President Robert Mugabe dished out biscuits and snacks to victims of Cyclone Dineo.
Mugabe donated biscuits and snacks to Higher Education minister and Tsholotsho North legislator, Jonathan Moyo’s constituency.
The full list of goods which the president donated encompassed 1 000 packs of Zapnax, 1 000 units of bottled mineral water and 1 000 packs of 2kg biscuits to the more than 900 flood victims who are temporarily housed in overcrowded tents at Sipepa, in Tsholotsho. MDC-T spokesperson, Obert Gutu said:
It’s a mockery and an insult to the people of Tsholotsho. Mugabe spent $2,5 million on his birthday bash in Matobo a few weeks ago but doesn’t have the common decency and morality of, at the very least, spending a similar amount of money on flood victims.
Civic leader Maureen Kademaunga said it was “embarrassing” for Mugabe to have made the donations which characterised him as being “out of sync” with the problems of the displaced people of Tsholotsho.
“It was vulgar to donate Zapnax and bottled water to distressed people whose homes were destroyed and don’t have food and clothes,” Kademaunga told the Daily News.
“If you are to make comparisons between the extravagant celebrations of his birthday and the donations he has made, it’s quite clear that he is failing to attach meaning to tragedy and he has absolutely no regard for ordinary people’s lives and that’s quite regrettable.
“Under a functional political system, our people would not be subjected to this mockery by a self-centred leader whose sense of service is simply non-existent.
“The crisis in this country is real. It is not a manufactured crisis but a real leadership crisis which we must correct like yesterday,” she added.
Political analyst Dewa Mavinga also tore into Mugabe for his donations.
“Surely, for flood victims Zapnax and biscuits are not the most important things they need. The president should have visited the flood victims to consult them about their most urgent needs.
“This is symbolic of what is wrong with Zimbabwe and the government. He is totally out of touch with reality and the needs of the people,” Mavhinga said.
“It is shocking that the head of State can donate such worthless things. To begin with these items are not even necessities or essentials.
“Just a few weeks back, we saw how the ruling party converged to celebrate the birthday of the president … imagine if all the money that was wasted on that birthday had been directed to these flood victims.
“The donated items reveal the extent to which our rulers are divorced from the reality on the ground and the needs of the people,” another political analyst, Gladys Hlatywayo, weighed in.
