Mugabe refuses to pay son's fees

Mugabe refuses to pay son's fees

POINTING IN WRONG DIRECTION: The son and the father

POINTING IN WRONG DIRECTION: Chatunga and his dad, the President

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By Staff Reporter

ZIMBABWE President Robert Mugabe is refusing to pay school fees for his son, Chatunga, insisting that they do not match the Consumer Price Index, we can reveal.

This week, Education Minister Aeneas Chigwedere wrote a letter to Hartman Primary School instructing them to cut this term’s school fees from some $109 million to $53 million.

The order came from Mugabe, senior Ministry officials said.

The letter, seen by New Zimbabwe.com, was delivered to the school on Wednesday afternoon.

The directive comes barely two weeks before the end of the second term.

Chatunga, 9, is the youngest of Mugabe's three children.

In the letter, the Ministry argues that Hartman’s school fees are not based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI).

But the school authorities dispute this, and say their fees are not only in line with the CPI but are also comparable with other similar private schools struggling to maintain standards against inflation of almost 1200%.

Government sources told New Zimbabwe.com Wednesday that the reason for the directive was that Mugabe refused to pay the $109 million, saying it was "far too much".

Said a top ministry official: "Mugabe was particularly miffed because he said he did not understand why Hartman was charging a fee that is much higher than the $25 million charged by Kutama Boys where his other son, Robert Junior, goes."

The matter has been on the boil for a while.

The sources say the fees dispute is now likely to go to court because all other parents have paid the fees -- except Mugabe.

Concerned parents who have contacted the Ministry of Education say they do not understand why Mugabe is trying to ruin the education of their children just because he wants to flex his muscles as President.

Some parents have appealed to the Ministry to persuade the President to take his son elsewhere if he cannot afford the school fees, the sources said.

Senior officials in the Ministry of Education are said to be sympathetic with parents and the school, but they feel helpless because the directive has come from the President through Chigwedere.

A source said: "The reason the directive has come almost at the close of the term is because the Ministry was hoping that Mugabe would swallow his pride and pay the overdue school fees for his son, but that has not happened."

Zimbabwean schools have increased fees, in cases by over 400 percent, in a bid to compete with inflation which is racing towards the 1200% mark. The government has sought to impose a fees cap in all public schools.

Only private schools, like Hartman, have remained outside the direct control of the government. A decline in standards has forced most parents who can afford to take their children to private schools.

The school declined to issue any statement following New Zimbabwe.com enquiries.
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