"Did you know? Govt spent an unbudgeted $4 million on
hapless anti-sanctions march but they won't spend any money on buying #Covid19
tests. They're putting lives at risk & creating a situation where many may
have #Corona Virus but there's no infrastructure to test them," Fadzayi Mahere
said via Twitter.
Zimbabweans have had many chances, the best chances being during
the 2008 GNU, to end the Zanu PF dictatorship and have wasted them all. The
nation has paid dearly for the 40 years plus of corrupt, incompetent and tyrannical
Zanu PF rule and, with this corona virus outbreak, the price is shoot through
into the stratosphere!
Zimbabweans will now have the time to reflect on all the wasted
opportunities to end the Zanu PF dictatorship particularly on MDC leaders’
selling out during the 2008 GNU when they failed to implement even one reform
in five years.
The situation could have been saved if the sell-out opposition
opportunists, Mahere included, had not participated in the flawed and illegal
July 2018 elections. The village idiots participated in the elections even when
Zanu PF failed to produce even something as basic as a verified voters’ roll!
It is rich for the village idiots like Mahere to now be telling us
the troubles we are in with this Zanu PF regime when it was their greed that
gave the elections and regime some modicum of credibility! The village idiots
knew that by participating with no reforms, they will be giving the flawed
process credibility as David Coltart, MDC A Senator and Treasurer admitted.
“The electoral process was so flawed, so illegal, that the only logical step was to withdraw, which would compel SADC to hold Zanu PF to account. But such was the distrust between the MDC-T and MDC-N that neither could withdraw for fear that the other would remain in the elections, winning seats and giving the process credibility.”
A number of the MDC factions reconciled and formed the MDC
Alliance before the July 2018 and still they participated in that plebiscite knowing
fully well that not even one had been implemented since the rigged 2013
elections for the same reason – greed.
Mahere and her fellow MDC A colleagues, she joined the party
soon after the July 2018 elections, have been calling for reforms to be
implemented but have refused to rule out participating in the 2023 plebiscite
even if no meaningful reforms are implemented.
The one reform Zanu PF is certain to implement is creating the constitutionally
recognised opposition leader and shadow cabinet complete with the ministerial
salaries, limos, the full works. Zanu PF knows that Mahere and her colleagues
in the opposition camp will find this sweetened bait irresistible. Their eyes
glaze over just at the thought of driving around in the super comfort of a
ministerial limo – at long last! And long may it last too!
MDC leaders have had the best chances to implement the democratic
reforms and end the Zanu PF dictatorship; they have been on the political stage
for 20 years and have nothing to show for it. MDC and all those who have
participated in flawed and illegal elections have completely abandon the common
cause of implementing the reforms to ensure free, fair and credible elections -
the pre-requisite for competent and accountable government. They have accepted
the status quo of Zanu PF rigging the elections as long as they get a share of
the spoils of power.
If Zimbabwe is to finally achieve the objective of implementing
the reforms and ending the curse of rigged elections and bad governance then
Zimbabweans must finally accept the reality that people like Chamisa, Mahere,
etc. will never implement the reforms. Never ever! We need to find competent
and focused men and women to do so.
Eight people have died in Gwanda South District in Matabeleland South since February this year from what villagers describe as a strange disease which Ministry of Health insists to be a malaria outbreak
ReplyDeleteAbout 60 cases have been recorded so far.
Speaking in a media interview, Matabeleland South Provincial Medical Director (PMD) Dr Rudo Chikodzere allayed fears insisting that the death were not caused by the deadly pandemic.
“Yes I can confirm having received 58 cases of malaria related symptoms.
Out of the 58 cases there are 8 deaths.
This is just nonsense. Zimbabwe has tested a total 371 samples for corona virus country wide. It is clear that Zimbabwe has not been testing all who die of the virus because even Mat South alone has had more deaths than 371 in the last two months alone.
Even if the deceased tested positive for malaria that is no proof they did not have covid-19 too!
The tragedy is Zimbabwe has not been testing for covid-19 as aggressively as it should, with 11 confirmed cases of covid-19 in the country we should be testing 1 000 per day at least! Covid-19 is spreading in Zimbabwe and the regime is just farting around wasting time! We are in deep, deep trouble!
