Zimbabwe’s leader has lavish party despite crisis

HARARE, Zimbabwe (CNN) — Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe was celebrating his 85th birthday with a lavish all-day party Saturday despite the fact that the country is gripped with an economic and health crisis.
Mugabe invited Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, his new partner in a power-sharing government, but a Tsvangirai spokesman said the opposition party leader turned it down. Tsvangirai said it is a political party function and as the prime minister, he is not obligated to attend, the spokesman said.
The spokesman would not acknowledge whether Tsvangirai had initially agreed to attend, but it was widely reported in Zimbabwean media that he had agreed to do so.
Friday, Tsvangirai visited Harare Hospital, one of the country’s biggest, and said its intensive care unit will need $30,000 in order to start operating again after a funding shortage.
Mugabe’s ZANU-PF raised $250,000 in order to hold the party.