The Movement for Democratic Change-T Proportional Representative for Matabeleland South, Priscilla Misihairambwi-Mushonga has taken a swipe, at some parastatals and government departments for bootlicking President Emmerson Mnangagwa (ED), through unnecessary congratulatory messages in the press.
Speaking in parliament on 30 October 2018, Mushonga said it is not productive to unnecessarily shower the President with these messages while service delivery is suffering.
Mushonga singled out parastatals such as the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority, the Zimbabwe National Road Authority, and the Zimbabwe National Water Authority, for spending time bootlicking ED, while service delivery is on life support.
“Can we stop these congratulatory messages that we are seeing on television and newspapers each and every day, they don’t work
“What we want now is for people to go back, put their hands of the wheel and begin to work.
“We are in this position because there was a lot of bootlicking of leadership in the last dispensation. Let us not turn this particular President into the same thing,” she said.
She added that those who would have loved to congratulate him for the resounding win could have done so during the inauguration ceremony or send him direct mail.
Her comments come at the time when it has seemingly become a norm for various parastatals and government departments to shower the President with countless congratulatory messages in the media especially the public press, for having had won the elections.
Adverts ranging from quarter, half, to full pages have over the years been swallowed up by congratulatory messages, the fact that they are paid for or not, is still bad for business and the citizens one way or the other.
If it is that the public press is commandeered or forced to provide free advertising space for these messages, then, they are being forced to lose revenue.
On the other hand if the parastatals are paying for the space, then it means money is still being unproductively wasted.
Parastatals are quasi fiscal and as such are supported by the country’s national budget; use taxpayers’ money.
Meanwhile, according to those well versed in newspaper advertising, running a full page advertising on a tabloid newspaper costs nothing less than US$2,500, and as for wide spread papers such as (The Herald) the ones normally used, the cost is almost or more than double the amount.
At times, such congratulatory messages have been run in a number pages, while in other instances supplements, eight to sixteen pages have been used.
