Million man march to gobble $600 000

The Zanu-PF youth league's one million-man march, slated for this Wednesday in Harare to prop up President Robert Mugabe's waning public support, is expected to gobble over $600 000, with the bulk of the money squeezed out of ailing parastatals, private firms and the few remaining white commercial farmers.

Sources involved in mobilizing resources for the political jamboree, which has been dismissed by opposition parties as a waste of resources, said they have agreed on a provisional budget of $600 000 to fund transport needs for all 10 provinces, food and accommodation for the delegates.

All the provinces have been ordered to transport at least 100 000 members, who would march to an open space next to the Rainbow Towers Hotel in Harare, where they would be addressed by Mugabe.