Harare, Zimbabwe (News of the South)-At a time that President Mugabe’s foreign trips are continuously torching storms and rankling the public for the extravagant use of scarce resources US President Donald Trump is set to embark on a $68 million trip to Saudi Arabia.
The trip which has been described by some as set to be a garish display of opulance by the Saudi’s is set for later this month.
According to Bruce Bartlett Trump is set to spend $1 billion in 4 years housing his wife in New York and vacationing at Mar-a-Lago virtually every week.
“The Donald’s roughly 12,5 hour flight to the Saudi kingdom will cost $1.7 million alone without factoring in additional costs for security and medical personnel”
“He has already added $60 million to the overall budget for presidential travel and protection for 2018. Air Force One carries an estimated cost of $140 000 per flying hour, according to Judicial Watch’s president Tom Flitton.
In comparison Mugabe’s trips have courted controversy most recently after he splurged more than $1 million when he chartered an ultra-luxurious Boeing 767-200 Extended Range to Singapore and Ghana.
This is at a time government is struggling to raise salaries for its civil servants as well as rescue flood victims.
The chartered plane has private bedrooms which come with either queen size or with king-size beds and a private office which has Wifi and state of the art equipment.
Air Zimbabwe has not been able to provide aeroplanes for the President due to most of them being grounded and in need of comprehensive servicing before they can undertake long-haul flights.
According to media reports Mugabe’s trips on foreign and domestic travel gobbled over $36 million in the first 10 months of 2016
Meanwhile media reports state that the Saudi Kingdom has allocated 257 million rials (about $68 million) for the visit scheduled to begin on 19 May and will reportedly be the largest reception in the Kingdom’s history.
Trump is known for his love for opulence and expensive trips and will most likely be feted by the Arabians who have previously shown their abilities to go over the boundaries with other visitors from before.
During a Royal visit by Prince Charles in 2014 he was given gold belts, daggers and ceremonial swords.
The Saudi King himself recently displayed a shocking lust for opulence when he visited Asia with two golden escalators, 10 aircraft and a fleet of 500 limousines among other extravagances.
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