Sunday 10 December 2017

Zimbabwe house is divided between filthy rich few and filthy poor majority - it cannot stand

A house divided cannot stand the test of time. A nation divided cannot thrive. Zimbabwe is a nation tiring apart because we have become a divided nation of the filthy rich ruling elite few, on the one hand, and on the other the desperately poor majority. The rich few live in massive mansions such as General Chiwenga’s C&M mansion and Mugabe’s Blue Roof palace, they have farms and many businesses. The rich are sending their children out of the country for their education and they go oversea for all their health needs.

Contrast this with the majority who have nothing. 90% of our people are unemployed. We can afford to build multi-million dollar mansions whilst even the nation’s big hospitals like Mpilo and Harare are so poorly funded they regularly run out of such basic requirements as clean running water and pain killers. 72.3% of our people now live on US$1.00 or less a day. This is not right!
Zimbabwe is not a poor country, we would not afford the megastar lifestyles for the ruling elite if we were a poor country. And yet the poverty of the overwhelming majority has swallowed up the opulence of the few so that, collectively, we are now the poorest nation in Africa.

There is a moral imperative, an urge, to find out what went wrong and to put it right!

The root cause of our economic meltdown is simple enough to see, it is the 37 years of gross mismanagement and rampant corrupt. We inherited a robust economy in 1980, when the country attained her independence, but most of it has rotted and decay because of decades of underinvestment and neglect.

Two years ago, Mugabe admitted the nation was “swindled of US$ 15 billions of diamond revenue”. No one has ever been arrested. Not one cent has ever been recovered. We know the swindling has continued unabated to this day because, a year ago, Finance Minister, Patrick Chinamasa, told parliament he was receiving 1/6 of the revenue he expected from diamonds.

There is documentary evidence to prove that Joice Mujuru and her late husband tried to sell diamonds worth US$ 15.8 billions. The two were not the only swindlers. Mugabe himself pocketed as much as $2 billions in 2012 alone, according to an Africa Canada report. The ruling elite have bought their posh cars, build their mansions and afforded their lifestyles of unparalleled luxury on the back of the wholesale looting of the nation’s wealth.

Zimbabwe has been losing as much as US$ 15 billion a year from the rampant corruption alone. No nation can afford that level of economic haemorrhage much less a nation whose GPD is a mere US$10 billion like Zimbabwe.

Of course, the people of Zimbabwe have known for years that Mugabe and his Zanu PF government were incompetent and corrupt and were dragging the whole nation to economic ruins. However, for 37 years and counting, they have failed to do anything about it because the regime has rigged elections to remain in power frustrating the people’s democratic wish for meaningful political change.

We have the absurd situation where 72.3% of the population live on $1.00 or less a day whilst a tiny minority live 25 bed-room mansions with a luxurious lifestyle to march because for the last 37 years the majority have never had the political voice to cry. The essence of our struggle today is to make sure the majority of Zimbabweans have a political voice and that it is heard, loud and clear.

At the heart of our national economic meltdown and the growing schism between the filthy rich few and the desperately poor majority is the systematic denial of the majority of a meaningful say in the governance of the country.  

“Mwana asingachemi anofira mumbereko!” (The baby that does not cry will die on the mother’s back!) so, goes the Shona saying.  

Last month’s military coup saw the forced removal of Robert Mugabe and a handful of his senior associates in the G40 faction of Zanu PF. Many people have welcomed the change and some have argued that we should allow the new President Mnangagwa government the space and time to see if it will be any better than the Mugabe regime of the last 37 years. By all means, let us!

Given the real economic mess the country is in, there is no doubt that there are many things that President Mnangagwa can do reduce the mismanagement and corruption, even if these changes are significant what we must not lose sight of is the need for political change designed to restore our political voice.

We must not forget we are in this mess because we had lost our political voice. We need the political changes to restore our political voice otherwise the country will once again slip back into the same economic mess we are in. There is absolutely nothing that would lead one to believe that President Mnangagwa is doing anything to restore the common man’s democratic freedoms and human rights include the right to free, fair and credible elections. Nothing!

Indeed, if anything, President Mnangagwa is doing everything to consolidate his own iron grip on power. He has retained Mugabe’s de facto one-party dictatorship and has dismissed all calls to implement democratic reforms with total contempt.

“Zanu PF ichatonga! Igotonga! Imi muchigohukura!” (Zanu PF will rule! And rule! Whilst you continue barking (about reforms)!) He boasted on his return from exile last month!

President Mnangagwa has plans to improve the economy, whether or not any of them will add up to much, is doubtful.

Some people have said Zimbabwe could have become the South Korea of Africa. Sadly, that was not to be, we have become the North Korea of Africa in every respect – Police State with a belligerent and ruthless authoritarian regime. Considering how far this nation has sunk in this economic hell hole under this Zanu PF dictatorship and the over 30 000 innocent lives murder in cold blood for no other reason than they dared to seek for a more just society; the very least we can do is to demand the democratic reforms and dare not drop the ball.

