President Mugabe has always hated it when Finance Ministers have minds of their own. In Ignatius Chombo, Mugabe has his yes-man.
By giving control of the economy to Chombo, the poster-boy of corruption, Mugabe has again pulled the finger at those that still imagined they could appeal to what sense of morality the President may have left.
There isn’t any shame left, Mugabe is telling everyone.
With yesterday’s Cabinet reshuffle, it is a message he is once again sending to his critics and supporters alike; loyalty trumps everything else, including any dirty past record, or the economy.
Mugabe has seldom had good relationships with his Finance Ministers; the whole point of their job is to be disciplined with money.
Mugabe has never understood that.
His idea of a Finance Minister’s job is that they are there only to keep his political machinery well-oiled and his comforts well taken care of, and without question.
With the unquestioning loyalty to Mugabe that Chombo has shown over the years, he is the best man for the job in Mugabe’s eyes.
Chombo will not be like Chinamasa, whose attempts to cut government spending annoyed Mugabe.
Chinamasa’s attempts to cut costs by ending bonuses and cutting ghost workers and 3000 youth workers from the wage bill were publicly denounced by Mugabe.
His bid to reengage international financiers was seen as a form of treason.
There is a reason why many would laugh when Chombo, in his last job as Home Affairs Minister, spoke out against corruption.
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