common ground between the two dominant parties in the parliament of Zimbabwe. The opposition genuinely brings up issues that affect the general population, while the Speaker of Parliament and the minister who are both from ZANU-PPF show no care in addressing these critical issues but instead protect the anonymous government’s business partners.
The attitude of the Speaker of Parliament towards opposition MPs clearly shows that nothing positive that ZANU-PF does not want will ever come out of this setup.
The ZANU-PF-led government is known for its deadly corruption, which includes the use of imposter organizations disguised as investors. This has been witnessed in several cases, including the GEO-POMONA company, which signed a USD 350 million, 30-year contract with Harare City Council and demanded twenty-two thousand dollars (USD 22 000) every day as payments for refuse collection from the date they started constructing the so-called power station.
The deal that came to light in 2022 has so far only delivered a football pitch, despite the government paying thousands every day to sustain the 30-year contract with Geo-Pomona, which is being fronted by controversial and bogus businessman, Delish Ngwaya.
Ngwaya made headlines after conniving with the Mnangagwa family to sell overpriced COVID necessities to government departments in 2021.
https://x.com/ChangeRadioZW/status/1790875434374005218
