"His (Chamisa) cheerleaders prayed and wished that the
country suffers from this coronavirus that has killed thousands globally and in
his unfathomable melancholy Chamisa appropriates for himself powers to announce
the persons infected in this country, when we have an able and competent team
of experts that have been assembled by President Emmerson Mnangagwa and has
been competently and timeously keeping the nation abreast with information around
COVID-19,” said Pupurai Togarepi, Zanu PF Youth leaders.
“We have heard in Parliament his own MPs
speaking of abandoning his sinking ship and joining alternative leadership
within the amorphous political outfit, and we would ordinarily not be amused by
his clownish antics. But because of the gravity of the situation we are tempted
to push through Parliament laws that punish alarmist and peddlers of falsehoods
like this childish Chamisa.”
This is to be expected of this Zanu PF regime,
it has denied that corona virus was spreading in the country and now that the
truth is coming out it is seeking to silence everyone. When Zanu PF wanted to
boot Mai Mujuru out of the party, she and her supporters were accused of
factionalism and, worse still, plotting to assassinate Mugabe. It comes as no
surprise that the regime is now accusing Chamisa of “praying and wishing that
the country suffers from corona virus”.
The truth contrary to Zanu PF’s claim, corona
virus has been spreading in Zimbabwe and, worse still, the regime has no clue
what to do to stop the spread. The regime’s so call Emergence Preparedness and
Response Plan in not even worth the paper it is written on.
Zanu PF rigged the July 2018 elections and
imposed itself on nation and now the regime is failing to carryout even the
simplest of tasks to contain the corona virus. We own it to ourselves and
posterity to hold the regime to account and we should not allow ourselves to be
bullied into silence!
Zimbabwe is a Banana Republic,
ruled by corrupt, incompetent and vote rigging thugs. 40 years of Zanu PF
misrule has left the country in economic ruins and political turmoil. The
corona virus outbreak could not have happened at a worse time; the economy is
in total meltdown pushing unemployment to nauseating height of 90. With
millions living from hand to mouth, a complete lockout lasting weeks will not
be possible – people will risk getting the virus than stay home and starve.
Basic services such as supply
of clean running water and health care services have all but collapsed. Even
the most basic hygiene advice of “Wash your hands regularly!” will be a tall
order. Wash with what!
In 1980 when the country gain
her independence Zimbabwe have the potential to become the South Korea of
Africa. The country had a sound economic infrastructure and well resourced. By
imposing the corrupt and tyrannical de facto one-party dictatorship Zanu PF
turned the country into the North Korea of Africa.
The people of Zimbabwe have had
many opportunities, notably during the 2008 to 2013 GNU, to end the Zanu PF
dictatorship but have wasted them all. The corona virus outbreak has brought to
fore the nation’s folly in having tolerated the curse of rigged elections and
bad governance these last 40 years and counting. For we can be certain that
Zanu PF blame everyone else the suffering and deaths caused by corona virus and
do anything to consolidate its own strangle hold on power.
“We (Zanu PF) have the numbers
in Parliament and let us ban the abuse of social media by putting in place laws
that punish the likes of Chamisa,” threatened Togarepi.
“One time he wants to be president,
now he is picketing as Minister of Health. God have mercy!”
One only hopes that
the grime suffering and deaths Zimbabwe is going through right now precisely
because of decades of gross mismanagement, rampant corruption and rank lawlessness
that has earned the country its Banana Republic label will finally force
Zimbabweans to snap out of their sloth-like slumber and finally end the curse
of bad governance. If corona virus fails to wake Zimbabweans up, then what
will!
18 comments:
After months of falsely claiming that the country was ready to deal with the corona virus outbreak it is now fast emerging that it was all lies. And instead of owning up the regime is blaming everyone else for the outbreak and threatening to use violence to silence everyone and stop the truth coming out. How typical!
AFRICA'S response to the Coronavirus outbreak has received a major boost as all the 54 African Union member states are set to receive a consignment of Covid-19 testing and personal protection equipment from the Jack Ma and Alibaba Foundations.
The consignment which includes over 1.5 million laboratory diagnostic test kits, as well as more than 100 tons of infection prevention and control commodities, arrived at Bole International Airport in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on Sunday.
