President Emmerson Mnangagwa is reported to have hired yet another private plane from the United Arab Emirates so that it could transport him from Harare to Bulawayo for the official opening of the 60th edition of the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF).
This is the second time that Mnangagwa has flown a private jet from the oil-rich UAE to make the short trip from Harare to Bulawayo.
According to Zimlive, the Boeing 737-700 IGW with tail number A6-RJX landed in Harare on Wednesday morning in order to fly Mnangagwa to Bulawayo for the ZITF opening on Friday.
The luxury jet is registered by Royal Jet of the United Arab Emirates. The company is jointly owned by Abu Dhabi Aviation and the Presidential Flight Authority or PFA, the royal flight service.
At one time, Mnangagwa claimed that the Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Sultan Al Nahyan was giving him the planes for free whenever he wants to travel. However, this was later contradicted by his spokesperson George Charamba who revealed that the state was actually paying for the planes.