ED caught pants down in Vic Falls
This is what confronts tourists along Victoria Falls Highway
The state of the Bulawayo-Victoria Falls Highway has exposed President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s propaganda machine narrative that his so-called Second Republic is spearheading infrastructure development, particularly road rehabilitation.
Contrary, the state of this Highway exposes this myth, highlighting how corruption, state capture, and cronyism have defined his administration since seizing power from Robert Mugabe in a 2017 coup. The Bulawayo-Victoria Falls road, a crucial gateway to Zimbabwe’s premier international tourism destination, remains a death trap, riddled with potholes and neglected despite years of public outcry.
Tourists and locals alike are left questioning why the Mnangagwa government refuses to prioritize its rehabilitation.
Instead, millions have been funneled into the pockets of his cronies, thugs, and politically connected business figures while essential infrastructure collapses.
Recent images circulating on social media, allegedly showing individuals posing inside massive potholes along the highway, have been dismissed as ‘fake’ by the government.
The Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development released a statement downplaying the crisis, claiming that the photographs do not correspond to any section of the road while half-heartedly acknowledging the urgent need for repairs.
“It has come to our attention that a social media post is circulating, showing three people posing in a pothole on a road claimed to be part of the Bulawayo-Victoria Falls Highway. While we acknowledge that certain sections of the highway are in dire need of rehabilitation, the images in the post do not correspond to any section of the Bulawayo-Victoria Falls Highway,” the Ministry stated.
Despite these weak denials, the reality on the ground paints a different picture.
Mnangagwa and his inner circle have looted state resources under the guise of development, channeling lucrative contracts to politically connected elites such as Kudakwashe Tagwirei, Wicknell Chivayo, and Obey Chimuka—figures who have built vast fortunes through murky government deals while the public suffers.
Tagwirei, a close Mnangagwa ally, has become Zimbabwe’s de facto economic overlord, monopolizing key state contracts in fuel supply, infrastructure, and mining.
Similarly, Chivayo, a known fraudster, has pocketed millions in state funds through dubious energy projects that never materialized.
Meanwhile, Maxwell Chikumbutso, who claims to have invented a ‘free energy’ machine, has enjoyed state backing while no tangible benefits from his projects have reached Zimbabwean citizens.
Mnangagwa’s government has repeatedly claimed that infrastructure development is a priority under the Emergency Road Rehabilitation Programme (ERRP2), boasting that over 50,000km of roads have been rehabilitated since 2021.
However, such claims remain unverified and contrast sharply with the lived realities of Zimbabweans, who continue to navigate crumbling roads that endanger lives daily. This is an Ignite Media Zimbabwe news production. The regime’s failure to address the decay of the Bulawayo-Victoria Falls road stands as a glaring indictment of its misplaced priorities.
Instead of funding roadworks, Mnangagwa has facilitated a culture of looting, allowing his sons, criminal associates, and tenderpreneurs to bleed state coffers dry.
Armed robbers and politically connected fraudsters have become the biggest beneficiaries of his rule, while citizens endure hardship and international investors shun the country.
The neglect of key infrastructure projects, coupled with the plundering of national resources, exposes Mnangagwa’s grand deception. His reign has been defined not by progress but by a deepening culture of corruption, impunity, and self-enrichment at the expense of the people. Zim eye
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