It is no shame to be poor but then it is no great honour other. But when poverty becomes a life-time career of not just a few but of the overwhelming, there is very good reason to be ashamed. When poverty of ideas in an affliction of not just one country but a whole continent, one century after another; there is cause for a no-holds barred scrutiny.
“Zimbabwe is the jewel of Africa, look after it!” the late Mwalimu Julius Nyerere, president of Tanzania, told Robert Mugabe in 1980.
Nyerere was right, Zimbabwe had a robust economic infrastructure, well-educated population and a wealth of natural resources and great potential to become the South Korea of Africa. Mugabe and his Zanu PF cronies decided to impose a de facto one-party dictatorship to feed their insatiable appetite for power and wealth setting the country on the path of economic ruin and oppression. Zimbabwe has become the North Korea of Africa; a Banana Republic in which millions have been condemned to a life of economic poverty devoid of hope and human dignity!
Jack Ma and the Alibaba Foundation would be disheartened to know that even the country’s main referral hospitals like Parerenyatwa and Mpilo Hospital are is such a sorry state there are no doctors, no nurses, no basic medicine, no equipment. It is common for the hospital to have no clean running water. And yet the ruling elite live in palatial mansions, have vast business empires and that billions of dollars a month are wasted bankrolling their extravagant lifestyles.
Zimbabwe’s poverty is a man-made problem; Zanu PF thugs created the economic and political mess and we, the people, have allowed them to do as they pleased. In the last 40 years, the nation has had been many opportunities to end the Zanu PF dictatorship but wasted them all.
In the long run, nations get the government they deserve and we, in Zimbabwe, certainly deserve this corrupt, vote rigging and tyrannical Zanu PF dictatorship complete with its entourage of corrupt and incompetent opposition parties, all 130 of them.
What good will this state of the art corona virus equipment be to a hospital with no clean running water much less power supply!
“The people of Zimbabwe have had many opportunities, notably during the 2008 to 2013 GNU, to end the Zanu PF dictatorship but have wasted them all. The corona virus outbreak has brought to fore the nation's folly in having tolerated the curse of rigged elections and bad governance these last 40 years and counting. For we can be certain that Zanu PF blame everyone else the suffering and deaths caused by corona virus and do anything to consolidate its own strangle hold on power.”
There is no denying that the people of Zimbabwe have had many opportunities to end the Zanu PF dictatorship but wasted them all. I blame the educated Zimbabweans who should have known the importance of democratic accountability as the foundation of good governance. They should have stopped Mugabe imposing the de facto one-party state but decided to do nothing, at best, and at worst join the dictatorship.
Mugabe and now Mnangagwa has never had any problem recruiting Zimbabwe intellectuals to work and prop up the dictatorship. Be it in the private sector, as ZESA Engineers, Judges and senior civil servants right up to members of the President’s Advisor Council and Ministers. Those in the private sector have been careful never to say anything critical of the regime. As senior civil servants much more ministers, they have played their role portraying the regime as a democratic one knowing fully well that it was not.
Morgan Tsvangirai and his MDC friends forgot about implementing the reforms for five years during the 2008 to 2013 GNU. Mugabe bribe the lot with the trappings of high office and not even the SADC leaders’ nagging on reform could get the banded mongoose to barge.
It is shocking that even now with the benefit of hindsight, these are still a number of Zimbabweans who still have no clue what the GNU was about!
Zimbabwe has had more than her fair share of dim-wits and sell-outs, the country would not be up to her eyes in this mess otherwise. Yes, one hopes that the catastrophe brought about by corona virus will force some Zimbabweans to finally open their eyes and fight for a democratic and accountable government. Let’s hope!
@ Bajila
“Wash your hands with alcohol-based sanitizers as frequently as possible. Avoid touching your face. Practice social distancing by leaving a meter in between yourself and the next person. The easiest way to achieve all this is to assume that you already have the virus and then live as if you don’t want to spread it to anyone else.”
This is all very sound advice but how practical is it in a third world country like Zimbabwe were 90% are unemployed and have to go out everyday or go hungry. There is no clean running water to wash one’s hands regularly. When four or more people live in a three-roomed house it is near impossible for anyone suspected of having the corona virus to be isolated! The situation is even worse in the rural areas.
