COP26 delegation exposes Mnangagwa rhetoric, says Felix Ndiweni

OUTSPOKEN former Ntabazinduna chief Felix Nhlanhlayamangwe Ndiweni has described President Emmerson Mnangagwa's United Kingdom trip for the COP26 summit last week as extravagant after he reportedly took with him more than 100 people.

Ndiweni said the hiring of a private jet from former Soviet Republic Azerbaijan, at a reported cost of US$1 million was profligacy by the leader of a country where the majority of citizens live in poverty.

"Mnangagwa's extravagance shows the falsehoods of the sanctions campaign. Over a hundred world leaders arrived in Glasgow for the climate change conference.  Among the leaders present was Mnangagwa, whose delegation was double that of South Africa, a nation that is one of the G20 nations," Ndiweni said.

"The new President of Zambia, Hakainde Hichilema went to the conference on economy class, with just a few individuals.

"Indeed a fair question would be what was the plane carrying when it left Zimbabwe?

"It is common knowledge that gold bars and other precious stones are being regularly smuggled out of the country by the powers-that-be."

The former Ndebele chief took part in protests against Mnangagwa in the UK during the COP26 summit.

Ndiweni said Mnangagwa's Glasgow jaunt showed that United Nations rapporteur Alena Douhan had been hoodwinked by  government to think that sanctions caused the suffering of people, when in actual fact it was extravagance by the country's leaders.

"Zimbabwean government's position has always been that the targeted sanctions crippled the economy and finances of the government completely. Surprisingly, the world witnessed a huge delegation from Zimbabwe in Glasgow for the COP26, and huge spending allowances for each delegate in United States dollars throughout the conference," he said.

He said funds meant for climate change mitigation in the country should be channelled through environmental organisations for implemention of programmes.