Africa Day turned out to be a very eventful day for the Zimbabwean nation. One of the major events was the unveiling of liberation war hero Mbuya Nehanda’s statue. Traditional chiefs were gifted brand new vehicles. In even better news for the survivors of Cyclone Idai, the President received maize meal donations from South Africa.
However, the way in which these event have played out does not sit well with many citizens. Cyclone Idai took place in 2019 and survivors are still struggling. Some of their strife has been blamed on squabbles between the government and Econet Wireless. Read more on that here. Fortunately, South Africa has chirped in with 272 tonnes of maize meal for this disadvantaged population.
The 272 out of 5625 tonnes received by President Mnangagwa is said to be the first batch expected to come from South Africa. Perhaps this event would have been viewed favourably had it not coincided with the President’s splurge on luxury vehicles for traditional chiefs. His aim is of distributing vehicles to all 286 chiefs in the country. This week he has given away 18 cars as part of the fourth batch of cars for Zimbabwe’s chiefs.
Zimbabweans are questioning whether the amount used for such cars could not have covered the cost of maize for the Idai victims such that the nation had to wait for donations.
View pictures of the President receiving donations:
Not long after the event pictured above, the President was captured distributing cars to Traditional Chiefs. Some Zimbabweans have called this a misplacement of priorities. However, others have commented that these are exactly the moves that almost guarantee a landslide victory for Zanu PF in the 2023 elections.
Check out an image of the President giving away cars below:
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