By Almot Maqolo.
HARARE (News of The South)- – Zimbabwe government is spending about $40 million every month to subsidize the southern African nation’s public transport system through Zimbabwe United Passenger Company (ZUPCO) buses, Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube said on Friday.
Following, the hike in fuel price at the beginning of the year, saw some commuter operators hiking fares for local trips in most towns. In a bid to cushion the commuting public, the southern African nation reintroduced the ZUPCO buses that charges nominal fares for urban transport. However, the move faced criticism from experts saying that it was draining the fiscus and not sustainable in the long run.
“The issue about ZUPCO it’s not just a social protection issue, it is also to make sure that our cities work. For cities to function as drivers of growth they need efficient public transportation systems so ZUPCO is not just about the subsidy which is also good social protection reason,” Ncube told the media at a press conference held in the capital.
“We are spending $40 million a month just on ZUPCO transportation subsidy. It is about efficient cities that are able to move people around to where ever they want to go which is part of urbanization because our cities are a big driver of economic growth.” He said the 2020 national budget will support local authorities to make sure that they are functional.
The treasury chief said there are members of the society which have not been spared from the El Nino induced drought which is still present, access to health and vagaries of inflation.
“We still have vulnerability out there, so our social protection budget allocation was quite large and we believe that it touches all the areas that ought to be covered. So every week we are distributing food in rural and urban areas as you know for the first time we are doing urban areas,” he said.
While the program is still confined to Harare and Bulawayo, the government is keen to expand it to other cities.
“So far we are supporting easily above a million households which is almost 6 million people. Our international partners are also supportive and we really appreciate this. It is about food, cash transfers, access to health, beam program for the education sector and the list is long in terms of that social protection.”
The southern African country is still recovering from the shocks of cyclone Idai and El-Nino induced drought which characterised the 2018/19 cropping season resulting in crop failure, livestock and wildlife deaths.
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