Zimbabwean
war veterans driven to steal, says former Rhodesian Prime Minister
Ian Smith
In
an exclusive interview with BBC News 24's HARDtalk (Tuesday
7 May, 10.30pm) former Rhodesian Prime Minister Ian Smith says that
Zimbabwean war veterans have been driven to steal.
He
tells HARDtalk's Tim Sebastian: "We've
now got war veterans who believe the best thing to do is to cash
in and get some money. They get paid every week and, they tell me,
they take it
back and give it to their wives so that they can buy food for their
children and clothes for their education. They are in a desperate
position.
"I
have families coming to me, I could give you this one example, a
lady, a black lady told me 'My problem is that my children go to
bed hungry'. That's a terrible thing. And the man said to me 'I've
been re-trenched because my company is only working a three-day-week'
so he said 'I'm not complaining they can't import the ingredients
to carry on their work'.
"So,
what do you do in those circumstances? I put myself in their position,
what would I do if my family were hungry and I was out of a job?
You know what I would do? I would steal and I think any man would
steal in order to feed his children and to keep the home going.
That's what they've been driven to."
Notes
to Editors
Please
credit BBC News 24's HARDtalk if using any material from this release.
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