“We’re going to put a hold on money spent to the W.H.O. We’re going to put a very powerful hold on it and we’re going to see,” Mr. Trump said during the daily coronavirus briefing at the White House, accusing the organization of having not been aggressive enough in confronting the virus. “They called it wrong. They call it wrong. They really, they missed the call.”
ReplyDeleteIn effect, Mr. Trump sought to denounce the W.H.O. for the very missteps and failures that have been leveled at him and his administration. Public health experts have said the president’s public denials of the virus’s dangers slowed the American response, which included delayed testing and a failure to stockpile protective gear.
President Trump can blame WHO all he wants but the world will know the truth on this matter!
109 out of the 111 MDC MPs and senators have chosen to remain in the Chamisa faction!
ReplyDeleteThe MDC has been weak and ineffective ever since the party was launched in 1999 but the Supreme Court judgement has delivered the coup de grace. It is no exaggeration to say MDC is now so divided it is useless. The party members are now so engrossed in this mess they cannot think of anything else - not even the immediate danger of covid-19!
"This document shows that Zimbabwe only had 500 Coronavirus testing kits, 100 are left. The 20 000 kits from Jack Ma were not working." Chin'ono said. "Why can't government buy test kits like what other governments are doing? I did a video last week of January saying they should buy, now it's April.”
ReplyDeleteSo, since the outbreak of the corona virus all Zimbabwe had was 500 test kits donated by WHO? No wonder the country has only done 371 tests as of 2 April 2020!
Mnangagwa allocated US$4.5 million to Thokozani Khupe and her POLAD friend for their anti-sanctions activities but failed to buy even one addition covid-19 test kit. Given Zimbabwe’s health service has all but completely collapsed and with the economy in total meltdown there is no chance of rebooting it; the only real hope for containing the virus was in extensive testing to stop the virus spreading.
With 11 confirmed cases the country should now be doing as many as 1 000 tests per day. When there only 100 tests kits left, it is easy to see why the country is doing only a handful of tests per day!
Zimbabweans has one of the most corrupt and incompetent government in the world and it is during trying times like this corona virus crisis that such a government’s incompetence comes to the fore with disastrous consequences. Zimbabweans had many opportunities to end the Zanu PF dictatorship, notably during 2008 GNU, but wasted them all. The nation has paid dearly for the failure but, with corona virus, the price has now soared into the stratosphere!
The nightmare is well and truly upon us now! The deceased was 79 years old, had been to a retirement home and there have been no follow-up test, disinfections, etc.!
ReplyDeleteIt turns out the country has only got 100 test kits out of 500 it received from WHO left and the reason it has not been carrying out any test.
How ironic that the regime was spending $23 million and $13 million refitting the national stadium and Bouberfield stadium and not a single dollar on covid-19 test kits. Minister Kirsty Coventry was even boosting about the stadia jobs! The sheer incompetence of this government is going to cost this nations hundreds of thousands of human lives if not millions!
The UK is committed to fighting COVID19 not only at home in the UK but across the world. So far the UK has pledged £544 million to support vaccine and treatments research, protecting fragile economies and helping organisations like the World Health Organisation (WHO) and UNICEF to slow the spread of the disease.
ReplyDeleteHere in Zimbabwe, the Department for International Development (DFID) is supporting partners UNICEF, WHO, UNDP and WFP with £35.4 million (US$43.6 million) by providing medical supplies, infection prevention and control, broadcast messaging, child support, psycho-social support for front-line workers, WASH facilities and humanitarian aid to help mitigate the crisis on the poorest and most vulnerable across the country.
As much as the donors would want to help it must be disheartening that a country like Zimbabwe, given the country’s wealth and potential, should be in such a sorry state that it not only needs donor assistance to procure ventilators, monitors and all the other corona virus specialist equipment and medical expertise; it also needs donor help to supply something as basic as clean water!
The only notable thing the country has done in the last 40 years since independence is build palatial mansions for the ruling elite and bankroll their extravagant lifestyles whilst even referral hospitals like Parerenyatwa were allowed to rot and decay.
“We urge all actors to abide by the humanitarian principles of humanity, impartiality, neutrality and independence!” It is all very well for the UK and other donors to say this but if Zanu PF had upheld the valued pronounced in the UN Charter, Zimbabwe would not be in this mess.
