THE Public Service Commission (PSC) on Friday held another round of birthday celebrations for President Robert Mugabe in an example of wasteful expenditure for a country facing economic crisis.
Mugabe turned 90 on February 21.
The communist-style February 21st Movement held lavish celebrations for him in Marondera where hundreds of thousands of dollars were spent last month.
Another party was held for Mugabe by his staffers at State House and it is anyone’s guess where the money to fund the feast came from.
Friday’s celebrations were conducted across the country’s 10 provinces with the main event being in Harare.
In Bulawayo the luncheon was held at a plush hotel where delegates were treated to a feast of their lives.
According to reports, the PSC and security services bosses requested to hold the feasts “to thank the president for leading the country and his role in the long walk to freedom”.
In February there were unconfirmed reports that at least $1 million was splashed on the Marondera celebrations.
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It is likely that Friday’s celebrations also gobbled thousands of dollars of taxpayers’ money.
There was also a lot of grovelling at the celebrations.
However, that is beside the point. What is repugnant about these obscene celebrations is that they are coming at a time when the country is battling with all manner of problems from every front.
Civil servants are still waiting for a salary increment that the government had promised to implement at the beginning of the year.
Thousands of Zimbabweans are at the mercy of the inclement weather in Masvingo after their homesteads were destroyed by floods.
The response by the government and non-governmental organisations has fallen short of expectations and many families are going hungry while waiting for aid.
A similar situation is obtaining in Tsholotsho.
As usual we are waiting for international donors to come to the aid of these people yet we can mobilise money to feast while claiming to celebrate an individual’s birthday. Surely, we should be ashamed of ourselves.
