VICE-PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa’s family slaughtered five beasts, a number of goats and countless chickens, dished out an assortment of beverages including expensive whiskey, as they fed hundreds of people, who had gathered at their Zvishavane rural mansion.
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They have promised a series of other such parties, with one to be held in Zvimba, President Robert Mugabe’s rural home, while another will be at Mnangagwa’s Sherwood Farm, some 14km outside the mining town of Kwekwe.
“They will be another party in Zvimba, which will be attended by all politburo and central committee members. It will be to thank our president for the love, the other will be in Kwekwe at my farm, this one will be over a number of days and there will be enough food and drink for everyone,” Mnangagwa declared at the celebrations in Zvishavane.
His rural mansion, which sits on a mountain top, with high fencing, faces several mortar and clay thatched households of suffering rural peasants in Chief Mapanzures area.
The home, which probably matches Mnangagwa’s new position and looks presidential, appears to have been built with the appointment in mind, as it overlooks all the households in the area.
Top-of-the-range vehicles, which parked in and outside the perimeter fencing and walls, made a mockery of the budget figures presented by Finance minister Patrick Chinamasa last month.
In his budget presentation last week, Chinamasa painted a gloomy picture of the economic situation, saying the government was in a serious fiscal crisis as companies continued to close and people lost jobs at an alarming rate.
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Government revenues are further dwindling, pushing it towards bankruptcy.
In terms of company closures and job losses, statistics presented by Chinamasa show the tourism sector was the hardest hit, with 2 142 firms shutting down since 2011 with 18 413 jobs lost as a result. In the manufacturing sector, 458 companies closed with 9 978 jobs lost.
In the face of these shocking figures, Mnangagwa, his family and friends chose to be indifferent, throwing a lavish party.
“There is enough food and drink for everyone here, those who want to drink should drink, those who want meat please do justice to it, if it’s finished we have plenty of cars here which can go and get more drinks and food,” he added.