Mnangagwa and his Zanu PF cronies have ridden roughshod over the ordinary people denying them their basic freedoms and rights including the right to a meaningful vote and even the right to life. At least some of the countries in the west have expressed their concerns against the blatant human rights violations, the UN and its various arms, UNICEF, WHO, UNDP and WFP, have all turned a blind eye.
It is no exaggeration that the ordinary Zimbabwean has often found himself fighting not just Zanu PF and its traditional Eastern Block country supporters like China and Russia but the UN too. The UN was more concerned about not upsetting the country’s ruling elite than upholding the basic freedoms and rights of the downtrodden.
The UN has served to keep the world peace and to guarantee the freedom and rights of those in the West but has failed the rest especially those of us in the developing countries. Those working for the UN must demonstrate their commitment to the organisation’s cherished values and objective and not just pay lip-service!
People like Tendai Biti have been critical of Zanu PF, Minister Mthuli Ncube has been on his cross-wire ever since his appointment, not because they want Zanu PF out of office much less to restore the people’s rights and freedoms. Biti does care a damn that elections are rigged as long as he gets a seat on the gravy train – first as MP and next as minister. He desperately wants his Minister of Finance job back!
ReplyDeleteDuring the 2008 to 2013 GNU, Biti, Chamisa and most of the top MDC leaders were ministers and enjoyed all the trappings of high office. They were not going to upset Mugabe by implementing even one reform!
Fadzayi Mahere knew that Zanu PF was rigging the July 2018 elections but she also knew the regime was giving away a few gravy train seats to entice the opposition to participate. Nothing short of shooting her dead was ever going to stop her participating in the July 2018 elections. And she will shoot you dead if you try stop her participating in the 2023 elections!
The Zimbabwe electorate has been slow in accepting that MDC have sold-out for two reasons:
a) They are slow of wit. MDC has not implemented even one reform in 20 years, even when they had the opportunity to do so, and still the penny has not dropped for people to ask why.
b) The people have a binary mentality, they have classified Zanu PF as the bad guys and MDC as the good guys. And so even thou many have grudgingly accepted that MDC leaders are corrupt, incompetent and even that they sold-out, the binary pigeon-holing means MDC leaders still end up as good guys and all the bad things are overridden.
Zanu PF learnt during the 2008 GNU that MDC leaders are quite content with the scraps and so the two have settled for the arrangement were Zanu PF rigs the elections and remain the dominant party and MDC get a share of the spoils of power.
The big loser are the ordinary Zimbabweans who are still denied their basic freedoms and rights, including the right to a meaningful say in the governance of the country and therefore a stuck with the curse of rigged elections and bad governance.
If there is ever going to be free, fair and credible elections, the first that must happen is for the people to accept that MDC leaders will never bring this about; there I totally agree with you!
Staff members of Mater Dei hospital in Bulawayo been in strict isolation since the 2nd of April after a suspected case of Coronavirus was detected at their health institution.
ReplyDeleteAlthough the government and the hospital have not publicly stated the name of the institution where the 79-year-old man who passed away on the 4th of April was admitted at, reports have indicated that he was at Mater Dei.
How many other people were infected? If the patient had been tested as soon as anyone suspected he had corona virus, how many people would have been saving from the infection. How many of our health care workers are properly kitted to handle corona virus patients?
It is laughable that Zimbabwe has more Police Offices, Soldiers and CIO who are all well paid and armed/kitted to the teeth. And yet have a critical shortage of doctors, nurses and teachers and they are poorly paid and equipped.
If our hospitals and clinics become the epicentres of the corona virus because we failed to properly and timeously test patients and to protect the few health care workers; we could end up with country wide pandemic and no health service to deal with even the most basic health needs.
To have a corrupt and incompetent government is a curse even in good times and during a crisis like this corona virus outbreak the curse escalates into a catastrophe of Biblical proportion.
Zimbabwe is urgently in need of US$130m for an operation which could stretch up to August to prevent the country's most vulnerable people from plunging deeper into hunger because of the effects of Covid-19.
ReplyDeleteA recent nationwide assessment – the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) – shows that the number of acutely food-insecure Zimbabweans has risen to 4.3-million, up from 3.8-million at the end of last year.
"With most Zimbabweans already struggling to put food on the table, the coronavirus pandemic risks even wider and deeper desperation," said Eddie Rowe, World Food Programme (WFP) country director. "We must all do our utmost to prevent this tragedy turning into a catastrophe."
