Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe has appointed his son-in-law as the Chief Operations officer at Air Zimbabwe, a move that sparked anger from the opposition that the long-serving leader has reduced the country to family control.
Simba Chikore, husband to the veteran leader’s only daughter, Bona Mugabe, claims to be a trained pilot and worked at Emirates and Qatar Airways, claims that the two airlines have denied.
The appointment enraged the opposition who said that government appointments are done on nepotism and political patronage to award the first family and those who support the president, at the expense of the nation’s ailing economy.
“Zimbabwe is now equivalent to a private limited company whose majority shareholders are the Mugabe dynasty and their cronies,” New Zimbabwe quoted Obert Gutu, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) spokesman, saying.
The opposition demanded that Air Zimbabwe Ltd makes public the recruitment process and Chikore’s qualifications to run one of the continent’s most troubled airlines.
The national carrier has failed to pay its employees on time since last year and several pilots have since left the airlines.
In May, it struggled to service a lease agreement of $400,000 per month for two airplanes leased from China Sonangol, a Chinese multinational company, Daily News reported.
Air Zimbabwe has a debt of close to $300 million. Much of the crisis has been attributed to its incompetent leadership, New Zimbabwe reported.
Mugabe also uses Air Zimbabwe jet for his numerous trips across the globe, which has further hit the airlines’ finances.
Chikore’s appointment is the latest act of political patronage that the 92-year old leader has subjected the Southern Africa nation to.
The country’s First Lady Grace Mugabe was recently elevated to the position of the Zanu PF Women’s League leader, a move described by many as positioning her to take over the country’s leadership when Mugabe exits office.
Chikore’s brother, Derrick got a $200 million tender to install diesel-powered generators at the 200MW Dema Diesel Power Plant in June. The tender was riddled with irregularities.
Phelekezela Mphoko, the nation’s vice-president has been staying in the presidential suite in Rainbow Towers, a prestigious hotel since he was appointed in December 2014.
The taxpayers pay $1,000 a night to accommodate Mphoko and his wife who rejected official residences, saying they are inadequate or too close to the homes of other government officials, Associated Press reported.
Zimbabwe has been in a severe cash crunch since 2008. There has been a shortage of dollars and Rands, forcing banks to limit cash withdrawals since April this year.
