Zimbabwe spends millions on villas for Sadc summit while country grapples with acute hunger

Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa has recently appealed for US$2 billion to avert a hunger crisis in the Southern African nation.

Moreover, the country’s most beloved sports team, the Zimbabwe Warriors — a senior men’s football team — lacks a FIFA-approved stadium to play their games within the country. Consequently, they are compelled to host home games abroad.

 

This means that there are no immediate resources to address the problem, which has plagued the country and its football for several seasons.

 

Load shedding has become the norm, as the population has either adapted to the inconvenience or shifted to off-grid solutions like solar power and other alternatives.

 

Hospitals are devoid of medicine, suffer from understaffing, and the government is unable to secure funds to rectify the situation.

 

However, suddenly, massive construction projects are underway, with the most controversial being the luxury villas being erected in Mt. Hampden. These villas are reportedly intended to accommodate SADC Heads of State during their convergence in Harare for the August summit.

 

Former CCC Member of Parliament for the Mt Pleasant Constituency, Advocate Fadzayi Mahere, challenges the rationale behind such extravagant expenditure amidst more pressing national issues.

 

Writes Mahere: “Does it make sense to build brand new luxury villas for SADC leaders while the country faces its worst hunger crisis in over three decades?

 

“If 1 in 2 Zimbabweans is food insecure, are we not worse than nations at war? Should feeding the population not be top priority over this needless flex with money we don’t have? Can they not stay at the Hyatt?”

In her various posts, Mahere alleges that the funds used for the villa construction were not included in the budget, leading her to question their origin.

 

She poses her inquiries to Government spokesperson Nick Mangwana, who appears to be ill-informed on the matters raised.

 

“… I was there when each line item of the Budget was debated by each and every portfolio committee. There was no mention of, let alone a presentation on this frivolous project which is a slap in the face to Zimbabweans who face an acute hunger crisis.

 

“How do you justify a Govt that has put out a US$2 billion begging bowl for food aid building luxury villas for SADC leaders in an unprecedented 2 month period? Are you aware that this amount was before the latest data on food insecurity showing the crisis to be even worse than previously thought was released?

 

“Does this sound rational to you? You are unable to say where the money is coming from because – if the Budget Statement is anything to go by, it is being drawn from money that was meant to fund public services. The same Govt that cannot secure running water or Wi-Fi in state universities, that cannot fix the national stadium, that cannot solve the loadshedding crisis and that cannot ensure medication is in hospitals suddenly has money to build luxury villas within two months?”

 

Mahere concludes as she normally does on most of her X posts, declaring that “Zimbabwe is not poor (but that) it is poorly managed.”