Zimbabwe used to not only produce enough food to feed its people but had plenty leftover to be the breadbasket of the region. Everything changed since Zanu PF instituted its land redistribution programme starting in 2000. The programme has turned out to be a complete failure and Zimbabweans must hold the party to account, particularly since the party loyalists are the new owners of most of the farms and they are using them as another conduit to loot.
Zimbabwe must now wake up to the reality that it is their responsibility to remove this corrupt, incompetent and tyrannical Zanu PF dictatorship. They have paid dearly for having failed to remove the dictatorship all these last 40 years and now, the corona virus crisis, the price of their folly has skyrocketed.
Make no mistake about it; Fadzayi Mahere KNEW that Zanu PF rigged elections and had reduced the people, especially those in the rural areas into nothing but serfs beholden to the overbearing Zanu PF landlords. She knew that Zanu PF was going to rig the 2018 elections since no meaningful reforms were implemented since the 2013 rigged elections. She also KNEW that Zanu Pf will be giving away a few gravy train seats, especially in the urban centres, to entice the opposition to participate in the elections regardless how flawed and illegal the process happened to be.
ReplyDeleteFadzayi decided to contest the Mount Pleasant, Harare, an urban seat. The girl was fired up, one can only compared her to Grace Mugabe in her "baby dumping" super charged days. Nothing, absolutely nothing, short of shooting her dead was going to stop Fadzayi contesting the 2018 elections.
Fadzayi did not win the 2018 elections and quickly joined the MDC to position herself for the next elections. She has been doing her best commenting on the people's suffering just to keep her public profile. She will sell-out in the 2023 elections by once again participating just to win the scraps regardless how flawed and illegal the process and, worst of all, regardless of the tragic consequences to the nation of perpetuating the Zanu PF dictatprship.
Zanu PF knows that it does not need to implement any reforms as long as it is assured there will be many opposition candidates contesting giving the flawed process credibility. Anyone who thinks that people like Fadzayi Mahere can ever be persuaded to see the bigger picture of implementing the reforms to ensure free, fair and credible elections is naive.
There are two reasons why most Zimbabweans have failed to ask why MDC has failed to bring about even one change in 20 years:
a) They are slow witted. MDC has not implemented even one reform in 20 years, even when they had the opportunity to do so, and still the penny has not dropped for people to ask why.
b) The few who have been able to see MDC leaders for the sell-outs they have failed to overcome their binary mentality. They have classified Zanu PF as the bad guys and MDC as the good guys, and whilst they acknowledge, or be it grudgingly, that MDC leaders sold-out the pigeon-holing means all MDC leaders' wrong doings is overridden.
We learnt with great sadness the passing on of case no. 11 of confirmed COVID-19 infection in the city of Bulawayo on the 4th of April 2020. This death gives us more questions than answers regarding our seriousness and preparedness for the COVID-19 pandemic.
ReplyDeleteIn summary, this case betrays gross unpreparedness for the COVID-19 outbreak, and speed of execution is essential if we are to prevent any further unnecessary loss of life, slow down community spread and protect our valued first responders, the health workers.
We urge government to do a thorough audit of case no. 11 and learn all the lessons that can be gleaned from it.
This is just MDC doing what it does best grant standing and posturing! The party’s leader, Nelson Chamisa, visited Wilkins Hospital and gave his approval of the country’s preparedness to deal with covid-19 outbreak. Dr H Madzore, MDC A Secretary foe Health and Child Welfare, had nothing to say then.
The late Zororo Makamba was admitted into Wilkins Hospital a few days after Chamisa’s visit and the nation was shocked that the hospital was not at all prepared for corona virus patients.
If Dr Madzore had done his homework he would have soon discovered that the country had only 500 test kits donated by WHO, for example, too few the country to be carrying out the necessary tests and tracing the situation demanded. We know this already, we do not need anyone to do an audit!
MDC is responsible for the supply of clean water as the local authority. What has the party done to ensure throughout these corona virus day there is clean running water for people to wash their hands regularly? What is the point of instructing people to wash their hands when there is no water to do so? Once again, Dr Madzore has said nothing on the matter!
Covid-19 is spreading in Zimbabwe and the party in government is corrupt and incompetent to deal with the crisis and, to add insult to injury, the opposition is equally corrupt and incompetent to make sure even the most basic things are done to stop the virus running riot!
