It is bad enough to find oneself a victim of bullying what makes the situation unbearable is the realisation that there is absolutely nothing you can do about it. One does not easily forget, the sinking feeling of reporting a school bully to the school authorities and all he/she ever get is a slap on the wrist because he/she is the Head Master’s relative or some such untouchable!
The EU’s kid-glove treatment of Zanu PF for the region’s repeated blatant violation of ordinary Zimbabweans’ basic freedoms and rights including the right to free, fair and credible elections and even the right to life has left me bitter and angry. I never ever expected the EU to behave like the discredited school authority scared stiff of the untouchable school bully!
It is an established historic fact that Zanu PF brazenly rigged last year’s elections; the EU and every other democratic nation and organisation that observed the elections agree. Whilst the Americans and others refused to lift the sanctions imposed on the Zanu PF regime for failing to honour its obligation to hold free and fair elections; the EU has “rewarded” Mnangagwa and company for rigging the elections by lifting the sanctions!
The EU and Zanu PF have been meeting with the view of restoring normal relationships with Harare including giving the country financial assistance and increased investment the country needs desperately to revive its comatose economy.
"The EU noted the economic and political reforms agenda, including fighting corruption. The two sides agreed on the importance of reforms and their benefit to Zimbabwean people," reads the Zanu PF and EU re-engagement joint statement.
Zanu PF did not brazenly rig last year’s elections because they did not know what the political reforms necessary for free and fair elections! Of course, they know what they were doing. Indeed, after 39 years of rigging elections, the regime has raised its art of vote rigging to something of a master piece!
The root cause of Zimbabwe’s political paralysis and economic meltdown is country’s failure to hold free, fair and credible elections. The nation has been stuck with a corrupt and tyrannical regime for 39 years and counting, precisely because Zanu PF rigged elections, with the devastating economic and political consequences we see all around.
Mnangagwa and company do not need EU officials to tell them that ending corruption will benefit the ordinary Zimbabweans; they know that. They are stupid to have allowed corrupt to destroy the nation’s economy but not that stupid not to see the consequences. Of course, Mnangagwa et al can see the tragic human suffering and deaths brought about by the economic meltdown, they have eyes to see.
Zanu PF leaders have knowingly denied the people their basic rights and freedoms, they can see the tragic human suffering and deaths and have ploughed on without a care in the world because they have their own selfish agenda!
"The Zimbabwean side underlined the call by His Excellency the President for all political parties to join the Political Actors' Dialogue as unity of purpose among Zimbabweans and political parties was central to developing a mutual vision for Zimbabwe's path into the future,” the joint statement continue, underlining the point the point that Zanu PF does not give a damn about reforms, etc.
The EU has its own reasons for refusing to hold Zanu PF to account for blatantly denying the ordinary Zimbabweans their basic human human rights and freedoms. Belgium has campaigned long and hard for the EU economic sanctions to be lifted so that it can join China, India, Israel, Russia, etc. profiting from the wholesale looting of Zimbabwe’s diamond, for example. Zanu PF leaders know this and are exploiting these weaknesses to make themselves the untouchable bully!
What makes every thinking Zimbabwean out there, angry is the EU’s patronising hypocrisy - calling on Zanu PF to implement reforms, to end corruption, etc. as if the EU cares about the suffering and deaths of ordinary Zimbabweans when they don’t.
There has been genuine out pouring of public sympathy for all the #metoo victims not only because of the seriousness of crimes but, worst still, because the perpetrators in most cases were, until now at least, untouchables!
The consequences of Zanu PF’s 39 years of corrupt and tyrannical rule are there for all to see; the economic collapse that has forced unemployment to soar to nauseating height of 90%, public health care has all but completely collapsed, etc. In engaging with Zanu PF regardless of the regime’s corrupt and tyrannical track record, the EU is serving its own selfish interests and those of Zanu PF. The EU should spare us the insults and patronising hypocrisy of pretending to care about the long suffering and deaths of the ordinary Zimbabweans.
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ZIMBABWE has recorded a decline in terms of access to water and sanitation among ordinary Zimbabweans over the past two decades, a UNICEF official has said.
“From the latest WHO and UNICEF joint monetary programme results which track progress across countries globally, we see that it indicated a decrease in Zimbabwe between 2000 and 2017.
“Access to safe water and basic water services in Zimbabwe has decreased from 72% to 64% and basic sanitation has decreased from 46% to 36%.”
Zimbabwe’s economic decline is all largely a man-made problem, a result of decades of gross mismanagement, rampant corruption and institutionalised lawlessness earning the country the pariah state status. To be more specific, Zimbabwe’s man-made problem is one of bad governance and the solution is to implement the democratic reforms and end the curse of rigged elections.
39 years of corrupt and tyrannical Zanu PF rule have left the country’s economic in ruins and unable to provide even the most basic essential of human life such as clean water and sanitation. How long are we going to allow this madness to continue?
THE ghost of the 2008 violence ridden election has returned to haunt a Zanu PF Councilor, a headman and eight other party activists who unleashed a reign of terror in rural Zaka at the height of the election after they were summoned to appear in court facing stock theft charges.
The group were part of a Zanu PF militia group that created village bases and unleashed terror on suspected opposition members in Zaka’s Ward 15 during and after after the 2008 election.
Headman Govani Chitomba , Councilor Steven Harudzibwi, Sunamisai Chivamba, Herbert Mapande, Tawanda Zinhiva, Richard Chibhoma, Clemence Dende, Sekai Pepukai, Cosmas Mapfumo and Zvirevo Majoni had their case transferred from Zaka Magistrate Court to Masvingo for trial.
