'Mugabe obsessed with foreign health service'

President Robert Mugabe's revelation that his family uses its state-sponsored annual holiday in the Far East for medical check-ups have drawn strong criticism from political commentators.

Mugabe revealed this on Thursday when he returned from his five-week long holiday in Singapore where his wife, Grace had a "minor operation" to treat her appendicitis.

Appendicitis is the inflammation of the appendix that normally results in nausea, abnormal pains and decreased appetite. Worst cases could result in rapturing of the appendix.

"I want to say we took a long time out of the country. We did not spend Christmas in the country because Amai 'Stop it' [his wife] had a problem and we said we needed to go for check-ups. It is the time we usually go for check-ups," Mugabe said.

Although, Mugabe claimed Grace had a minor operation, health experts who spoke on condition of anonymity said the First Lady could be suffering from cancer of the colon as she "showed symptoms consistent with those of someone on chemotherapy" during her countrywide rallies last year.

Mugabe himself, who is believed to be battling with cancer of the prostate, had for many years frequented the Asian countries for medical check-ups, a move that drew wide criticism from the opposition MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai who slammed him for deliberately running down the local health delivery system because he would get treatment from abroad.

After Mugabe's public confession on Thursday, analysts said his actions spoke of a hypocritical President who had no faith in his country's public health system which he has consistently underfunded over the years, aware that the state would pay for his foreign medical sojourns.

Human Rights activist Dewa Mavhinga said: "That Mugabe and his family seek medical treatment in Singapore because 'they' can afford it simply shows that Zimbabwe has become a dog-eat-dog country where our leadership abandons the people to face a collapsed health system while they use taxpayers' money for luxurious health tourism."

He added, "Zimbabwe's political leadership should show a little bit of concern for the welfare of ordinary Zimbabweans who are struggling to survive and many of whom are condemned to preventable deaths because of collapsed health facilities."

Political analyst Tamuka Chirimambowa said this action exhibited extreme insensitivity on the part of the country's leaders.

"It simply points to the irresponsibility of a father who can't bring food home but always wants to go and eat at the neighbour's kitchen whilst his family starves," Chirimambowa said.

He said government should concentrate on improving local health facilities.

"The focus of these people should be to invest in health and education so as to improve our health delivery system but that does not exist on their priority list. They are so obsessed with anything foreign and that is their main problem," Chirimambowa said.

Mugabe, his Cabinet ministers and senior civil servants always fly out of the country to seek medical attention despite the country boasting of renowned doctors in its public hospitals. Recently former Zanu-PF Secretary of Administration Didymus Mutasa and his wife were in India seeking medical attention.

This is in contrast to South African leaders who get treated in their own country's medical facilities. Former South African President Nelson Mandela died in South Africa under the care of local doctors.

An official with a local NGO working on health said the President's action showed he had little faith in local hospitals that he had destroyed over the years.

"They have killed our health care systems, they have no confidence in them and have no trust in the capacities of our institutions yet they continue to subject Zimbabweans to a treatment process they have no trust in," the officer said.