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Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi/AP/Press Association Images

Mugabe now taking home €2,900 (in a country where the average wage is €300)

The 90-year-old Zimbabwean Presidents said it was important his government “should recognise the hard times at the moment”.

ZIMBABWEAN PRESIDENT ROBERT Mugabe has said he gets by on a modest salary of $4,000 a month because of the “hard times” facing the country, state media reported today.

Zimbabwe is still recovering from years of economic collapse attributed mainly to government policies under Mugabe, who has run the country since independence in 1980.

“I am earning $4,000 (€2,900) just now, because of the hard times. This is what we decided on, that we should recognise the hard times at the moment,” Mugabe said in a BBC interview at the weekend, according to excerpts published in state media.

The average wage in Zimbabwe is $300 a month, but unemployment runs at 80 percent and most of the population of 13 million live in poverty.

Outside interests

The report did not say how much the 90-year-old president, who favours designer suits and Rolex watches, might receive in allowances or what he earns outside government.

Mugabe has interests in farming among known business entities under his name.

The president built a plush private mansion on the outskirts of the capital Harare, reportedly worth more than $10 million.

Last month the veteran leader gave a $100,000 gift to his daughter and son-in-law at their wedding, which he hosted at his mansion with more than 4,000 guests.

Salary cap

Last month Zimbabwe announced a $6,000 salary cap for executives working for state-owned companies following reports that some of them were grossly overpaid.

The head of the public health insurance fund was a top earner, with a gross monthly salary of $535,499, while the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation boss took home $37,050 a month.

The country in 2009 ditched the worthless Zimbabwe dollar currency in favour of the US dollar and a raft other regional currencies.

- © AFP, 2014

Read: US policy change could shield Irish immigrants from deportation

Read: Defendant shot mid-trial after attempting to attack witness with pen

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    Mute Mick Mccabe
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    Jan 24th 2018, 7:04 PM

    leglaise it tax it and control it and watch the country better it’s self from the extra revenue from it look at the likes of America and put 1 step forward not 10 steps back as normal

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    Mute darren
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    Jan 24th 2018, 7:07 PM

    @Mick Mccabe: “look at the likes of America” with rose tinted glasses?

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    Mute Gillian Scully
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    Jan 24th 2018, 7:12 PM

    @Mick Mccabe: Good idea and use the money to match the plant pots in Grafton Street that are in north Dublin.

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    Mute Honeybadger197
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    Jan 24th 2018, 8:04 PM

    @Mick Mccabe: Amen.

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    Mute GerryCummins
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    Jan 24th 2018, 8:09 PM

    @Mick Mccabe: is that not just for medicinal use in the US?

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    Mute Honeybadger197
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    Jan 24th 2018, 8:18 PM

    @GerryCummins: “The non-medical use of cannabis is legal in 9 states (Alaska, California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Nevada, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington) plus the District of Columbia, and decriminalized in another 13 states plus the U.S. Virgin Islands.”

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    Mute Bobby Phelan
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    Jan 24th 2018, 8:20 PM

    @Mick Mccabe: if they legalized big pharma industry would collapse that is what it is all about money..

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    Mute Jonathan Whelan
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    Jan 24th 2018, 7:09 PM

    Ive never seen a stoner attack anything at 3 am other than a burger, yet perfectly legal to down a gut full of vodka n redbull and strut out the club like your connor mcgregor looking for trouble! Some logic

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    Mute GerryCummins
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    Jan 24th 2018, 8:10 PM

    @Jonathan Whelan: seen plenty that couldnt string a sentence together though….you know wharra mean man..yeah man…

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    Mute Jonathan Whelan
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    Jan 24th 2018, 8:30 PM

    @GerryCummins: true enough, but they aint the ones clogging up A&E’s and urinating n vomiting after clubs in a town near you!

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    Mute Todd Hebert
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    Jan 24th 2018, 7:09 PM

    Once again, Gardaí resources being wasted on combatting something that should be legal, regulated, and taxed.

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    Mute Del Haven
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    Jan 25th 2018, 4:29 AM

    @Todd Hebert: also, were it legal these growhouses wouldn’t exist

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    Mute Joseph Caulfield
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    Jan 25th 2018, 3:02 PM

    @Todd Hebert:
    The Gardai did the right thing to shut down this criminal enterprise run id imagine not by cheech and chong but by gangs. It should of course be legalised so Gardai can target heroin and coke dealers but the political will isnt there. The yanks got it made illegal originally and ironically they are now the ones legalising it.

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    Mute Paul Mc Manus
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    Jan 24th 2018, 7:00 PM

    Legalise the stuff for God’s sake.

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    Mute Brendan McLaughlin
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    Jan 24th 2018, 8:03 PM

    Legalise it; refine it, tax it and build hospitals; schools and homes.

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    Mute Jimmy Reinhardt
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    Jan 24th 2018, 7:00 PM

    Junkies? It’s weed for crying out loud, should be legalized…

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    Mute Brian Begley
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    Jan 24th 2018, 7:01 PM

    2.7 million……stop

    61
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    Mute Kate Flaherty
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    Jan 24th 2018, 7:14 PM

    I can smell it from here!, anyone out there with menopausal symptoms I would recommend giving it a go!….

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    Mute Ania_on_coffee
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    Jan 24th 2018, 7:37 PM

    I think cannabis should be legal for many medical conditions. The therapeutic window (dose of a drug between a medical effect and a toxic effect) of cannabis is very narrow, that’s why it is used with caution. Any therapeutic drugs – natural or synthetic need to be used with wisdom, not recreation, because all drugs have side effects.

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    Mute Honeybadger197
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    Jan 24th 2018, 8:06 PM

    @Ania_on_coffee: I take your point, but you must understand cannabis is lovely.

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    Mute Ania_on_coffee
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    Jan 24th 2018, 8:17 PM

    @Honeybadger197: We should legalize it to everyone because it’s lovely? LOL I’m sure it’s probably lovely yes

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    Mute Honeybadger197
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    Jan 24th 2018, 8:22 PM

    @Ania_on_coffee: An occasional bowl is a beautiful thing.

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    Mute Luke
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    Jan 24th 2018, 8:35 PM

    @Honeybadger197:

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    Mute Ania_on_coffee
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    Jan 24th 2018, 10:05 PM

    @Fake Avast: It’s illegal in Ukraine. But some people grow it in the countryside in their backgardens. As for Russia – i don’the know.

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    Mute john doe
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    Jan 25th 2018, 12:08 AM

    @ Ania
    I think you are not correct. The difference between medical and toxic effect in cannabis is very wide.
    Cannabis does not have a toxic effect on the body unless the dose is huge, More than you could physically take!

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    Mute Adam Reid
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    Jan 24th 2018, 7:55 PM

    Excellent news.

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    Mute billy Dorney
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    Jan 24th 2018, 7:50 PM

    Great

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    Mute Niccolo Saccho
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    Jan 24th 2018, 11:53 PM

    Can you imagine if the country was run by stoners?
    Nothing would ever get done.

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    Mute john doe
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    Jan 25th 2018, 12:14 AM

    @nichalo
    Yeah man that richard branson and steve jobs never got anything done right

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    Mute Nollaig Elliot
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    Jan 25th 2018, 12:48 AM

    @Niccolo Saccho:

    I disagree. Although it’s an individual thing I guess. I tend to use pot mostly whilst doing activities. Not driving of course.

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    Mute Termaz Fx
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    Jan 25th 2018, 9:23 AM

    @Niccolo Saccho: totally agree. No rapes, no senseless domestic violence, no pissing puking on the streets.
    What horror it would be to live in a country where no such thing would be done!

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