The country’s economic meltdown has hit the ordinary people hard but it was not spare the Zanu PF ruling elite either. The shrinking nation cake and the ballooning greed of the ruling elite has forced the number of those at the feeding trough to be reduced again and again. Zanu PF member have been fighting amongst themselves for feeding access like hyenas. The recent firing of then VP Mnangagwa followed soon after by the coup that forced Mugabe to resign was the collimation of the factional war that has torn Zanu PF asunder.

The Zanu PF dictatorship is weaker now than it has ever been in all its 37 years in power. Zanu PF imploding has presented the nations with the next best opportunity, after the one wasted by MDC during the GNU, to push through the demands for democratic reforms.


If all this nation ever get from the Zanu PF implosion was the replacement of one dictator, Mugabe, with another, Mnangagwa, leaving the dictatorship itself untouched; then we have dropped the ball for democratic change. All the misery brought on by the dictatorship and the lives lost along the way would have been all for nothing!

7 comments:

Zimbabwe Light said...

@ Nomazulu
"Where are those revolutionary aspirations that led the African country to take up arms and fight Smith regime and replace it with the majority rule?" You might as well ask that of the Zanu PF thugs themselves.
Mugabe and his Zanu PF thugs have reminded us of their war time contribution at every opportunity and yet they are the ones who have led from the front in denying povo their freedoms, human rights, hopes and dreams. Mnangagwa, Chiwenga, Mutsvangwa, Matemadanda, P Shiri, Mugabe, etc. all have shed the blood of many innocent Zimbabweans in the planning and execution of the many devilish vote rigging schemes that have kept Mugabe and Zanu PF in power all these years. They only turned again Mugabe because he was going to “baby dump” them. All their revolutionary zeal evaporated when they tested the sweetness of power.
Tsvangirai and his opposition friends spend the GNU years praising Mugabe instead of implementing the reforms. “Mugabe is the fountain of wisdom, the father of the nation,” piped Biti in July 2012 long after the tyrant had murder over 20 000 in the Gukurahundi massacre.
Political power is the strongest drug ever, and our politicians are renowned for getting so hooked they try to hang on to power even after 37 years and with nothing useful to show for all those years. Tsvangirai too is hooked; why the party still calls itself a democratic party is a mystery, when its leaders are more and more like Mugabe!

Zimbabwe Light said...

THE Ministry of Health and Child Care estimates that there are about 44 586 sex workers in the country aged between 15 and 49 years and nearly 7 000 of them operate in Bulawayo.

According to the recently released HIV and Aids Estimates Report, the figure excludes people who have transactional sex and male sex workers. The figure only caters for those aged between 15 and 49.

The HIV prevalence rate for the sex workers stands at an average of 55 percent, compared to the 13 percent national average.
The consequences of this human tragedy will be felt for generations to come.

How many of these sex workers are doing this because they have failed to get any other honourable work?

In a country where unemployment has soared to nauseating heights of 90% it is no surprise that so many otherwise decent people have turned into criminals. Those who have been looting and are responsible for the country's economic rot should be held to account for the misery they have brought to the nation.

Nomusa Garikai said...

@ Magara

Wilbert is talking about a very serious matter, a matter of life and death for the 72.3% of our people now living on US$1.00 or less a day. You, Magara, are clearly not one of the millions who live on US$ 1.00 or less a day. But is it really hard for you to imagine, even for just minute, what living on US$ 1.00 or less a day.

Now that you have left your conform zone; do you really think those miserable souls would care to hear about you and your "spelling and grammatical blunders" especially when you have absolutely nothing else to say about their miserable lives much less offer a way out? If I was one of those miserable Zimbabweans, I would rather listen to Wilbert because he is genuinely addressing their needs.

For your own information Billet Magara, Zimbabwe's political and economic mess affect us all; the filthy rich few with the veto on who should rule the country and the voiceless filthy poor majority; because the present situation of 72.3% living in abject poverty is socially and political unsustainable. Zimbabwe is sinking fast and we need to sort this mess out.

If you want to read something expressed in perfect English, read William Shakespeare or some such great writer! I would much rather be save from drowning by someone speaking pigeon English than forsake his help whilst waiting for one speaking the Queen's language to perfection.

By the way S Africans are not is a mess because, with all the imperfections you have listed, they have a fairly functional system of government. I would rather have the schoolboy errors and none of last month's coup, all the vote riggings and political murders. You really need to get off your high horse mate!

Patrick said...

