AS members of the fourth estate, we cannot keep quiet and pretend things are normal in this country when they are not. That would be undemocratic and unpatriotic on our part.
We will never stop asking questions, especially those pertaining to the stewardship of public resources and governance.
During the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s administration introduced a plan to revive the state-owned Zimbabwe United Passenger Company (ZUPCO).
The government went on a buying spree, purchasing buses from Belarus, our new “fair-weather” friend.
More than 1 000 ZUPCO buses were purchased and commissioned by Mnangagwa between 2019 and 2023, according to reports. The nation was also informed that 550 more buses would be procured. ZUPCO advertised the tender for these buses on December 28, 2023, and they were supposed to be delivered last year.
However, it remains unclear whether the buses were delivered.
Our preliminary two-month assessment has revealed that ZUPCO buses have become scarce on the roads, both in urban and rural areas. They are hardly visible anymore. For instance, ZUPCO previously operated a premium bus service on the Harare-Bulawayo route, but this service has been discontinued. So we ask: Where are the buses purchased and commissioned by the President since 2019?
Currently, private transporters dominate both city and major intercity routes across the country. The transport crisis has worsened, exacerbated by the apparent disappearance of ZUPCO buses.
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We demand answers from the government, particularly from ZUPCO’s parent company, the Mutapa Investment Fund. These buses were purchased using public resources. They cannot simply vanish without explanation. Have they broken down and been parked at ZUPCO depots across the country? We find this unlikely, given that these were new buses when purchased. We also call upon Parliament to fulfil its oversight role and safeguard public resources. One would not be unreasonable to suspect that some of these buses may have been converted for personal use by politically-connected individuals.
In 2023, the Auditor-General’s report revealed that ZUPCO was likely embroiled in numerous corruption scandals. The institution failed to account for ZW$3,4 billion in revenue generated in urban areas due to its failure to submit required information, raising serious concerns about potential fraud.
This carries profound consequences for ordinary Zimbabweans. Commuters face daily struggles with inadequate and unaffordable transport options. Public funds that could have transformed lives have instead vanished into a bureaucratic black hole.
Most dangerously, the culture of impunity surrounding this case erodes public trust in government institutions.
We will continue to ask these difficult questions because the people of Zimbabwe deserve answers. They deserve to know why their hard-earned tax dollars have failed to deliver promised services. They deserve leaders who prioritise public welfare over personal gain. And they deserve a transportation system that actually functions.
We cannot keep quiet!
