Government is broke, yet Mugabe intends to conjure the necessary funds to secure brand new vehicles for chiefs to drive around amidst the poverty of their communities. It will certainly be interesting to see if the Masvingo chiefs in particular will accept these vehicles, at a time when the money is needed for resettlement of flood victims moved from Chingwizi.
While Zanu (PF) attempts to manufacture credibility for Grace – ‘the Queen,’ according to Presidential hopeful, Emmerson Mnangagwa – the nation and those who have passed through the halls of Manfred Hodgson and Swinton at the UZ are concerned at the devaluing of what has until now been a world-respected institute of higher learning.
Mugabe has chosen to launch his wife’s political career to safeguard his business and personal interests in the event of his retirement. Even if Grace rises no higher than chair of the Women’s League, she is a useful pawn in keeping his ambitious underlings guessing as regards the presidential succession. It would also appear that Grace’s sham PhD is in response to VP Joice Mujuru’s doctorate, awarded on the same day. The benefit to Mugabe is that the Grace debate offers a distraction from the ailing economy, the health crisis and several unfulfilled election promises.
Like the boy who made marbles from manure, Mugabe will stop at nothing in order to manufacture credibility, even if the country is ruined in the process. If there is a light at the end of this very long tunnel – 34 agonizing years – it is that nothing, and no one, lasts forever. It is the hope of every patriot that by God’s grace – and not the Grace of dubious degrees – the country will someday be restored to its rightful position as the gem of Africa.
Post published in: Analysis