By Staff Reporter
THE recently commissioned State pavilion at the Robert Mugabe airport has come under intense scrutiny after First Lady Auxillia Mnangagwa had a lounge designated to her despite not holding a government office.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa recently commissioned a State Pavilion which was constructed using a loan facility to the tune of US$153 million from China.
The pavilion has six lounges – President’s, First Lady, Vice President’s, ministers’, service chiefs’ And diplomats.
The State Pavillion expenditure has attracted scrutiny for a country battling economic challenges and a lack of basic services in public institutions.
Opposition leader Elisabeth Valerio lashed out at the government for the pavilion which she said was unnecessary.
“Of what use is a gaudy First Lady’s lounge when so many of our citizens spend their days hungry? Hospitals countrywide are severely short of medical staff, patients die daily due to inadequate medical equipment, and countless Zimbabweans are losing their lives on roads that remain dangerously neglected.
“The situation on the ground is dire, with urgent issues demanding the immediate attention of the President. Yet, instead of focusing on these critical matters, the government seems preoccupied with the comforts of a select few in VVIP lounges. Is this really where our national priorities should lie?” said Valerio.
The pavilion has been hailed by government officials as part of President Mnangagwa’s development agenda.
Valerio said this will saddle the country with debts and resources could have been channelled towards reviving the country’s main airline – Air Zimbabwe.
“The six ostentatious lounges in the State Pavilion at Robert Gabriel Mugabe Airport at Robert Gabriel Mugabe Airport are part of a US$153 million loan facility from China and will further hamstring Zimbabwe with the costs of upkeep.
“Meanwhile, Air Zimbabwe is not operating at full capacity, and our national transport infrastructure is in a state of disarray. We have a barely functioning domestic flight network with limited routes – primarily to Bulawayo – and our vital railway system has come to a virtual standstill,” said Valerio further.
