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NewsDay

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First Family parties mock the suffering

Opinion & Analysis
PRESIDENT Robert Mugabe has made it a tradition to celebrate his birthday in a lavish manner, perhaps only matched by North Korean dictators.

PRESIDENT Robert Mugabe has made it a tradition to celebrate his birthday in a lavish manner, perhaps only matched by North Korean dictators.

Nothing can ever stand in the way of the annual celebrations, be it natural disasters or starvation as was the case this year.

Thousands of dollars were spent by the 21st February Movement at a gigantic party in Victoria Falls early this year as Mugabe turned 91.

People travelled hundreds of kilometres from across the country, some at the government’s expense just to wine and dine with the First Family.

The organisers of the party did not spare a thought for the thousands of households that would go hungry and could have been saved by some of the money that was blown out in Victoria Falls.

Zimbabwe has a high number of orphaned children who cannot go to school because the government safety nets have been rendered ineffective due to inadequate budget allocations.

The list of needy sections of society is endless and the First Family would have earned a lot of respect if they had donated the money to charity.

Mugabe’s parties have only invited scorn and redicule especially from foreigners who do not understand why a leader of such an impoverished country can spend so much money on expensive bashes.

Zimbabwe desperately needs a compassionate leader who can identify with the problems facing the ordinary man on the street.

Mugabe’s supporters have of late been trying to package his wife Grace as a motherly figure as they desperately try to prepare her for the top office in case he leaves the political scene.

However, her opulent 50th birthday party in Harare today would only go to show the depths of leadership poverty in this country.

Grace turned 50 on Thursday and government departments as well as parastatals lined up to shower her with praises in State-owned media.

Some of the companies such as Hwange Colliery Company have not been paying workers for several months, but were able to find money to book advertising space for fawning messages to Grace.

The government coffers are empty, but some departments were able to find money to show their allegiance to Grace.

There are reports that private companies were being forced to bankroll the party set for the First Family’s Blue Roof residence and it is tragic that this is happening at a time when the economy is on its knees.

The cost of building the cults of personalities in both Mugabe and his wife is detrimental to the economy as companies, especially parastatals are being forced to spend money they do not have.

The timing of today’s bash is also immoral given the widespread suffering of people across the country due to the economic meltdown and starvation.

Grace certainly has a democratic right to build a political profile but she has to be sensitive about her role as a First Lady, which demands that she shows empathy to the growing number of people who go to bed on empty stomachs more often than not.