Now that the virus is in the country, there is no doubt that we are in serious trouble! We need a competent government and not this s***t; Mnangagwa’s Preparedness Plan is not even worth the paper it is written on.
We have allowed ourselves to be governed by a corrupt, incompetent and tyrannical regime for 40 years and now we are paying dearly for a folly! It is nonsensical to keep up this pretence that Zanu PF will lead us out of this mess! Get real!
President Emmerson Mnangagwa has just addressed the nation on the Coronavirus following the death of Zororo Makamba today.
He has introduced a number of measures. Borders have been closed, no one is allowed to leave the country except for those returning to Zimbabwe.
Mnangagwa promised to hold free, fair and credible elections; he did not honour his promise but that did not stop him claiming to this day that the elections were free, fair and credible. For the last two months he has promised to stop the spread of corona virus in Zimbabwe; he has failed to do so.
The regime has confirmed two cases of corona virus so far but it turns out it has only tested 16 people to date. The two individuals have been in the country for 10 and 7 days respectively and the number of people they were in conduct with in the period will certainly be a lot more than 16! So the claim that there are only two corona virus cases in the country is meaningless since it is based on ignorance!
Mnangagwa has already failed to stop the spread of corona virus in the country but, as usual, he will never admit it. The regime is now engage is an exercise to under- report the number of corona virus cases which will only make the bad situation worse!
“Where there is leadership vacuum, we step in to provide vision and direction. No time is spared for detractors and failures,” boasted Chamisa.
“We have dispatched a team that shall work with all Councils to cage the pandemic, give medication to patients, educate our people and update nation at all times.”
It is now certain that corona virus is spreading in Zimbabwe, one has to ask why MDC has waited until now to dispatch its team and provided “vision and direction”.
Chamisa announced his dream team of lawyers to handle his challenge of the July 2018 elections in the ConCourt with the same no nonsense and arrogancy. The team made complete fools of themselves, they asked the judges to declare Chamisa the winner on the grounds he had polled 2.6 million votes to Mnangagwa’s 2.4 million, for example, but failed to produce the supporting V11 forms to back their claim!
Chamisa and his fellow MDC friends failed to implement even one democratic reform during the 2008 to 2013 GNU. We would not be in this mess if they had done so! MDC providing visionary leadership – yeah right!
Zimbabwe ranked third least happy country in the world.
Hold elections and Zanu PF will once again win with another landslide; thanks to the regime's blatant vote rigging! No wonder Zimbabweans are unhappy, after 40 years of being cheated, the are sick and tired of it!
Zimbabwean human rights defender and founder of Female Prisoners Support Trust Rita Nyampinga who was recently recognised as one of 12 International Woman of Courage (IWOC) Award winners for 2020 by the United States of America government has come out trailblazing at how the elite in Zimbabwe have been ignoring the decaying public health system until it was exposed when Zororo Makamba died of Coronavirus complications at Wilkins Hospital on Monday
Yesterday the world curved in and exposed the elite to conditions the Zimbabwean Majority are exposed to everyday.
We walk into those cold corridors with tears on our cheeks day in and day out. It’s a wake-up call to all sundry that COVID-19 can humble you and be equal.
Thank you very much Rita; you have hit the nail on the head. Zimbabwe is in a real economic and political mess because the nation has been stuck with a corrupt, incompetent, vote rigging and tyrannical regime for 40 years. And it is the country’s elite, above all else, who have allowed this sorry state of affairs to exist.
Indeed, the likes of Professor Mthuli Ncube, Minister Coventry, the 24 President Advisory Council members, etc. have turned a blind eye to the fact that Zanu PF blatantly rigged the elections to work for the illegitimate regime. Nelson Chamisa and his MDC sold-out big time in failing to get even one democratic reform implemented during the 2008 GNU. Ever since, they have been participating in flawed and illegal elections giving the process and result some modicum of credibility and legitimacy.
Zimbabwe has a sizable number of intellectuals but, sadly, a big chunk of them are either dim-wits or, worse, sell-out.
One only hopes that the tragic suffering and deaths brought about by this corona virus outbreak because of the breath taking incompetence of both Zanu PF and MDC officials will force Zimbabweans to finally open their eyes and do something to end the curse of bad governance!
