(Last Updated on March 4, 2016 by Editor)
ZIMBABWE – Zanu-PF’s push to have President Mugabe’s birthday declared a national holiday is misplaced as 70 percent of the people already on holiday by virtue of being unemployed, says the Youths for Advocacy Reform and Democracy (YARD).
YARD is former Zanu PF chairman for Mashonaland West, Themba Msliswa,’s brain child.
The organisation’s spokesperson, Tinotenda Mhungu, lambasted Zanu PF youths for trying to enforce a holiday on a country where three quarters of graduates are unemployed, saying in no way does the 21st February event improve people’s dire situation.
“Why should Zanu PF want to have a public holiday when most of the youths are sitting home or under bridges doing nothing on a daily? The amount of money used to celebrate Mugabe’s birthday has shown that Zanu PF is insensitive to the current situation that most Zimbabweans are facing,” said Mhungu.
“The amount of money spent on the celebrations was atrocious. This does not hold any national appeal in a country which is in recession which needs to engage more and restless,” he lamented.
Mungu said Zanu PF was free to hold Mugabe’s birthday celebrations as long as the event did not come at the expense of the broader masses.
Reports have said students in Masvingo were asked to folk out $30 each towards Mugabe’s birthday celebrations last Saturday.
During the celebrations, Mugabe supported the idea of having the day being made a public holiday.
Close to $1 million was spent towards this year’s celebrations despite people going hungry countrywide.
Mugabe’s government is known for spending lavishly on expensive cars for its ministers while public hospitals go without drugs for most of the time.
This year’s birthday celebrations have been criticized because the majority of Zimbabweans are starving due to government’s poor management and failure to stamp out corruption but.