Not since Nelson Chamisa’s bullet train has a Zimbabwean politician been roundly mocked for being ridiculously ambitious as Mthuli Ncube is being mocked right now. His crime? Setting aside money in the 2020 budget for the launch of a satellite.

The Budget has set aside resources for the Research and Development programme, including the launch of the space satellite.

Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube

He had barely finished saying that went social media went into a frenzy. A lot of people couldn’t believe it until it was also confirmed by the text of his budget speech. Once it had been confirmed the mocking began proper.

The Minister of Finance says he has set aside funds for the launch of a space satellite. If you are in doubt, I have attached the extract from the national budget statement presented today. Ambition isn’t a bad thing but how about fixing roads & delivering clean water first???‍♂️ pic.twitter.com/lZUBAdqm6S
— Alex T Magaisa ?? (@Wamagaisa) November 14, 2019

OMG. They have all finally lost it. A space satellite when you can’t even provide clean water. https://t.co/l0E23SzC17
— geraldine jackson (@JacksonGerry) November 15, 2019