Mugabe paid $ 54m for SA scholarship students before 2013 elections, bribe to the Zanu PF rump, but not $1 m now!

The President Mugabe Scholarship Programme was founded in 1995 to give academically gifted students from poor families a chance to study at South African universities, that is the official line. Like many other things in Zimbabwe, there is a world of difference between theory and the reality on the ground.

 

The in practice the scheme has benefited middle ranking Zanu PF officials who were becoming increasingly disgruntled that whilst the chefs were sending their children out of the country to get away from the country's substandard education after years of under funding they could not do the same. They did not ask for better funding so all could benefit, no. They want to send their children out of the country too.

The need to send ones’ children to UK, USA and other countries was more than a social status symbol; it was a must especially at University level because Zimbabwe’s own education system was substandard by then due to poor funding. The middle rank was content that their children were going to SA at least. 

 

The middle ranking Zanu PF officials are the rump of the Zanu PF dictatorship and Mugabe had no choice but to offer something to placate them.

 

As the economy continued to shrink and the chefs’ appetites continued to soar to new nauseating heights funding to education, health and all the other basic services affecting the common people were cut and, not surprising, so too was funding for the President Mugabe Scholarship funds.

 

“In 2010, he allocated $3 million which cannot cater for the 15 universities accommodating our children in South Africa. In 2011, he allocated $2 million and in 2012, he allocated $1 million which is far from the budgeted expenditure per annum,” Chris Mushowe said, the scholarship director.

 

In July last year Mugabe found the US$ 54 m to pay off the accrued debt to the various SA education institutions rather face the anger of the parents and students. SA was threatening to expel the students.

 

“Kana tichi kwereta tinokwereta!” (If we have to borrow, we will borrow.) Mugabe had reassuring said at the time. He needed to assure them; he was facing a “fight for our lives” election as he readily admitted and had a vote ridding operation for which he needed the full cooperation of the Zanu PF rump to implement.

 

“It is almost certain that Mugabe will NOT pay the next fees,” I had said in my weekly Wilbert on Wednesday S W Radio Africa broadcast on 10 July 2013. That is exactly what has happened.

 

“We owe South African universities R11 million (US$1 million) hence we decided to suspended enrolling further students until we clear the arrears,” Mushowe said.

 

Mugabe has just spent $1 m for his birthday, $10 m on his daughter’s wedding and $5 m buying statues of his image from North Korea in the last month alone but cannot find money so that a critical institution like Parerenyatwa Hospital has running water.

 

As for the middle ranking Zanu PF officials who children are now stuck in SA, they can rot there. The students are paying for their parents’ sins who played a critical role in the vote rigging in 2013 and/or other criminal activities by this Zanu PF dictatorship! The nation is facing this political and economic nightmare because of the selfishness of middle ranking Zanu PF officials who have propped the dictatorship.