I agree with you there the filthy rich few with the veto are holding the voiceless filthy poor majority as their hostages. The few ruling elite have captured all the state institutions to serve their selfish goal of gaining absolute power and hold it at all cost. The gap between the filthy rich and filthy poor has grown into an unbridgeable chasm as exemplified by the princely mansions of the ruling elite compared to the decaying and rotting houses in Mt Pleasant, Borrowdale and all the other low density suburbs to say nothing of the high density suburbs of Luveve and Mkoba worse still the rural home.
After decades of living in such posh mansion, eating four course meals and sleeping in bed with silk sheets, it is simply unthinkable for people like Chiwenga to even contemplate giving all this up. He knows that the only way for him to hold on to his mansion and lifestyle of unparalleled luxuries is by staying in power and retain his unfettered access to the nation’s wealth. The filthy rich will fight to resist political change because, in being filthy rich, they now have too much to lose.
The demise of Robert Mugabe did not herald the political change many in the street had hoped for. If anything the Zanu PF dictatorship has emerged out of the coup stronger than it has been for decades. Mnangagwa, Chiwenga and all the other coup members are being showered with rose petals of liberators when all they did was remove one dictator to replace him with another.
The dictatorship, of which the coup plotters are fully fledged members, had become so unpopular they sacrificed the one member of the dictatorship, Mugabe. This was nothing more than the cunning lizard which, when cornered, would shed off its tail. The tail will wriggle as if to get away. Whilst the snake or whatever was after the lizard tackles the tail the cunning own makes good its escape. No doubt it will dawn on many Zimbabweans that they carnival celebration of Mugabe’s demise was ill advised for all the got was the tail of the dictatorship and it has since grown another tail!
The ten dollar to the filthy poor and million or should that be the trillion dollar to the filthy rich question is how are will going to implement the democratic reforms to end this evil dictatorship?

Patrick said...

@Magara
With all due respect, you have clearly got the wrong end of the stick! The thrust of Nomusa's comment was simple enough - we have a serious, life and death situation is Zimbabwe which needs our urgent attention. We should keep our eyes on that ball and not allow ourselves be distracted by trivial matters.

"I took nothing from the article, except to cautiously point out the need to express fact without harming the image of the writer's mind with sloppy errors," you confessed about.

There were many very important issues raised in the above article, even if they were not expressed in the perfect English you would prefer, but only an idiot like you "took nothing from the article" because you are obsessed about spelling and grammar. And true to your idiotic nature, you waste time writing a whole thesis on who was the true author of all the stuff attributed to William Shakespeare as if the author has now become more important than the work.

You have not offered one solution to alleviate the suffering masses of Zimbabwe, it is that the nation is dying for. We want solutions on how to end the evil Zanu PF dictatorship and do not care from whom they come! If you are not going to write about that then shut the f&*% up!

Patrick said...

@ Billet Magara
Here we go again! Zimbabweans have a great hang-up about being the most literate nation in Africa and what is shocking is that they are also the poorest people in Africa with no less than 72.3% of the population now living on US$ 1.00 or less a day. For all their ability to read and write, having the highest per capita University graduates and the walls in many homes papered with certificates, diplomas, degrees, doctorates, etc. the nation has yet to pass first grade in common sense. We boast about our high literacy but do not have the common sense to realise that the real true value of knowledge is when it is applied to improve our lives.

What good is knowing that there are biharzia parasitic worms and a multitude of other water born diseases in rivers if we carry on bath and drink from the river?

Robert Mugabe imposed a smart dress code on all his cabinet members from his his cabinet meeting in 1980. He was to go on a preside over all the cabinet meetings for the next 37 years, he was too much of a control freak to allow any meeting unless he was there to chair it, wearing his designer suit, shirt, tie, shoes down to his iron pressed socks! His regime will go down in human history as one of the most corrupt and incompetent government composed of highly qualified individuals all smartly dressed! Billet Magara would be very impressed with the minutes of the cabinet meetings, he will find not one spelling mistakes or grammar error!

Poor Zimbabwe, we have been school to focus on appearance we have to learn from scratch that it is substance and not appearance that real matters. No wonder the country is in this mess, we have been trading our gold and diamonds for cheap shiny gold coated Chinese trinkets!

Why we must discuss our national problems in perfect English or not at all is truly beyond me!

Billet Magara, we want people to say how we are going to get the nation out of the political and economic mess. Please tell us how and stop wasting time correcting other people's spelling mistakes!

Patrick said...

@Magara

Well, that was not so hard to do was it? We have a nation in deep, deep trouble and we need to find a way out of this mess. We should not be obsessed about spelling and grammar, important that is. We do not want to be like Robert Mugabe who insisted on smart dress code for all his cabinet meetings and for 37 years he wore designer shirt, vest, tie, suit, shoes down to hot pressed socks. And yet accomplished nothing other than destroyed the nation's economy and abuse and even murder our people.

Mugabe was more English than the English; his command of the English language and mannerism did not stop him become a corrupt and murderous thug! We should at least learn from the tyrant and get our priorities right. Right now, faultless command of the English language is not important!