I earn $12,000 a month, Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe says
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe speaks on February 28, 2015 during the celebration of his 91st birthday in Victoria Falls. President Mugabe has revealed that he now earns $12,000 a month, up from $4,000 that was gazetted last year. AFP PHOTO | JEKESAI NJIKIZANA.
What you need to know:
- President Mugabe’s family is one of the richest in the country, after grabbing farms during a controversial land reform programme that began in 2000.
- The majority of Zimbabwe’s civil servants earn an average of $300 a month.
- President Mugabe blames the economic collapse on sanctions imposed by Western countries on his government.
HARARE
Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe has revealed that he now earns $12,000 a month, up from $4,000 that was gazetted last year.
President Mugabe made the revelations on Thursday while commissioning medical equipment bought through a $100 million Export-Import Bank of China loan facility in Harare.
The 91-year-old leader described his salary as meagre and not in line with the salaries of other leaders in the region. He said he earned a basic salary of of $10,000 and allowances amounting to $2,000.
President Mugabe said Zimbabweans who have been reeling under a severe economic collapse should be grateful that they could still put food on the table.
“We should all just be grateful that we have food on our tables,” he said. “If there’s isitshwala (thick maize meal porridge) and meat — that’s it. I am suffering just like you.”
President Mugabe’s family is one of the richest in the country, after grabbing farms during a controversial land reform programme that began in 2000.
WEDDING PRESENTS
Last year he gave his daughter and her husband $100,000 and 55 head of cattle as presents at their wedding.
The 24-year-old Bona tied the knot with her pilot husband Simba Chikore at a colourful ceremony held at the First Family’s plush private residence in Harare.
The majority of Zimbabwe’s civil servants earn an average of $300 a month.
President Mugabe blames the economic collapse on sanctions imposed by Western countries on his government.
However, critics say the economic problems were caused by the chaotic land reform programme and the veteran ruler’s unilateral decision to deploy troops to fight in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s civil war in 1997.
The president has also been accused of implementing poorly thought-out economic policies since he assumed power in 1980.
Zimbabwe was once touted as the economic jewel of Africa but it is now one of the poorest countries on the continent.
