President Emmerson Mnangagwa has sent a stern warning to private operators insisting that his government will not allow “mushikashika” to steal hard-earned incomes from workers.
In his pre-recorded Workers’ Day speech, Mnangagwa accused unlicensed passenger transporters of ripping off workers and vowed to do everything possible to stop them.
“The second republic is determined to retain the purchasing power of workers, through viable public transport systems. Government will not stand by and watch while hard-earned incomes of our workers are being stolen by mushikashika and makoronyera. No!
Although workers spend long hours at ZUPCO bus terminus, Mnangagwa urged public transport operators to ferry workers on time during peak hours.
“You, as our workers, deserve an efficient and affordable transport system so that production time as well as your family time is not lost in transport queues. During peak hours, workers must be transported with the greatest ease,” he said.
However, transport operators and passengers have blamed the government for creating a Zimbabwe United Passenger Company (Zupco) monopoly when it is clear that the company does not have the capacity to transport commuters during peak hours.
Meanwhile, a recent police report said at least 70 drivers of pirate taxis and their unregistered vehicles were netted on Sunday as the operation targeting them continued in and around the capital Harare.
