There is one thing to
be said about Zimbabweans, we are a naïve and gullible lot! Nowhere is this
naivety more obvious that in the nation’s collective belief that Zanu PF’s
imposed lockdown would make the corona virus disappear! The price of our
naivety has never been higher than it is now!
Mnangagwa and his Zanu
PF cronies are corrupt, incompetent, vote rigging and murderous thugs, after 40
years of misrule and the country in economic ruins and political paralysis one
would have thought there will be no Zimbabwean out there who still doubts Zanu
PF is a curse to the nation.
When the details of
the seriousness of the corona virus start to spread in the first few week of
January 2020 and how easily the virus could find its way into Zimbabwe; this
should have helped focus all Zimbabwean minds on the critical importance of the
country having a competent government. The last thing any nation would ever
wish for is to have a corrupt and incompetent government during a crisis and
corona virus was the mother of all crisis!
Throughout January,
February and March, Mnangagwa repeatedly assured the nation that Zimbabwe was
ready to deal with the corona virus threat. The blundering incompetence with
which the regime handled the late Zororo Makamba, may his soul rest in peace,
said it all!
Zororo Makamba had all
the usual symptoms of corona virus infection and the immigration officials had
rightly detained him. Mr Makamba phoned his high ranking Zanu PF connections,
an everyday occurrence in a country were corrupt is the norm, and Wala! he was
allowed to go.
Of course, everyone
knew just how contagious and dangerous corona virus is. In China, where the
first outbreak had occurred, it was known that an infected person could pass
the virus to two other a day. The three on start of the second day will become
nine at the end of the day. By the end of the first week the one infected
person has turned into 2 187. Give it another week the number swells to 4 782
969!
What makes corona virus so dangerous is that there is no vaccine
and no cure. About 10% of the infected suffer from excruciating pains and have
breathing difficulties requiring hospitalisation - overwhelming the health care
services. About 1% of the infected die.
In Zimbabwe our health care services has already all but
collapsed before the added burden brought on by the corona virus, thanks to the
four decades of Zanu PF misrule. Without the medical help, even more people
will die and the death toll could soar to 10% plus!
So, knowing just how deadly corona virus is, how was it possible
that anyone, much less one in a position of power and authority could let the
late Zororo Makamba go free knowing he had the virus? Worse still, why has
President Mnangagwa failed to institute a full investigation into the matter
and have all those responsible so such a serious dereliction of duty held to
account? He has never lifted a finger!
Zororo Makamba and his family were shocked to see how ill
prepared the nation was for the corona virus when he was admitted in Wilkins
Hospital a few days after his release by immigration officials. Mnangagwa and
the country’s opposition leader, Nelson Chamisa, had assured the nation the
hospital was ready to treat corona virus patients. “So, encouraged by the
preparedness!” Chamisa twittered.
Zororo was offered a bed, a bucket for a toilet and in attendance
health workers with no protective clothing. There was no medicine to ease his
pain, in running water in the tapes next to the bucket toilet, no ventilator,
no monitors, etc. Once again no one was held to account for all the lies about
the nation being prepared to deal with virus!
The decision to impose a nationwide lockdown on the basis of 10
confirmed corona virus cases has to be the most idiotic decision this idiotic
Zanu PF regime has ever made! Surely it would have made more sense to trace all
the 10 cases and their contacts and make sure they are isolated.
During the first 21-day lockdown this government has done little
to test, trace, isolate and treat all those who are infected with the virus.
This Zanu PF regime was more interested in enforcing the lockdown, flexing its
tyrannical muscle, than in eliminating the virus.
No doubt the regime believed the virus will disappear completely
after 21-days! Since it did happen, President Mnangagwa, in his infantile
wisdom, has extended the lockdown by another 14 days – cocksure the virus will
finally disappear!
Mnangagwa and his Zanu PF cronies are corrupt and incompetent,
God only knows we should all know this by now. It is totally irresponsible for
us to let such buffoons govern especially during a time when the nation’s very
existence is at stake. On its own, corona virus is set to cause the death of 1%
on the population but given the assistance of a blundering regime many, many
more, will die, as much as 10%!
