BY MOSES MATENGA President Emmerson Mnangagwa yesterday pleaded with Zimbabweans not to give up hope in the face of a myriad of challenges as he warned alleged “treacherous” elements against sabotaging the economy.
Mnangagwa made the desperate plea while speaking at the burial of the late Wereki Sandiyani at the National Heroes’ Acre in Harare yesterday.
Sandiyani, one of the pioneers of the liberation struggle died last week at the age of 66.
He assured restive war veterans who last month besieged Finance minister Mthuli Ncube’s office demanding a review of their measly pension earnings that the country would leverage on natural resources to fend off the challenges.
“In their honour, and leveraging on our vast resource endowments, let us never give in to the challenges that we may face,” Mnangagwa said.
“We must continue to define and shape the political and socio-economic development of our great country as a truly free and independent people, always acting in the national interests of the majority of our people.”
The country has seen the resurgence of inflation, with prices of basic commodities shooting up because of the plunging of the local currency against the US$.
The Reserve bank of Zimbabwe last weekend named eight people it accused of driving inflation through manipulation of the parallel market rate.
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On the welfare of war veterans, Mnangagwa said: “My government under the second Republic shall never forget them, but will always grant them the respect, honour and recognition they truly deserve and are worthy of. Their deaths, injuries, wounds and torture marks remind us that our independence and democracy is hard won and precious.”
But recently, a group of disgruntled war veterans accused Mnangagwa of neglecting them and giving false promises.
A dozen of them were arrested and released without charge after protesting at Ncube’s offices.
Mnangagwa said his government will not allow those with their narrow agendas to prevail at the expense of the country.
“The prevailing national peace, unity and harmony as well as the economic strides we are making must never be sacrificed on the altar of narrow, blinkered and treacherous behaviour against our motherland,” he said.”
