President Robert Mugabe has accused some members of his own party of causing shortages in a bid to trigger a revolt against his government.

Mugabe’s wife is in a bitter war against the Lacoste faction led by vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa, with conclusions that he is speaking against his deputy.

In a veiled attack on party rebels allegedly sympathetic to Lacoste faction, Muagbe made the claim in front of thousands of supporters bused to Harare International Airport to welcome him home from New York where he attended the UN General Assembly.

 “These are saboteurs, who want to cause panic against the government, so that people can riot against us, but our people are clever. They will not be swayed in that way,” Mugabe said.
 Speaking in Shona, Mugabe said top ruling party members could be behind the shortages. “Some of them are people we play with every day, people we drink beer with, who are supporting the enemy,” he said.
Many people are now linking this with Mnangagwa faction after his supporters in the core of the War Vets Association made it clear they will not be voting for President Mugabe in 2018 election.

A Harare based government official who spoke to zimnewsnet on condition that her name is not revealed said Mugabe was briefed while still in America that a hostile faction within Zanu PF is causing panic among citizens;

“They are publishing fake news in private media making people to believe Zimbabwe has completely run out of US dollars and a devastating economic crises is about to happen,” she said without revealing the faction behind the crises.

 

Buying sprees

 At the weekend, many Zimbabweans went on buying sprees, stocking up on basic goods and fuel in anticipation of looming shortages.

There are fears the country is quickly sliding back into a crisis last seen in 2007-2008, a period marked by severe shortages and hyperinflation. Cash has largely disappeared from the formal market, and prices of goods have been going up. Retailers say they are forced to buy scarce foreign currency on the black market to restock.

‘We will deal with it’

In his airport speech Mugabe vowed to take unspecified corrective measures.

 “This is not an issue you should worry yourselves over. We will deal with it in just two days,” he said.

Ten years ago his government dealt with rising prices, fuelled by hyper-inflation, by enforcing price controls and arresting thousands of retailers for “overcharging”.

Commented media watchdog, @ZimMediaReview: “Interesting that Mugabe appears to blame ZANU-PF leaders for the shortages/panic. Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa has been acting President while Mugabe was at UN.”