To crown it all MDC leaders failed to get even one reform implemented during the 2008 to 2013 GNU. What a wasted opportunity!
Mnene Mission Hospital, the only referral Hospital in Mberengwa, Midlands Province, is one of the mission hospitals in the country that are now overwhelmed by patients as public health institutions are not operational due to a number of issues including doctors’ industrial action.
This was revealed by Evangelical Lutheran Church in Zimbabwe (ELCZ) Hospitals advocate, Pastor Patricia Shirichena who told the Herald that Mnene was now overstretched.
We only have one doctor here, Dr Nyasha Makura, and he is being overwhelmed by patients some of whom are coming from as far as Gokwe and Gwanda in Matabeleland South.
Inadequacy of medicines, equipment and health caregivers, as well as high charges for services by private medical institutions, has compelled patients to seek medical attention at mission hospitals whose charges are modest because they are non-profit organisations.
The state media reports that Karanda Hospital in Mt Darwin is now attending to about 500 patients daily over the past three months, up from between 150 and 200 patients per day since August.
Howard in Chiweshe, All Souls Mission in Mutoko and St Alberts Mission in Centenary have also recorded a significant rise in the number of patients since September.
These Mission Hospitals are doing the best to provide some health care service where there will be none otherwise. Even with the best will in the world these hospitals can only reach a fraction.
Zimbabwe’s economic and political problems are all a product of decades of corrupt, incompetent, vote rigging and tyrannical Zanu PF rule. The only hope to end those problems is by making sure we have free, fair and credible elections. We are clearly not yet ready for good governance but when we are we will get off our backsides and finally implement the democratic reforms necessary for free and fair elections.
Zimbabweans are yearning for progressive politics culminating into a proper development agenda, and this can only be achieved by coupling of young and progressive elements across political divide.
There is an overall consensus within the generational consensus that Advocate Chamisa and the respected Former Foreign and Tourism Minister in Mugabe's Government, Dr Walter Mzembi resemble some form of respect across political divide. Amongst the Mugabe's former ministers, Mzembi remains one of the respected officials whose credentials remain undisputed.
This article could have been penned by someone who is stuck and cannot see the trees from the wood. Zimbabwe is in this mess because both Zanu PF and MDC leaders have proven beyond all reasonable doubt that they are breathtakingly corrupt, incompetent and, the case of the former, murderous tyrants.
The first thing Zimbabwe needs is to implement the democratic reforms designed to dismantle the dysfunctional Zanu PF autocracy and replace it with a democratic system of government. Both Mzembi and Chamisa had many golden opportunities to get this done and yet they failed to get even one reform implemented. Not one!
Zimbabwe needs people who are capable of thinking outside the box and suggesting the same corrupt and incompetent leaders as the ones to get us out of the mess only shows you are not thinking at all!
The price of 10 Kg mealie meal has gone up to Z$101.66 (US$ 5 at Z$20: US$ 1) the Grain Millers Association of Zimbabwe has said.
This is a nightmare! 3/4 of Zimbabweans are living on US$40 or less per month. How is a family of four expected to survive for a month on this?
What makes our situation totally unbearable is that our economic nightmare is man-made; 39 years of gross mismanagement and rampant corruption have landed us in this mess. And until the people, especially the 3/4 now living in abject poverty, rise up and demand change this nation will continue to sink deeper and deeper into the abyss.
In a statement on Monday the Zimbabwe Hospital Doctors Association said, "For every day that passes, more lives are being lost, yet we have a competent crop of reputable and world class Doctors, who are more than willing to go back to work at this very moment, to save lives
"The avoidable exodus of Doctors has already begun and one can only imagine what that will mean for our fellow countrymen who cannot fly to China for treatment.”
Last week the Acting Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister Mangaliso Ndlovu told journalists that"Turning to hospital doctors, a total of 480 disciplinary cases have so far been heard. An additional 149 doctors were found guilty and discharged, bringing the cumulative total of the doctors discharged to 435.
"Cabinet was informed of a meeting which was held on 15th November, 2019 between the Minister of Health and Child Care and representatives from the Senior and Junior Doctors Association. While positive strides were made at the meeting, with some doctors showing a willingness to return to work, Cabinet has resolved that those doctors already discharged have to apply for readmission. Government will not rescind its position on the fired doctors.”
By firing doctors the regime hammered the last nail in the health sector coffin, we have no public health sector! At least 3/4 of the population are totally dependent on the public health sector and cannot afford the private health service.
If a government cannot provide something as basic as health care to 3/4 of the population it, the regime, should not be in office. Zanu PF is in office only because the party rigged last year’s elections and the regime has already made it clear will shoot to kill to retain power.
As much as Zanu PF has resisted peaceful change it has not stop change. Those who resist peaceful change have, necessarily, opted for violent change. Mnangagwa and his cronies must know that they will be held responsible for all the destruction, deaths and mischief that the violence will bring!
President Cyril Ramaphosa endorsed last year's rigged elections as having "gone well"! Like it or not the President has disqualified himself from playing a meaningful role in getting Zimbabwe out of this mess because any meaningful solution must necessarily acknowledge the fundamental truth - that Zanu PF rigged last year's elections. President Ramaphosa has already said the elections were acceptable and Mnangagwa will remind him of that at every turn.
Zimbabwe is in this political and economic mess because the country has failed to hold free, fair and credible elections and so has been stuck with this corrupt and tyrannical Zanu PF regime for 39 years. The country has absolute no hope of getting out of this mess until it finally deals with the curse of rigged elections.
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