THE office of the president and Cabinet gobbled more than $38 million of the $4,4 billion 2014 national budget on travel and residences, according to the BBC’s More or Less programme.
MTHANDAZO NYONI OWN CORRESPONDENT
According to the facts and figures buried in the government’s Blue Book and dug by the Telegraph’s David Blair last week on the BBC programme, President Robert Mugabe spent $38,3 million on travel, entertainment, cars and residences while capital spending on schools and HIV and Aids awareness was $205 000 and $180 000 respectively.
The $38,3 million spent on travel and residences so far in 2014 is 75 times more than the $501 000 of capital spending on every school in Zimbabwe.
This means Mugabe’s travel, entertainment, cars and residences gobbled 1,1% of the entire government budget while capital spending on schools got 0,01%.
The programme revealed that spending on State residences amounted to $16,7 million, with $937 000 being spent on hospitality alone.
Medical equipment for all hospitals in Zimbabwe was $18 million.
The amount spent on vehicles and mobile equipment for the president’s office was $824 000 whereas capital assets for all primary schools in Zimbabwe were only allocated $330 000.
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The government spent $215 000 on salaries for the president and vice-president whereas only $20 000 was spent on adult literacy.
Foreign travel expenses amounted to $26 million, but only $500 000 was spent on TB drugs for the entire country.
Economic analyst Godfrey Kanyenze said the facts revealed by the BBC confirm that the government lacked developmental focus.
“It’s a case of priority,” Kanyenze said.
“We are not a developmental State, but predatory one and this is the reason why we are still buying the latest Range Rovers for our ministers yet we don’t have proper health facilities.”
He added: “We are not prioritising the thing that matters. In the 1980s, the ministers were driving simple cars, but now they are behaving like the David Beckhams of these days. Even Ian Smith (former Rhodesian prime minister) and his ministers drove locally assembled cars, but our government is importing.”
Kanyenze said the government was killing local companies and denying ordinary people decent employment by importing cars.