By demanding democratic change and good governance Zimbabweans
will save the country from the curse of bad governance, curse of Zanu PF
dictatorship, and save hundreds of thousands of lives. Indeed, the life you
save may well be your own!
“And so, my fellow Zimbabweans: ask not what your country can
do for you—ask what you can do to save your country from peril and, in doing
so, save your own life!” to paraphrase USA President JF Kennedy.
China has been warned that Africa would retaliate inhumane treatment being meted out on its people in different Chinese cities.
ReplyDeleteAfrican diplomats have threatened to shut down their consulates after it was evident that China no longer welcomes Africans into its major cities such as Guangdong Province, Beijing and others.
China has propped up many of Africa's despotic rulers including Robert Mugabe and his successor, Mnangagwa.
The people of Zimbabwe have never taken the responsibility of making sure the country had a competent and accountable government with the seriousness the matter demands. The nation has had many opportunities to end the Zanu PF dictatorship but has wasted them all. Nations get the government they deserve and we certainly deserve this Zanu PF government complete with its entourage of equally corrupt, incompetent and utterly useless opposition parties.
ReplyDeleteThe nation has paid dearly for its folly of having the corrupt, incompetent and vote rigging Zanu PF thugs in power all these last 40 years. The economy is in ruins and the regime has murdered over 30 000 innocent Zimbabweans in cold blood for selfish political ends. I totally agree, having the corrupt and incompetent Zanu PF in office throughout the corona virus outbreak is a foolish idea because every blunder by the regime is going to cost more human lives.
Zimbabwe’s total lockdown was imposed without first collecting data and with no careful thought on what was to be achieved and how. I totally agree what Mnangagwa is doing here is what he knows best – blundering from pillar to post. What these five weeks of total lockdown will do is disrupt economic activity making the nation even poorer that ever without reducing the number of corona virus infections significantly, if at all.
ReplyDeleteThe lockdown is softening the people’s resistance to corona virus. So far most of the virus’ victims were old or had an existing medical condition making them more vulnerable. Mnangagwa has condemned many more Zimbabweans to increased poverty and hunger, making them equally vulnerable to corona virus, with his ill-advised lockdown.
Instead of the lockdown being a tool for slowing down the spread of the virus, in Mnangagwa’s blundering hands, lockdown is crippling the people rendering them helpless to fight off the virus!
There is overwhelming evidence that Mnangagwa has no clue what he is doing and that his blundering is making things worse. The writing is on the wall: Zimbabweans must demand good governance now because failure to do is to condemn the nation and hundreds of thousands to death.
Zimbabweans are masters of their own destiny. They are in this political and economic mess, the consequence of 40 years of Zanu PF misrule, not because they were helpless to end the dictatorship. The nation had many golden opportunities to end the dictatorship but wasted them all.
We are politically helpless because we choose to be helpless! The price for such foolishness has just gone up, there is going to be suffering, gnashing of teeth and many lives lost; some to corona virus but many more to foolishness.
Mzembi made the remarks in his independence day speech to the people of Zimbabwe.
ReplyDelete"Forty years after Independence, a sure journey in the wilderness, we should be bold enough to ask those failing to govern us to step down and allow a fresh start." Mzembi said. "They too should be mature and patriotic enough to accept failure and do the honourable thing , resign enmasse and give Zimbabweans a reset and a new beginning, otherwise Canaan remains a mirage.
"I re-enforce on behalf of the people, that Zimbabwe cannot bear the burden of waiting until 2023 for the inevitable, another disputed election. The people want change NOW!"
The former Minister further drew a charge sheet of the crimes that the government of ZANU PF has allegedly committed.
