FIRST Lady Grace Mugabe, who has been on a spending spree on properties
as she builds a vast empire around prime real estate in Mazowe,
Borrowdale in Harare and Sandton in Johannesburg, South Africa, a few
weeks ago splurged almost R6 million (about US$444 000) in cash on a
brand new Rolls-Royce Ghost model, the Zimbabwe Independent has established.
This comes after her son Russell Goreraza and his business
partner Valentine Garacho, linked to the Mujuru family, imported seven
top-of-the-range vehicles worth about US$2,5 million after brokering a
controversial mining deal between government and a Kazakhstan company, Todal
Mining, which owns platinum concessions between Shurugwi and Zvishavane.
The cars include two Rolls-Royce, two Range Rovers, two
Mercedes-Benz S-Class and an Aston Martin.
Highly-networked sources told the Independent — the
country’s leading business and investigative newspaper — this week that Grace
bought a black Rolls-Royce, with a classy white interior early this month from
Rolls-Royce Motor Cars in Sandton, Johannesburg, located on Laico Isle, 126
Rivonia Road. The car is parked at the basement of the car dealership just next
to Radisson Blu Hotel.
“Grace sent someone to pay R5,8 million in cash for the
car; a Rolls-Royce 2017 Ghost model. The car is currently parked in the
basement of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars,” a source said.
“The other two Rolls-Royce that were bought by her son and
his friend were also paid for in cash at the same garage before they were
ferried to Zimbabwe without paying duty.”
Informed sources said Grace wants her luxurious car, which
has a long wheelbase, to be registered in South Africa following a furore over
Goreraza and Garacho’s luxury Rolls-Royce cars.
The sources said the car could only be brought into
Zimbabwe using a temporary import permit.
The Rolls-Royce Ghost series, according to the South
African dealership’s website, has a top speed of 250km/h. It is described as a
car for those who desire sybaritic luxury and a spirited driving experience in
the ultra-pricey motorcar.
Contacted for comment on her mobile phone, the First Lady’s
spokesperson Olga Bungu requested for questions through text messages. Queries
texted to her were, however, not responded to at the time of going to press.
Grace has been splurging millions of dollars despite the
fact that her business empire under the Gushungo Holdings’ Alpha and Omega
Dairies banner, is in the doldrums, incurring perennial losses since 2013.
President Robert Mugabe last year revealed his family
acquired loans to recapitalise the struggling dairy business.
In January, the Independent reported the first family was
paying US$500 000 per year for a property in Dubai where Robert Junior was at
the time still based. Around April, Robert Jr unceremoniously left the rich
emirate for South Africa where he was joined by his young brother Bellarmine
Chatunga.
The two boys were recently evicted from an expensive
penthouse in Sandton after a violent brawl. They are now staying at a rented
property in the upmarket Sandhurst in Sandton where Grace and her family have
two other properties.
Grace also stirred controversy months ago when she was
involved in a US$1,3 million diamond ring dispute with a Lebanese dealer. Her
lavish lifestyle has earned her the monikers “Gucci Grace” and “First Shopper”.
Government has resolved to build a private university —
Robert Mugabe University — in Mazowe outside Harare at a cost of US$1 billion
using public funds, suggesting the Mugabe family is using taxpayers’ money to
fund their private interests.
In 2011, Grace and her former business partner, Ping Sung —
a Taiwanese-born South African — bought trucks, trailers and equipment worth
almost US$1 million with money transferred through the Reserve Bank of
Zimbabwe.
Grace and Hsieh were later engaged in a fight over a US$5
million mansion in Hong Kong. The row over the Hong Kong home apparently
erupted after a dispute over a gold mine in Chinhoyi.
Grace’s Mazowe empire already includes an opulent
double-storey mansion on Mapfeni Farm, which can be seen from Manzou Farm where
she has been evicting thousands of villagers since 2011 to establish a game
park. There is also a dairy farm, orphanage and a school. Grace has also
grabbed land which belonged to the former Zimbabwe Stock Exchange-listed
agro-producer Interfresh’s Mazowe Citrus Estate.
The Independent — which has been systematically ferreting
out these issues — has extensively reported on Grace and her sons’ costly
champagne lifestyle in recent months. Zimbabwe independent
0 comments:
Post a Comment