The South African ruling party African National Congress
(ANC) described the inauguration at the National Sports Stadium as one of the
best inaugurations in the world.
Mnangagwa was declared winner in a presidential race, whose
results are being contested by the main opposition Citizens Coalition for
Change (CCC), which has since launched a region and continent-wide diplomatic
offensive to reverse the results, describing the elections as a “gigantic
fraud” riddled with several irregularities.
It is also calling for a re-run of the presidential poll.
However, Mnangagwa was on Monday last week sworn at an
event largely snubbed by his Southern African Development Community colleagues
except for Presidents Filipe Nyusi of Mozambique, Cyril Ramaphosa of South
Africa and Felix Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Government deployed hundreds of buses across Zimbabwe to
ferry Zanu PF supporters to the venue, where party regalia and fried chicken
and chips were dished out like confetti at the stadium entrances.
A fried chicken and chips suppliers’ invoice seen by
NewsDay before the inauguration indicated that 120 000 chicken and chips sets
were ordered, which could have cost upwards of US$3,50 each, giving a total
cost of US$42 000, excluding the thousands of cool drinks also dished out at
the stadium.
Some of the major highlights during the inauguration were
musicians who were hired for an undisclosed fee to entertain the guests, among
them Jah Prayzah (born Mukudzei Mukombe).
The Zimbabwe national team played against Namibia’s
national team and walked away with US$50 000 and US$25 000 as winners and
losers, respectively.
After his inauguration at the National Sports Stadium,
Mnangagwa and his wife invited guests to a special dinner at the Glamis Arena
later in the evening, where attendance was strictly by invite.
The venue was under tight security and one of those rare
moments Mnangagwa appeared at an evening event.
According to the invitation cards, Mnangagwa and wife
invited the guests to thank them for supporting them.
Mnangagwa was accompanied by his two deputies Constantino
Chiwenga and Kembo Mohadi.
The trio gave brief addresses of less than 10 minutes, each
leaving most of the time for dining.
Zanu PF bigwigs and several MPs took to the dance floor to
celebrate Mnangagwa’s win.
Guests were served with expensive wine and food, with
sources claiming that the country’s First Couple could have blown over US$1
million.
Addressing journalists in the capital ANC secretary-general
Fikile Mbalula said the inauguration was the best he had ever witnessed.
“This was an epic inauguration, one that has never been
seen before,” he said.
However, presidential spokesperson George Charamba
yesterday rubbished claims that the money spent for the inauguration surpassed
the US$1m mark.
“I am not one of the political analysts, I can’t be seen
commenting on such issues,” he said.
Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services secretary
Ndavaningi Mangwana, however, said the budget was nowhere near US$1 million.
“It’s not true. The budget was not near that. Inaugurations
happen all over the world and President Emmerson Mnangagwa was inaugurated like
any other national leader out there. The inauguration had to happen at all
costs,” he said.
Zanu PF acting director for information Farai Marapira
accused Mnangagwa’s detractors of wanting to paint a negative picture of the
ruling party leader.
“That is the problem with so-called activists. The idea is
just to paint a negative picture of President Emmerson Mnangagwa. They don’t
want to focus on togetherness, but they want to divide the nation,” he said
Political analyst Rejoice Ngwenya, however, said it was in
the culture of the Zanu PF-led government to flaunt its wealth.
“I am not surprised on how Mnangagwa flaunted cash on his
inauguration, but this is taxpayers money,” he said.
Political observer Tendai Reuben Mbofana accused
Mnangagwa’s government of being heartless and insensitive.
“It’s now typical of our leaders to spend money in that
manner. They could have used that money for other things. We do not have
ambulances, schools do not have books.
“Look at President Mnangagwa’s sons, they are driving
expensive cars, but look at the poverty that we have in the country,” he said.
Flaunting of cash is not new in Zanu PF, with the party
having used millions of US dollars for Mnangagwa’s star rallies across the
country ahead of last month’s polls.
At the star rallies, supporters were spoiled with chicken
and chips, drinks and purified water, while they also received party regalia,
seed and bread.
Zanu PF reportedly used close to US$10 million during the
rallies.
The party bought top-of-the-range vehicles for its 210
candidates in the parliamentary elections, while similar vehicles were
distributed to affiliates such as the infamous Forever Associates Zimbabwe
(FAZ) and Heritage Trust.
FAZ, which reportedly has strong ties to the Central
Intelligence Organisation, was at the forefront of Mnangagwa’s campaign and was
well oiled.
In July this year, Pedzisai “Scott” Sakupwanya, a Zanu PF
candidate for Mabvuku and gold trader, was accused of splashing more than US$1m
to bring to the country retired American former world welterweight boxing
champion Floyd Mayweather Jr in his bid to land the Mabvuku seat.
On July 13, 2023, Mayweather landed in Zimbabwe and was
entertained in Harare’s Mabvuku high-density.
Mayweather’s booking fee for an appearance, according to
sources, varies from US$500 000 to US$749 000 before additional costs.
Sakupwanya, however, lost the seat to CCC candidate Febion
Kufahakutizwe.
Another Zanu PF high-spender, Mthuli Ncube, also used his
vast wealth to instal free WiFi hotspots in Cowdray Park constituency where he
rehabilitated roads, but lost the seat to CCC’s Pashor Sibanda. Newsday
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