Cognisant of the above I outline below the people's grievances which if unresolved will galvanise our nation into rolling mass action sure to shake the establishment well before 2023. Our people are deeply saddened and appalled by:
♦ Failure by the President and his government to UNITE the country. Forty years on, Zimbabwe is more polarised than ever before. Governing without the people's legitimate consent translates to raping the peoples will. Elections have become a mere routine characterised by patronage and command voting. The governing political actors use state institutions to deny the people their choice of leaders. The conflation of party and State makes it impossible for political parties to compete fairly for the people's mandate. The use of the police and the military to create an environment of fear, weaponising food and poverty to impose unpopular leaders on the people has created disharmony in the nation.
♦ A growing sense and culture of entitlement by a liberation class turned rogue. No one eats, works, acquires land or mineral rights, business leases or votes ahead of this class which has started preparing its children and grandchildren to succeed it. The liberators have become the new oppressors, the question in the people's minds is ‘who will liberate us from the liberators?'
♦ The morphing of Zimbabwe into a military state and shredding of our Constitution. Post independence politics has always led the gun, the November 2017 coup turned this model on its head and entrenched a military dictatorship over civilian life and functionalities.
♦ Widening and Unequal Development and Access to our Natural Resources including land, water, mineral rights, and empowerment opportunity.
♦ Deliberate Disenfranchisement of the Diaspora and other voting groups in the country.
As the People's Party President, I propose a reset of our situation embodied by the three (3) Rs: Reconciliation, Redemption & Renewal.
Walter Mzembi, Joice Mujuru, Professor Jonathan Moyo, etc. who now readily acknowledge that Zanu PF is a party of corrupt, incompetent thugs who have remained in power all these years only because they rigged elections. They see these things now because they were booted out of the party, whilst they were still in the party they never ever said any of these things. Indeed, they not only denied these things but played their part in getting the party’s critics punished!
MDC leaders have themselves shown the same weakness; the people risked life and limb to elect them into office on the understanding they would implement the democratic changes the nation has been dying for. When Morgan Tsvangirai and his MDC friends got into power they forgot about the reforms!
One can only hope that Zimbabweans have finally woken up to the reality of corrupt, incompetent sell-outs like Walter Mzembi and are diligent enough never again to elect such individuals into power. It will be insane to elect someone like Walter Mzembi AGAIN because once back in power, he will once again see nothing wrong with corrupt, incompetent ant tyrannical rule!
We have all known that if there was going to be corona virus infection in Zimbabwe it will have to be brought in from outside. Our immigration officials at all are points of entry were briefed on what to lookout for and detain all those suspected of having corona virus. It is therefore unforgivable that Zororo Makamba was allowed into the country although it was clear he had the dreaded corona virus.
ReplyDeleteThe very fact that all Zororo Makamba was offered a bed and a bucket toilet when he was admitted to Wilkins Hospital when the nation had been told that this hospital was ready to treat corona virus patients is yet another blunder proving this government is corrupt, incompetent and not up to the task of governing this nation.
It must be remember here that Mnangagwa and his Zanu PF cronies rigged the 2018 elections, just as they had done since 1980, and imposed themselves on the nation. Zanu PF does not have the democratic mandate of the people of Zimbabwe to govern this land, much less to drag us all into this hell-on-earth.
Corona virus has wrecked havoc across the globe but the depth and extend of economic damage and humanitarian suffering and deaths will be worse in those countries that were in a mess before the pandemic and/or are governed by buffoons. Zimbabwe was in a real mess before the pandemic and it is governed by buffoons.
The age of rulers exercising absolute power and accountable to no mortal has long gone. We are in this mess because for the last 40 years we have allowed buffoons ride roughshod over our freedoms and rights including our right to hold them to account. Now with the stake sky high, with human suffering and deaths of Biblical proportions, it will be insane to let an unelected-buffoons make the pandemic situation even worse than it is.
The greatest challenge of this generation is to make sure the nation does everything in its power to reduce the suffering and deaths of our people during this corona virus outbreak and beyond. The number one task in on this list must be ensuring the country has a competent and accountable government a.s.a.p.