IT’S A HIGH LIFE FOR SHADY MILLIONAIRES
Our local shady millionaires never shy away from spending their cash.
When they buy cars, they go for the top of the range brands in the world and when they throw parties, they spare no expenses.
The latest self-proclaimed millionaire to raise eyebrows because of his lavish spending is Finance Secretary, George Guvamatanga, who threw himself a 50th birthday party last Friday and hired three South African performers; Mafikizolo, Makhadzi and Loius Mhlanga, to entertain his select guests, which included top government officials and their associates.
So, you can also imagine the type of food that was served,; I am sure guests were treated to a special culinary experience with food prepared by top chefs while champagne, wine and whiskeys could have been imported. And why not when the man says he has money and he can afford anything under the sun.
Last year, he sent tongues wagging when he chartered a private jet for his family from Harare to Victoria Falls for a holiday.
When confronted by a local newspaper about his extravagance in the midst of such poverty in the country, Guvamatanga had no kind words… “I cannot pretend to be poor to make people happy, I am not poor...” he said.
What is maddening about the likes of Guvamatanga is that it is well known that their riches are not from their sweat and hard work but largely proceeds of corruption if not crime.
If Strive Masiyiwa decides to openly splash his money, no one in their right mind would make a meal out of it, because we all
know that the man has worked to be what he is today.
As for Guvamatanga, who is the government paymaster, it is in the public domain that they award tenders to their cronies who in turn give them tokens of appreciation. And here we not talking of small tenders, but jobs worth millions of US dollars.
At the party, one of his guests was corruption-accused business tycoon, Kudakwashe Tagwirei, who is the biggest beneficiary of major government tenders.
Tagwirei showered the ‘birthday boy’ with gifts which included a private jet, US$50 000 in spending money, an executive box at the Emirates Stadium in London and a shirt signed by Arsenal captain, Pierre-emerick Aubameyang.
While reading about these gifts, you might think you are reading about rich people in Europe or United Arab Emirates yet it’s in Harare where they play around with the greenbacks.
“Given the allegations against the giver and how he benefits from certain decisions by the ministry of finance, the question ‘what is he paying for’ is a valid one,” said local lawyer, Tinomudaishe Chinyoka, who was once in President Emmerson’s legal team.