President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe hosted a lavish (meaning a cost of about $250,000 and the slaughter of about 100 animals) birthday party on Saturday. The party was thrown despite a cholera epidemic (which, according to the WHO, has killed 3,731 and infected approximately 80,000 since August), hyperinflation (Zimbabwe has the highest inflation rate in the world) and food/medicine shortages.
Friday, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai visited Harare Hospital, the ICU of which needs $30,000 to resume operating following a shortage of funds. He also declined Mugabe's invitation to the party, stating that it was a "political party function" (CNN).
Tsvangirai ran against Mugabe in the previous presidential election; however, though he won the first election with 50.3% of the vote, he pulled out of the re-run due to violence directed towards his party.
No comments:
Post a Comment