"We are united and peace loving people" said Mnangagwa - tyrant boot on our throat. "Shaisano!" N Garikai

 Zanu PF’s ethos is that the party would rather destroy Zimbabwe, burn it down into ruins, than allow anyone else ruling the country! “Shaisano!” as one would say in Shona. 

40 years of Zanu PF gross mismanagement, rampant corruption and rank lawlessness have left the country a pariah state in economic ruins. 

“Highly secretive cartels linked to President Emmerson Mnangagwa and Vice President Constantino Chiwenga are reported to have taken over the operations of key state-owned companies, including private firms covering mining, agriculture and energy,” reported Bulawayo 24.

President Mnangagwa blames the country’s economic meltdown on “heinous sanctions”!

"Be that as it may, we cannot allow those heinous sanctions to hold us back. We have enough resources in our country; we have several nations of goodwill to partner. We must stay on course and focus on our efforts until we defeat these sanctions," said Mnangagwa, addressing mourners at the burial of the late Douglas Nyikayaramba, Zimbabwe's Ambassador to Mozambique.

"The situation is gradually improving and stabilising. Various indicators are pointing towards recovery and positive growth.

He went on to urge Zimbabweans "resist to be used as willing tools by those advancing myopic, narrow and alien agendas burnt to slow down and reverse our gains of Independence. We are a united, caring and peace loving people.”

This is really a nightmare!

1. Sanctions have become a scapegoat for the economic meltdown to draw attention away from the real causes, gross mismanagement and corruption. The country’s late dictator, Robert Mugabe, admitted in 2016 to the country being “swindled out of US$15 billion in diamond revenue”. He never arrested even one swindler nor recover one swindled dollar. Mnangagwa promised “zero tolerance on corruption” when he took over three years ago. He has not arrested any swindler nor is he going to do so ever! How can he when he and his fellow Zanu PF ruling elite are the Godfathers of corruption. 

"The cartels impact Zimbabweans in multiple ways – entrenching their patrons' hold on power, retarding democratisation, destroying service delivery for citizens and creating an uncompetitive business climate – which leaves Zimbabweans poorer, more severely under-served by their government and disempowered to hold the state to account,” as the Maverick Citizen’s damning report, ‘Cartel Power Dynamics in Zimbabwe’, aptly put it. 

Zimbabweans can see with their own eyes how the ruling elite have creamed off the nation’s wealth to become filthy rich whilst the majority sink into abject poverty and despair. Sanctions did not stop Mugabe build his sprawling US$2 billion Blue Roof mansion whilst the country’s referral like Parerenyatwa and Mpilo Hospitals had no equipment, staff and regularly ran out of something as basic as pain killers! 

2. If the heinous sanctions are indeed the root cause of the economic meltdown and government has already identified “several nations of goodwill to partner”, then why 20 years since the sanctions were imposed are they still crippling the economy? 

3. Unemployment has soared to 90%, basic services such as education and health care have been starved of funds for decades they have all but collapsed and 50% of our people are living in abject poverty. It is really infuriate to keep talking of economic “recovery and growth” when there are no such signs! 

4. For 40 years Zanu PF has rigged elections and denied the people a meaningful say in the governance of the country with the disastrous economic and political consequences we can see all round us. The party believes it has the divine right to rule and has ruthless silenced the people and even with the nation in ruins the party still maintain its tyrannical boot on the nation’s throat. 

“We are a united, caring and peace loving people.” How easily the lie rolls off your tongue! How convenient! 

"Let's work on political reforms" calls Chamisa et al - didn't profit from verified voters' roll, 1 talent don't deserve 10 more P Guramatunhu

 "Let's work on political reforms and we go to the next election. But if you are not a political actor like a political party, we support an all-stakeholders' platform, where we can have continuous discussion, but that relates to those who are not political parties. But political parties come to POLAD.”

Madhuku and all his fellow opposition leaders, including Nelson Chamisa and those who have shunned Mnangagwa’s POLAD, are just paying lip service calling for “political reforms”. 

One of the many reasons why the July 2018 elections had to be condemned long before the first ballot was cast is ZEC’s failure to produce a verified voters’ roll. 

How otherwise can one judge an election process as being free, fair and credible when one cannot verify and trace anything. Some one can be denied the vote for many reasons, for example, because they can be denied the right to register, they registered but their details were never entered on the voters’ roll, their details were posted incorrectly on the voters’ roll, etc., etc. 

Without a verified voters’ roll the opportunity to rig the elections is limitless. And for a regime like Zanu PF, with decades of vote rigging experience and a very well-oiled vote rigging juggernaut; the sky is the limit. 

Zanu PF receives billions of dollars from those benefiting from the wholesale looting of the country’s diamonds, gold and other resources. The looters know regime change may well put them out of business. 

ZEC did produce one or two versions of heavily edited voters’ roll, which they quickly withdraw because there were glaring errors such as multiple voter entries and, the most common complain of all, many people were not on roll although they had registered and had registration slips to prove it. 

Zimbabwe’s electoral laws and common sense stipulates that ZEC must produce a verified voters’ roll at least one month before nomination day. The nomination and the voting itself went ahead without a verified voters’ roll. Even to this day, ZEC has yet to produce the verified voters’ roll.

Indeed, Zimbabwe has never ever produced a verified voters’ roll in all the decades since our independence. Never ever! 