Zororo Makamba shared photo of his Wilkins Hospital showing how poorly equipped it is.
There is no doubt that more Zimbabweans will suffer and many will die unnecessarily because of the sheer incompetence of this Zanu PF regime. How many times has the nation been told the nation was ready to stop corona virus and to deal with an outbreak. Now it turns out the so-called specialist hospital, Wilkins, does not even have one ventilator, monitor, no oxygen, no running water, a bucket seat toilet and, no doubt, no protective clothing for the staff.
Zimbabweans must remember that Nelson Chamisa did visit Wilkins Hospital last week and assured us everything was fine!
Corona virus is causing a lot of suffering and many people have died in developed countries like Italy, UK, USA, etc. The suffering and deaths will be that much worse in third world countries like Zimbabwe because we will not have strong health institutions to deal with the outbreak and the economic muscle to ensure health care workers have all the equipment they need.
In Zimbabwe things will be that much worse because of the sheer incompetence of the country's leaders. Even simple things like washing one's hands often are not happening because there is no clean running water! To hide their incompetence both Zanu PF and MDC will suppress information and so no tests will be carried out of suspected corona virus cases, for example, which will only make matters worse as the infected will continue to spread the virus.
Corona virus will claim many lives in Zimbabwe but it has to thank ignorance for doing all the preparatory ground work of making sure the country had no economic muscle to fight the virus, no functional health care service and most critical of all no competent leaders. And so it is right to say ignorance is the greatest curse for Zimbabwe.
@ Tawanda Makamba
His doctor made it clear earlier on that he had to be on a ventilator because he could not breathe. However, when we got at Wilkins Hospital there was no ventilator, no medication and even the oxygen would run out and they had to get it from the City of Harare.
After that we ran around to find a ventilator for him and we managed to get a portable ventilator from a family friend who had a relative who used the ventilator before he died.
In terms of medicine you need to breathe, they didn’t have it there, we had to go and buy it in South Africa. We ended up finding some today (yesterday) just as he was passing away at a local pharmacy, yet the hospital was telling us it was not locally available.
We then brought the ventilator on Sunday by 2pm and when we got here, because the portable ventilator had an American plug, they told us to get an adapter because they only had round sockets at the hospital. I then rushed to buy an adapter and came back and they never used it and when I asked why they were not using the ventilator they said they had no sockets in his room.
So they didn’t have medication, ventilators and we brought them a ventilator and they didn’t have sockets in his room. I told them that I had an extension cord and pleaded with them to use the cord, but they refused.
They forced us to come here, but failed to deliver on their promise. When Zororo had his operation, he had it at Health Point Clinic. I contacted the people at Health Point and asked if they were willing to take Zororo in and they said yes and that they had already set up a facility to accommodate him.
We then appealed to Health minister Obadiah Moyo that since you are not prepared at Wilkins Hospital can we take him to Health Point and he refused.
The sheer incompetence shown here by the medical staff and the government authorities proves beyond all reasonable doubt that Zimbabwe is in no position to stop the spread of corona virus. The virus is spreading and killing people and the regime, scarred of exposing its incompetence, is not going to test many of the suspected cases and will not reveal the correct result of the few tested.
One of the tools for fighting the spread of corona virus is “Test, test, test!” argued WHO. Zanu PF is not going to use this tool because it does not want the world to know how widespread the virus is in the Zimbabwe, proof of just how inapt the regime is at handling the virus!
The Zimbabwe Professional Nurses Union have urged citizens to join the fight against Covid-19 and stop the blame game in times of crisis.
In a statement the union said as Zimbabwe professional nurse's union, they would like to accentuate the positive and appreciate the measures that were put in place by Government in preventing the spread of coronavirus such as: ban of public gatherings including, weddings, churches, and all events that bring people together.
The corona virus is spread in the country and this Zanu PF is failing the nation by failing to carryout tests on all suspected cases, failing to supply all health care workers with the right protective clothing and equipment, etc. Many hospitals and clinics across the land do not even have running clean water, for Pete’s sake.
If this so called “Zimbabwe Professional Nurses Union” had anyone with half a brain then the Union would be up in arms demanding that all suspected corona virus cases must be tested and that all health care staff must be issued with the right protective clothing.
