Categories: Stories

Mnangagwa exposes good side of Mugabe

Reports that President Emmerson Mnangagwa ditched struggling national airline Air Zimbabwe for a luxurious jet operated by Comlux has inadvertently exposed a good side of former President Robert Mugabe.

Mugabe who was accused over the years of hijacking the national airline was actually keeping it afloat as he was paying for using the plane and a higher fee than the airline would have realised on it commercial flights.

According to Newsday: “Air Zimbabwe (h)as all the years been depending on presidential trips but since the coming in of President Mnangagwa, it has become very difficult to secure those deals,” a source at the airline said.

“He opts to fly with a more luxurious aircraft. But this comes with a cost as the Swiss airline is paid in foreign currency while Air Zimbabwe would have been paid using the real time gross settlement process without stressing the national purse.”

Newsday said that Air Zimbabwe flew to Tanzania instead although not at full capacity.

“It could have cashed in more had Mnangagwa chartered its plane,” the report said.

During his reign Mugabe was accused of crippling the airline by constantly using it, giving the impression he was not paying, and was often accused of leaving paying passengers stranded.

 

(267 VIEWS)

Charles Rukuni

The Insider is a political and business bulletin about Zimbabwe, edited by Charles Rukuni. Founded in 1990, it was a printed 12-page subscription only newsletter until 2003 when Zimbabwe's hyper-inflation made it impossible to continue printing.

Recent Posts

Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe expects more foreign currency sellers to join the interbank market

The gazetting into law of the payment of quarterly taxes on a 50-50 basis in…

December 4, 2024

Zimbabwe 2025 citizens’ budget

Zimbabwe has today unveiled a ZiG276.4 billion budget for 2025 during which it expects the…

November 28, 2024

To go or not to go- Mnangagwa in a quandary

Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa has repeatedly stated that he is not going to contest a…

November 25, 2024

ZiG loses steam, falls against US dollar for five consecutive days

The Zimbabwe Gold fell against the United States dollar for five consecutive days from Monday…

November 22, 2024

Indian think tank says Starlink is a wolf in sheep’s clothing

An Indian think tank has described Starlink, a satellite internet service provider which recently entered…

November 18, 2024

ZiG firms against US dollar for 10 days running but people still do not have confidence in the currency

Zimbabwe’s new currency, the Zimbabwe Gold (ZiG), firmed against the United States dollars for 10…

November 16, 2024