The recently re-elected president of Zimbabwe, Emmerson Mnangagwa, has appointed his son and Nephew as Ministers of Finance and Tourism, respectively. However, Zimbabweans have shown their displeasure concerning the decision of the President to appoint his son and nephew to prominent ministerial positions.
President Mnangagwa’s 34-year-old son, David, was included as one of the 26 officials sworn in as cabinet members on Tuesday evening. With a show of anger and displeasure by the masses when the nominees’ list was made known to the public on Monday.
Mnangagwa’s son and nephew were appointed on Tuesday evening as the deputy ministers of the country’s finance and Tongai to serve as the deputy minister of tourism respectively. This has sparked lots of boiling emotions among Zimbabweans.
The appointment of David, who is to represent and act for the minister of finance, Mthuli Ncube, hasn’t sat well with the citizens as it is seen as “Nepotism”. Zimbabwe has been suffering from lots of Economic problems, which include high inflation and an escalating high cost of living crisis. In June, the currency lost more than half of its value against the US dollar, with billions of dollars in debt in arrears.
Speaking to CNN on the appointment of President Mnangagwa’s son, Harare-based economics professor Gift Mugano, states that “It’s clearly nepotism. It doesn’t make any sense at all. Zimbabwe’s economy has been in the doldrums for the last 25 years, and we need the right critical minds to drive the economy.
So if you put someone who is just coming from the university in that critical ministry to support Prof. Ncubu, who by himself has also failed for the last five years, to change the economy, The President missed the point on that appointment”.
The President’s son, who just completed his Law degree this month and had a Bachelor of Science in Business administration and actuarial science before his Law degree, stated that he was also “surprised” by his appointment after the swearing-in on Tuesday.