HARARE
–
President
Emmerson
Mnangagwa
declared
on
Wednesday
that
businessman
Wicknell
Chivayo
had
a
“golden
heart”
after
he
donated
10
ambulances
and
200,000
litres
of
fuel
worth
over
$400,000
to
the
government.
The
donation,
accepted
by
Mnangagwa
at
State
House,
adds
to
another
10
ambulances
Chivayo
donated
last
year.
Accepting
the
gift,
Mnangagwa
lavished
praise
on
the
45-year-old,
who
is
linked
to
lucrative
state
contracts.
“This
donation
has
been
made
possible
through
the
generosity
of
an
astute
and
maverick
young
businessman
Wicknell
Chivayo,
who
has
a
golden
heart
and
continues
to
tirelessly
support
various
key
government
programmes
under
Vision
2030,
which
is
anchored
on
modern
healthcare
systems
that
leave
no
one
and
no
place
behind,”
Mnangagwa
said.
The
donation,
he
added,
“exemplifies
the
critical
role
of
the
private
sector
in
complementing
government’s
efforts
to
deliver
quality
services
in
the
health
sector.”
He
challenged
private
companies
to
“emulate
this
gesture
and
exemplary
conduct.”
The
ambulances,
which
Mnangagwa
described
as
“state-of-the-art,”
are
equipped
with
respirators,
oxygen
delivery
systems,
defibrillators
and
advanced
patient
monitoring
units.
One
will
be
deployed
to
each
of
the
country’s
ten
provinces,
and
Mnangagwa
said
the
fleet
would
“strengthen
emergency
response
capacity
and
improve
access
to
critical
healthcare
services.”
Emmerson
Mnangagwa
tries
out
one
of
the
ambulances
donated
by
businessman
Wicknell
Chivayo
at
State
House
on
March
25,
2026
Chivayo,
an
incorrigible
show-off
who
owns
a
private
jet
and
drives
Rolls
Royces,
shot
to
national
fame
through
eye-popping
donations
of
high-end
vehicles
and
millions
of
dollars
in
cash
to
a
confounding
mix
of
celebrities,
politicians,
church
leaders,
influencers,
football
clubs
and
musicians.
Occasionally,
he
makes
donations
that
benefit
ordinary
Zimbabweans
–
the
ambulances
among
them.
His
state
contracts
are
shrouded
in
mystery,
and
he
is
notoriously
reticent
about
how
he
makes
his
money,
only
ever
forthcoming
about
how
he
spends
it.