via This is corruption – The Zimbabwean 22 October 2015
President Robert Mugabe’s wife Grace has been going round the country dishing out tractors, cooking oil, rice and clothing like confetti.
She is desperately trying to project herself as a “caring mother of the nation”.
But the mother has serious flaws. She discriminates among her children. Only those carrying a Zanu (PF) card are fed. The goodies that the mother of the nation is distributing are not the product of her sweat, but have been sourced by the state using a loan from the government of Brazil – and the Zimbabwean taxpayers will have to pay for them sooner or later.
It is fair to surmise that the majority of Zimbabwean taxpayers are MDC-T supporters – because most taxpayers live in the urban areas, where the MDC consistently wins elections. These taxpayers now have to pay for the last lot of tractors and farming implements that were dished out to Zanu (PF) officials masquerading as farmers by then Reserve Bank Governor Gideon Gono during the hyper-inflation era.
When it comes to doling out freebies, only Zanu (PF) supporters benefit. When it comes to paying for the goodies, only the taxpayers pay. Grace Mugabe’s splurging expedition has once again exposed the lack of accountability that characterises our government. The wife of the president has no business distributing government equipment. She is not a government official. She is not a cabinet minister. She is just the president’s wife.
This shows clearly that there is no distinction between government, party and personal property as far as Zanu (PF) is concerned. It is also quite clear from the way in which Grace is transported around the country – in military helicopters – that there are no policies governing the use of state resources. Or if there are such policies, they are ignored and flouted at will.
If Grace is on party business, as she obviously is, the party should be providing her transport and paying for the goods she is distributing to party supporters.
The abuse of government property and state resources by Zanu (PF) has been going on for so long – 35 years – that it has become systemic. The danger is that people now just accept it as “normal”. We need to keep reminding ourselves that it is wrong. It is corruption.
COMMENTS
I see absolutely no reason why Grace cannot appropriate government resources and give them to the party faithful. After the great sacrifices she has made as the mother of the nation who can deny her that pleasure? It seems to me to be mean spirited to do so. It is part of maternal tough love that naughty children, MDC party members for a example, be punished by not getting rewards. Doctor Amai Grace Mugabe should be given Masters’ in Maternity.
Do I detect traces of irony?
Yeah, just a tad!!! But she could join her husband to celebrate the “Confucius Peace Prize.” Can someone tell me if the Chinese are extracting the urine?
The way you talk, it is obvious that you are also a recipient of ill-gotten goods.
No wonder this country is in the state it is.
That is theft my friend.
@Zambuku, firstly Grace is not a government official and therefore cannot represent the government and cannot distribute stuff on its behalf. The government has structures and these things must be distributed through those structures and keeping traceable records for accountability purposes.
Secondly, if you a mother of a nation then you behave like one. Grace only gives these things only to Zanu PF supporters and that is wrong. This loan is going to repaid by the government(through our taxes) and not by Zanu PF and therefore the goods must not be distributed on partisan lines.
There are also people who don’t belong to any of the parties but the government collects taxes from them too and so they too should benefit.
Thirdly, these are not rewards. Rewards for what? Poverty which she has caused?
Grace can get any qualification she wants – all she needs is phone Nyagura and arrange when she will graduate.
DAGM (Doctor Amai Grace Mugabe) has got the power and the ring HE (His Excellency) put on it, and any other conjugal benefits HE might have put in…like a pension. No, I did the ironing after I made the comment and I am sure my cooking oil is in the post. How is one to make sense of the Alice in Wonderland that is Zimbabwe Politics other than writing nonsense.