The nation has just learned from the tragic events around the late Zororo Makamba’s stay in Wilkins Hospital and his death of how wilfully ill prepared the nation is to stop the spread of corona virus. There is clearly nothing positive to sing about here!
“When we learnt of Zororo’s condition we called in the health people on Sunday and my two staff members were tested and ordered to self-isolate at home. The tests were negative, but we are not taking any chances and so they will be re-tested before they return to work at the end of the 21-day period,” Charamba said.
Makamba is also understood to have interacted with Ncube’s PA.
It is interesting to note Charamba has his staff tested and will be re-tested quick smart and yet the regime will not be as diligent regarding everyone else. Until last week only 16 people had been tested.
No doubt if Charamba or any of the other Zanu PF ruling elite were to test positive of corona virus we can be certain of one thing – none of them will be given Zororo Makamba’s bed. They will have the usual five-star treatment whilst every effort is made to have them shipped out of the country – the list of countries willing to take them even for the king’s ransom price is now short!
"As of today, the number of COVID-19 confirmed cases in the country is now three," an update from the ministry read
"… today an adult, pregnant woman presented at Masvingo Provincial Hospital with a history of dry cough, shortness of breath, chest pains but no fever.
"she had a history of having travelled to South Africa on the 28th of February 2020 and returned home on the 7th of March 2020.
"The Rapid Results Team went to assist her and advised that she be put under self-isolation at home."
In a country where the average household has five individuals sharing a three-roomed house – how does self-isolation work?
If what we saw at Wilkins Hospital is the regime’s “preparedness plan” then God help us! Corona virus is spreading like a grass fire and we do not know about it but only because the regime is not carrying out all the tests!
President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Monday abandoned his Munhumutapa government offices for State House after it emerged Makamba has visited the offices this past week.
How typical! He would have moved his office to Dubai or some such place if he could!
ZIMBABWE Revenue Authority (ZIMRA) employees stationed at the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport have downed tools.
They are angered by government’s failure to test them for coronavirus after coming into contact with the now late Zororo Makamba on his arrival from the US recently.
The strike is with immediate effect.
In a letter to ZIMRA commissioner general Faith Mazani, the Zimbabwe Revenue and Allied Workers Trade Union (ZIMRATU) secretary general Lovemore Ngwarati, said there were no measures in place to ensure the safety of the workers at the country’s main airport.
It is unbelievable that as of 20 March 2018 only 16 people had been tested for corona virus. And yet all along, we were told the government had a preparedness plan and will stop the spread of corona virus. The regime did not have proper protective equipment for frontline workers like health and immigration workers.
There is no doubt that the reported cases of corona virus cases are but a drop in the ocean and so the virus is spreading in the country like a wild fire.
A Harare man has collapsed and died, triggering fears the deadly Coronavirus could be spreading rapidly….
The Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Dr David Musabayana received the consignment of 5,4 million masks, 1 084 800 detection kits, 40 010 medical disposable protective clothing and 60 thousand face shields at the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport this Tuesday.
"We would like to appreciate the gesture from Jack Ma and the Ethiopian Government for taking it upon themselves to distribute this equipment accordingly. It has come at a time where Zimbabwe needs all the necessary assistance following the coronavirus outbreak," he said.
The donation will go a long way in the fight to stop the spread of the virus, if the equipment is put to go use – a big IF knowing this is a regime known for being wasteful. We have all heard of cases in which tonnes of expired medical supplies thrown away because the regime failed to get the stuff to the front line hospitals and clinics. It will be a first if all this kit was put to good use!
Related to the above measures, Government, through the Bank has suspended the managed floating exchange rate system to provide tor greater certainty in Ube pricing at goods and services in the economy. In its place the Bank has, with immediate effect adopted a fixed exchange rate system at the current interbank level of ZW$25 to the USS This measure will be reviewed when markets stabilise from the effects of COVID-19.
Here we go again! Those with the economic muscle will insist on the 25:1 ZW$:US$ exchange rate in paying their workers in ZW$, for example, and yet insist in being paid in US$ which they will then sell on the black market at a much higher exchange rate.
The black market rate of exchange will always lag the office exchange rate particularly given the certainty the regime will print more ZW$!
Allowing the use of US$ is an improvement to the present system where the latter was in use but illegally.
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