Zimbabwe needs to scrap this failed autocratic system of government and replace it with a democratic one capable of producing competent leaders in government and the opposition. Until that is done there will be more needless suffering, gnashing of teeth and countless deaths!
Zimbabwe has more Police Officers, Soldiers and CIO than medical staff, teachers and welfare staff and whilst the former is well paid and equipped the latter is not. The failure to provide PPE for medical staff means Zimbabwe is losing the few medical staff it has just as the covid-19 outbreak is gathering speed!
ReplyDeleteHealth officials here have collected specimens from the remains of a deceased Chiredzi woman,to test whether she succumbed to Covid-19 at Chiredzi District Hospital on Tuesday.
ReplyDeleteThe woman-from the sugar cane growing town-died after being admitted at the hospital for severe pneumonia leading to suspicions she had Covid-19.
We know covid-19 is spreading but because we have not been testing people, we do not know how fast and how many are already infected. We are just shooting in the dark!
“A disaster is loading in Zimbabwe. Lives are at risk. We must focus on testing and tracking. A lockdown without testing and tracking is useless.
ReplyDelete"Rwanda has tested over 1500 pple in 2 days and SA 68000 so far. Zim has “tested” 392 only over the past month. Leadership a necessity,” argued Chamisa.
Could not agree with you more, a lockdown without testing and tracking is just shooting in the dark. But Comrade Chamisa; are you not the one who said Zimbabwe was prepared for covod-19 and publicly supported the lockdown when it was announced?
Zimbabwe is going to pay dearly for the country’s lack of quality leadership in both the ruling party and the opposition. The country would not still be stuck with this corrupt and incompetent Zanu PF regime if MDC had implemented the democratic reforms when they had the golden opportunity to do so during the 2008 GNU, for example.
As we move into the cold days of winter, covid-19 will start to pick up speed. Zimbabwe is in for the toughest period in the nation's history. And it will be said that the situation was made worse by the chronic incompetence of the government of the day, both the ruling party and the opposition! Bad governance has been Zimbabwe's worst curse for the last 40 years and counting!
“More than 150,000 people have now been tested for coronavirus in the UK,” as of 4 April according to a Telegraph report. And the country is gearing to do 100 000 a day by the end of this month, April.
ReplyDeleteYes the number of people with corona virus have stretched the UK health services to breaking point but the country has thrown a lot more resources to beef it up.
Zimbabwe has only done 400 test using the 500 test kits donated by WHO. Mnangagwa allocated US$4.5 million to Thokozani Khupe and her fellow POLAD freeloaders to lobby for the lifting of sanctions but failed to buy even one covid-19 test kit. Not one!
Zimbabwe’s economy is in total meltdown its health services has all but collapsed, it is broken already before the corona virus outbreak has even started!
If you think the UK has failed to deal with corona virus wait until you see what is going to happen in Zimbabwe! Winter is only round the corner and the true horror will unfold!
“The regime has done only 394 tests to date and that is criminal negligence.
ReplyDeleteWe surely have no government and we are only surviving through the grace of God. Surely when we say this is the worst government in the world, it is a real fact,” argued Biti.
For once I agree with Biti 100% but in so far as this being the worst government in the world means both the ruling party Zanu PF and the opposition MDC are corrupt, incompetent and utterly useless! Zimbabwe is in this economic and political mess because of 40 years of Zanu PF misrule.
The nation has had many opportunities to end the Zanu PF dictatorship with the best chances being during the 2008 to 2013 GNU and MDC wasted them. Tendai Biti and company failed to implement even one reform in five years. Not one!
The former war of liberation fighters will from the month-end of April be entitled to a combined pension plus allowance of ZWL$4 800.
ReplyDeleteThe Emperor’s fighting cocks must be feed! The best grain is served to today’s cocks and yesteryear’s cocks have to be content with whatever is swept up the grain is discoloured and tastes of chicken shit. The ZWL$4 800 per month is a princely sum today (US$ 192 or US$120 at the official exchange rate of 25:1 or black-market rate 40:1) but given the country’s hyperinflation will soon be halved and halved again and again.
By the time the wage is reviewed again, usually just before the elections when yesteryear’s cocks are asked to do the party’s dirty work of harassing the electorate, it will not be worth much – enough to buy a loaf of bread and a drink!