“THE World Food Programme (WFP) says over 1,5 million Zimbabweans in the
urban areas will be food insecure this year as the country continues to suffer
the effects of the economic downturn and a crippling El Niño-induced drought,”
reported Bulawayo 24.
“Worsened by high levels of unemployment that have over the years
breached 98%, Zimbabwe's urbanites will require urgent food aid after the end
of the traditional lean season, WFP country representative Eddie Rowe said.
"Quite rightly what we are seeing is urban poverty. This is because
of high unemployment and lack of social services. All this has a direct impact
on the ability of a household to get food," Rowe said in an interview this
week.
The UN agency has already piloted a food assistance programme in
Epworth, one of the country's poorest high-density settlements, feeding over 20
000 residents.
"While we are moving into assistance, it is part of a comprehensive
intervention to address urban poverty. So what we have decided is to do a pilot
in Epworth where we are now providing a livelihood accretion of about US$9 per
person to almost 20 000 residents," Rowe said.
WFP should know that the 98% unemployed were specifically targeted by
Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube with his 2% electronic transaction charge because
they were not paying income tax. Most of the unemployed urbanites are vendors living
on US$ 30 per month or less and the Minister wanted a cut of their meagre
earnings.
Minister Ncube has, so far at least, not touch the filthy rich ruling
elite who are looting the nation blind to build their palatial mansions, to buy
their fleet of posh cars and to finance their extravagant lifestyles. The 2% tax
has provided the additional income only to pay for hired private jets and more
luxuries for the ruling elite.
If any of the growing army of Zimbabweans living in abject poverty
should ever think of going on the street to voice their poverty induced suffering
and deaths; Zanu PF will descend on them like a tonne of bricks. The message
Zanu PF has send out, with the state security services’ wanton violence including
the order of shoot to kill following the 1st August 2018 election protest and
the two weeks of fuel increase protest in January 2019, is that the regime will
not tolerate dissent.
Zanu PF rigged last year’s elections and the party is doing as it
pleases.
If the people of Zimbabwe are serious about ending their economic
suffering and about living a free, just and prosperous Zimbabwe; they must break
the vicious cycle that has alone Zanu PF to rig elections to extend its rule
for the last 38 years and counting. Zanu PF rigged last year’s elections, the
party has no mandate to govern, and must be forced to step down as the only
sure way of finally ending the party’s tyrannical rule.
Zanu PF must step down to create the political space to allow the
appointment of an interim administration tasked to implement the democratic
reforms designed to stop the vote rigging.
If Mnangagwa and his Zanu PF cronies are allowed to remain in power till
2023, then the party will rig those elections too and thus extend its rule by
yet another five years. That must not be allowed to happen!
South Africans Lack Depth in Their Justification of Violence Towards Foreigners.
ReplyDeleteOne can argue that we should be welcoming outsiders to our home. When an outsider argues that he/she be welcomed in our home, the argument does not have the same edge!
Whilst everyone is grateful to WFP for feeding the millions of Zimbabweans in the urban centres and the rural areas one cannot ignore that the UN is turning a blind eye to Zanu PF's criminal waste of resources. Is the UN aware that Zanu PF is wasting millions of dollars on palatial mansions, posh cars, hired luxury jets, etc., etc. And, worst of all, the UN is turning a blind eye to Zanu PF rigging elections and using brute force to silence the people into submission.
ReplyDeleteIt would be infinitely better if the UN stood by the downtrodden in their fight for a meaningful say in the governance of the country and not just provide the ambulance service at the bottom of the cliff to the victims of the Zanu PF dictatorship. For even the UN must admit the US$9.00 per month it is paying the poor is wilfully inadequate!
Ever since MDC leaders sold-out during the 2008 to 2013 GNU Zanu PF leaders have known that MDC leaders will sell-out again and again. Having tasted the good life of the gravy train, they were hooked for life!
ReplyDelete"Mazivanhu eMDC adzidza kudya anyerere!" (MDC people have learned to enjoy the spoils of gravy train lifestyle, they will never rock the boat!) boasted Zanu PF thugs during the GNU. They were commenting on the public concern as to why MDC leaders were not implementing any democratic reforms.
Time has proven that the Zanu PF thugs were 100% correct, MDC leaders failed to implement even one reform in five years of the GNU. Not even one!
People like Felix Mafa are complaining that Zanu PF is buying votes but this is only for the benefit of the naive and gullible MDC supporters and the public who still believe that MDC is fighting for democratic change.
Vote buying and political coercion is a much more serious problem in the rural areas when the electorate are now totally dependent on handouts and are at the mercy of the corrupt traditional leaders. Those suspected of being opposition supporters have been deny food aid and, worse still, had their properties destroyed, beaten, rape and some even murdered. The rural voters are nothing more than medieval serfs at the mercy of the all powerful landlord - Zanu PF.
MDC leaders have ignored the reality of Zanu PF blatant vote buying and vote rigging antics, regardless how flawed and illegal the process gets as long as Zanu PF leaving a few scraps for the opposition. MDC leaders are hunting with the hounds and running with the hare in the most cynical sense of that adage.
In entrusting MDC to bring about democratic change, we sent the cockroach to fetch milk!
The international community deserted MDC in droves in 2013 when it was clear they had failed to implement even one reform. The international community need to do more, they must say why they deserted MDC and publicly denounce MDC duplicity and hypocrisy. The international community should make it clear they condemned last year's elections on the basis of the flawed and illegal process and NOT just the result which is what MDC are doing.
If the sanctions were imposed on Zanu PF leaders for failing to hold free, fair and credible elections then the same sanctions should be extended to opposition leaders for participating in flawed and illegal elections.