Mugabe won’t delegate authority to deputies

Source: Mugabe won’t delegate authority to deputies – DailyNews Live January 14, 2017

Bridget Mananavire

HARARE – President Robert Mugabe has come under fire for being “greedy”
and failing to cede power to his deputies, with the nonagenarian
travelling on official business at a time he is supposed to be resting.

Mugabe – who is on his month-long annual holiday – has embarked on
high-profile trips, spoiling himself with flying business class around the
world and spending nights in presidential suites in premier hotels – all
in the claim of working for Zimbabwe’s betterment.

The doddering president has maintained an air of energy and initiative,
but the results have been modest.

Opposition political parties accused the soon-to-be 93-year-old of
engaging in fundraising antics, getting millions of dollars in foreign
travel allowances while on leave.

This comes as the country is battling a typhoid outbreak and drug
shortages, a time the globetrotting president is spending $36 million on
foreign and domestic trips in the first 10 months of 2016.

Mugabe, who  together with his family was in China a few days ago having
bilateral talks with the country’s president Xi Jinping, has travelled on
official business to Mali for the two-day France-Africa Summit.

Zimbabwe People First spokesperson Jealousy Mawarire said apart from the
money, Mugabe’s actions were a sign that he took the country as a private
entity.

“There are two aspects here; there is the money aspect as well, because
when he travels he gets money for foreign travels. So, that is more
allowances for him,” Mawarire said.

“It shows that he is running the country as a private entity.

“It should not be surprising because already when he is not there Cabinet
does not sit, the central committee does not sit, politburo does not sit,
and it’s a one-man band.  He believes that the country is going to die
when he dies.

“The message is loud and clear, that there is no confidence in his
deputies and ministers to execute bilateral duties.

“That’s also why he has been succeeding himself because in his mind, no
one can do anything better than him.

“Remember that time when he said he was better than Jesus as he
resurrected more times than him.”

Reports are that his ministers and deputies are also making trips to the
Middle East, where he is holidaying to consult him and get instructions.

From Mali, it is believed Mugabe will also travel to Ethiopia for the 28th
Ordinary Session of the summit of the African Union in Addis Ababa from
January 22 to 31.

MDC spokesperson Obert Gutu said Treasury has to fork out money to support
Mugabe’s travels for trips that could be attended by ministers and
ambassadors.

“This man is a dictator. He has set up a base in the Middle East and
leaves from there for official business to China and to Mali.

“We have a Foreign Affairs minister and ambassadors who are paid to do
that. We have (Zimbabwe’s ambassador to Senegal and Gambia, Trudy
Stevenson) close to Mali, who is well conversant in French, who was a
French teacher at Arundel School and could have easily travelled there
from Dakar, Senegal,” Gutu said.

“He is supposedly on leave, on rest with a whole entourage and using state
resources.

“This has shown what he is – a one-man band and that he doesn’t trust
anyone. In the meantime, treasury will be forking out money to pay for him
and the entourage as well as high-landing fees for the charted plane.

“This has gone to show that Zanu PF is Robert Mugabe and Robert Mugabe is
Zanu PF and government.  And this can be seen in the way these operate.

“He has two vice presidents but he doesn’t look at them as capable. They
are just ceremonial deputies.

“And when acting, they will be just warming chigaro chamambo (the king’s
seat), they can’t make any decisions.

“Even when he travels Cabinet doesn’t sit and no government decision is
made.”

Jacob Mafume, People’s Democratic Party spokesperson said Mugabe thinks
his assistants are useless.

“I think what they are trying to do is justify gobbling State resources
while on leave, and pretend to be travelling on State business.

“This is a pure waste of State resources while we are in the midst of a
typhoid crisis that can easily turn into a cholera outbreak,” Mafume said.

“For a man who has two vice presidents in a small country like Zimbabwe,
he has shown he has no confidence in them.

“He believes they are useless. One of them can easily have been sent
there.”