Tendai Kamhungira • 18 March 2016 12:48PM • 13 comments
HARARE - Irate opposition political parties have said Vice President Phelekezela Mphoko must get out the five-star hotel he was been ensconced in at the expense of taxpayers’ money.
Mphoko will this week cloak exactly 15 months since he occupied the Presidential suite at the Rainbow Towers in Harare together with his wife, a grandchild and his personal aides.
Mphoko sought a home in the hotel after rejecting some mansions in Harare’s leafy suburbs on the grounds that they were not befitting a person of his stature.
His stay at the hotel has been met with widespread criticism from ordinary Zimbabweans reeling under the effects of a struggling economy.
During the question and answer session in Parliament on Wednesday, MDC MP for Mabvuku-Tafara sought to have Mphoko explain his continued stay.
But Speaker of Parliament Jacob Mudenda leapt to Mphoko’s defence, ruling that Maridadi must submit written questions.
MDC spokesperson Obert Gutu said Mphoko’s actions showed that he did not have the people at heart.
“In complete defiance of repeated calls for him to move out of the hotel suite and occupy a government house that has been bought for his use, Mphoko continues to exhibit a flagrant disregard and disdain for the interests of the majority of Zimbabweans who are living a life of penury and deprivation,” Gutu said.
“This just goes to show that Zanu PF functionaries don’t give a hoot about the concerns and the suffering of the people.”
He said Mphoko should have a conscience and listen to the voice of reason by immediately vacating the hotel suite.
“The problem with the crumbling and faction-ridden Zanu PF regime is that they think that they are God’s gift to Zimbabwe . . . this rogue and insipidly corrupt regime has trashed the living standards of more than 90 percent of Zimbabweans through years of rampant thievery, misrule and wanton mismanagement of public resources”.
Mphoko’s continued stay in the hotel has reportedly gobbled over $300 000 in taxpayers’ funds.
Zapu spokesperson Mnjobisa Noko said Mphoko had overstayed in the hotel and was abusing public funds and should take heed of mounting calls for him to vacate the hotel.
“These guys have no concern on the Zimbabwean public. We take it as a serious disregard of corporate governance,” Noko said, further chiding the government over the abuse of State funds.
Kurauone Chihwayi, spokesman of the Welshman Ncube-led MDC, said Mphoko’s actions showed that he was an irresponsible and extravagant leader who is insensitive to the plights of suffering Zimbabweans.
“The wasteful vice president should vacate the five-star hotel and seek cheaper accommodation elsewhere. It is high time for Zanu PF criminals to admit failure and step down to pave way for new and responsible leadership. Mugabe and company should step down now or wait for an embarrassing kick in 2018,” he said.