HARARE – President Emmerson Mnangagwa has decreed generous benefits for spouses of former presidents.
In statutory instrument 261 of 2020 issued on Friday, Mnangagwa said the wife or husband of a former president was entitled to at least two close protection officers, a driver, a private secretary and a personal assistant.
The former spouses will also be entitled to a fully-kitted office. Their phone bills and electricity bills for the office and official residence will also be picked up by the state.
Presently, Grace Mugabe, the wife of the former late President Robert Mugabe would be the only beneficiary after Mnangagwa announced that the benefits are effective from 1987, shutting out Janet Banana, the widow of Zimbabwe’s first president Canaan Banana.
Only spouses whose husbands served at least one full term will be entitled to the benefits.
The spouses are entitled to “suitable state residential accommodation” which comes with a domestic worker, one gardener, one cook and a waiter.
They are also due medical aid cover, a diplomatic passport, two domestic business class flights per year and two international business class flights per year.
The spouses are also entitled to a Mercedes Benz E300 and a pick-up truck every five years. Vehicles would also be provided for their security personnel and some members of staff.
The government will provide fuel and vehicle maintenance and the spouses are also entitled to an entertainment allowance to be determined by the serving president, according to the Presidential Pension and Retirement Benefits (Services and Facilities for Spouses of former Presidents) Notice, 2020.
While Mugabe’s 55-year-old widow is the obvious beneficiary, the 78-year-old Mnangagwa may also be preparing for life out of office, guaranteeing that his wife Auxillia, 57, will live in comfort.
