Zimbabwe's Mugabe demands a raise in pay

HARARE, Zimbabwe, March 17 (UPI) -- After underwriting a lavish wedding for his daughter, President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe told public service workers he wants a pay raise.

His government in the bankrupt country has not yet delivered on an election pledge to double the wages of 200,000 public servants, and economists warn the government will likely not be able to pay them on time this year, if at all, the British newspaper the Daily Telegraph reported Monday.

Mugabe, 90, can legally use whatever funds he wants from the national treasury for foreign visits, and has traveled outside Zimbabwe at least once a month for the past 20 years. He is also independently wealthy; he and his wife are the country's largest landowners. Most of their property was seized from farmers after 2000.

Mugabe's eldest child, Bona, 24, married Simba Chikore, 37, earlier this month at the palace in Harare. The reception included about 4,000 guests and cost Mugabe about 3 million British pounds (nearly $5 million), the newspaper said.