PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa took a bloated entourage of 90
people to this week’s United Nations General Assembly in New York, including
Zanu PF youths who took part in an anti-sanctions demonstration there on
Monday, the Zimbabwe Independent has learnt.
The inclusion of the youths raised the eyebrows of the
United States embassy in Harare.This also comes as it emerged that Mnangagwa’s
wife, Auxilia, flew to the US separately with her own sizable delegation, which
included her security team, officials from her Angels of Hope charity
organisation and a crew of journalists from the state media.
Both teams are reported to be enjoying hefty allowances
funded by Treasury, at a time the government has been asking the citizenry to
endure the pain induced by its austerity measures, which have severely eroded
incomes and impoverished the majority of the population.
Government sources this week said the US embassy granted
visas to a total of 90 individuals travelling to New York on a “state-sponsored
visit”.
The sources said the embassy however expressed concern over
the inclusion of dozens of party youths on the presidential entourage, but
later granted them visas after government insisted on travelling with them,
arguing they were part of President’s Mnangagwa’s security.
“A total of 90 visas were granted to these people. There
were initial concerns about some of the members of the entourage but they were
later granted visas,” a US embassy official said.
A government official who saw some of the travellers’ cabinet
authority documents said the least-paid members of the entourage was entitled
to a daily allowance of US$1 500 each, paid in hard currency.
This means Mnangagwa’s team is spending a total of US$1 350
000 for the 10 days on allowances only for 10 days in the world’s economic
capital city, excluding air tickets.
Sources said the First Lady and her crew travelled to the
US in two days in advance using a commercial flight.The cheapest ticket for a
return flight to New York from Harare was pegged at US$1 260 as of Wednesday
last week.
Other members of the entourage were booked on different
commercial flights while Mnangagwa travelled in his favoured chartered Swiss
luxury jet with a few members of his inner security and aides. Finance minister
Mthuli Ncube and his Health counterpart Obadiah Moyo were also aboard the
high-priced aircraft, chartered from Swiss aviation firm Comlux for US$30 000
per hour.
The total cost of hiring the jet for the expedition exceeds
US$1,5 million.“Mnangagwa’s entourage will be away for a total of 10 days and
government gives each member of the delegation US$1 500 per day, which is paid
to all the members of the delegation as per diems. This means each delegate
will receive at least US$15 000 for the 10-day trip,” a government source said.
“This money excludes airfares and the cost of hiring a
private jet for the President. You saw those people who joined the December 12
Movement to demonstrate against sanctions, dozens of them were flown from here
specifically for that purpose. This is the same as what happened earlier this
month when party youths were bussed to demonstrate in favour of Mnangagwa
during the World Economic Forum in Cape Town (South Africa),” the source added.
The New York junket comes in the middle of a crisis in the
country’s health sector with doctors on strike demanding an increase in their
salaries and better conditions of service.
It also comes as ballooning inflation, which has decimated
earnings and pushed prices of basic goods and services beyond the affordability
of many.
By the time Mnangagwa jetted out, the capital Harare was
reeling from an acute water crisis after the city council declared it had lost
capacity to purify the water it pumps into homes, citing shortage of foreign
currency to buy the water treatment chemicals.
Despite evidence of economic implosion, Mnangagwa’s
administration, which assumed power following a military coup in November 2017
before claiming a razor-thin controversial victory in the July 30, 2018 general
election, argues that it is devising measures to steady the turbulent economic
ship through its extremely unpopular and ruinous belt-tightening measures.
But despite government’s persistent pleas, tempers are
flaring in the country as the austerity measures continue to bite deeper. In
response, government has had to resort to brute force to quell the protests.
Mnangagwa is following in the footsteps of his late
predecessor, Robert Mugabe, who repeatedly courted controversy by transporting
massive hangers-on to the annual jamboree.
In the sunset years of his controversial rule, Mugabe’s
entourages would flaunt their penchant for merry-making and luxury shopping by
buying expensive designer clothes in New York, one of the world’s most
expensive cities, angering poverty-stricken Zimbabweans who would take to
social media to express outrage. Zimbabwe Independent
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