Francis Nhema And Chris Mushowe Were Just Tea-Drinking Layabouts When In Charge Of Empowerment Ministry

LOCAL government minister, Saviour Kasukuwere, has criticised former empowerment ministers Francis Nhema and Chris Mushowe saying the two were just tea-drinking layabouts when in charge of the portfolio.

Nhema was fired from government by President Robert Mugabe early this year after heading the ministry for one and a half years.

He was succeeded by Mushowe who had a short stint at the ministry before he was redeployed to the ministry of media information and broadcasting services.

Addressing the launch of a youth fund in Harare Wednesday, Kasukuwere said the two had done nothing to push the indigenisation agenda.

“We do not want minister who just make noise when given cabinet positions and every minister must account for what they do,” Kasukuwere told those attending the event, most of them Zanu PF youths.

“There were some ministers who were appointed to lead the youth ministry; what they did was just sitting and having tea in office.

“You are not hired to drink tea; you are hired to empower the youth.”

Kasukuwere then heaped praises on key ally and current youth minister, Patrick Zhuwao and urged him to continue pushing “our government’s indigenisation policy”.

Kasukuwere bulldozed implementation of the empowerment programme after government adopted the policy.

He forced compliance with the law which requires that foreign companies cede to locals 51 per cent of their operations.

It has since emerged that none of the deals Kasukuwere claimed to have sealed in the mining sector were concluded.

Kasukuwere also faced stiff resistance from the central bank governor, Gideon Gono, when he tried to force foreign-owned banks to comply with the law. source-newzimbabwe