What is shocking is the country’s opposition leaders have all participated in these elections knowing fully well that without something as basic as a verified voters’ roll it goes without saying that Zanu PF will rig the elections. It was obvious, as David Coltart readily admitted in his book. 

“The worst aspect for me about the failure to agree a coalition was that both MDCs couldn’t now do the obvious – withdraw from the (2013) elections,” wrote David Coltart, MDC A Treasurer General, in his book, The Struggle Continues 50 years of Tyranny in Zimbabwe.

“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.”

In short, Mudhuku, Chamisa and the rest of the other 22 opposition leaders in July 2018 presidential race and the 130 political parties and God know how many independent candidates vying for the parliamentary seats all participated in the flawed and illegal election process out of greed. Pure and simple!

Let me say it here and now, yes there is need to implement the whole raft of democratic reforms to clean up Zimbabwe’s corrupt and dysfunctional political system. But it is sheer hypocrisy for Zimbabwe’s corrupt and incompetent opposition leaders to blame their failure to change anything on reforms because they are calling for greater powers when they have failed to use the power they already have. 

“For it is like a man going into another country, who called his own servants and entrusted his goods to them,” said Jesus in Matthew 25: 14-15

“To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his own ability. Then he went on his journey.”

Verse 20 to 21 reads “He who received the five talents came and brought another five talents, saying, ‘Lord, you delivered to me five talents. Behold, I have gained another five talents in addition to them.’

“His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a few things, I will set you over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’”

Verse 24 to 30 reads “He also who had received the one talent came and said, ‘Lord, I knew you that you are a hard man, reaping where you didn’t sow, and gathering where you didn’t scatter. I was afraid, and went away and hid your talent in the earth. Behold, you have what is yours.’

“But his lord answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant. You knew that I reap where I didn’t sow, and gather where I didn’t scatter. You ought therefore to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received back my own with interest. Take away therefore the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. 

“For to everyone who has will be given, and he will have abundance, but from him who doesn’t have, even that which he has will be taken away. Throw out the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’”

Zimbabwe’s opposition opportunists participated in the flawed and illegal 2018 elections when it was in their power to demand that ZEC produce a verified voters’ roll. The existing laws on the need for verified voters’ roll are clear, powerful and unambiguous; they do not need any reforming. 

The opposition politicians participated in the July 2018 elections knowing Zanu PF was rigging the elections out of selfish greed and wickedness. Chamisa et al will once again participate in the 2023 elections without even something as basic as a verified voters’ roll; these are corrupt, incompetent and “unprofitable servants”, as Jesus would call them. 

The only question is do Zimbabweans have the common sense to throw these opposition sell-outs before they drag the whole nation into the abyss? 

"1978 Smith-Muzorewa show lacked political capital, it flopped" - 2008 GNU Tsvangirai had 73% vote capital, it flopped too P Guramatunhu

 MDC A is dismissing Douglas Mwonzora’s call for national political dialogue, involving MDC-T, MDC A and Zanu PF as the leading player, as a waste of time. 

”Well, you have no dispute with Zanu-PF that requires anything that can be sensibly called national dialogue," Fadzayi Mahere, MDC A spokesperson counted. 

"You're in constant communication with Zanu-PF as you plot to usurp the will of the people. So what dialogue do you now seek?

"How does a puppet dialogue with its puppet master.”

This is just a nonsensical argument comparable to the garbage we have often heard from former US President Donald Trump’s lawyers! 

Mwonzora, Mudzuri and many members now in the Mwonzora led MDC-T factions were in the MDC A camp together with Chamisa, Biti, etc. right up to the March 2020 Supreme Court ruling confirmed an earlier High Court ruling that Chamisa’s seizure of the party’s leadership following Morgan Tsvangirai’s death was illegal. 

If the purpose of the national dialogue is to resolve the Mnangagwa legitimacy then Mwonzora and company have as much right to a meaningful say in the matter as Chamisa, Biti and all those who have remained in MDC A. The decision to challenge presidential result and the Constitutional Court ruling declaring Mnangagwa the winner was made by MDC A members way before the March 2020 split. 

Besides, the legitimacy question would have never even arisen is MDC leaders, from both MDC A and MDC-T faction divide, had implemented the democratic reforms, especially during the 2008 to 2013 GNU when they had the golden opportunity to do so. And, as if selling out on reforms was not bad enough, they all participating in the flawed and illegal July 2018 elections KNOWING fully well that doing so would give Zanu PF legitimacy!

“The worst aspect for me about the failure to agree a coalition was that both MDCs couldn’t now do the obvious – withdraw from the (2013) elections,” wrote David Coltart, MDC A Treasurer General, in his book, The Struggle Continues 50 years of Tyranny in Zimbabwe.

“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.”

The MDC A was the coalition Coltart said was missing before the 2013 elections. As we know, they still failed to “do the obvious - withdraw from the 2018 elections”! 

Of course, it is political opportunism and grandstanding on the part of Nelson Chamisa to be wittering about Mnangagwa’s “lack of legitimacy” when he knew MDC A’s participation in the flawed election would give Zanu PF legitimacy.

“MDC A has stringent measures to stop Zanu PF rigging the elections!” boasted Nelson Chamisa, before the 2018 elections. 

The world is sick and tired of politicians who participate in flawed election processes, claiming they can win rigged elections, only to complain afterwards of “stolen elections.”

"Senator Mwonzora, for dialogue to work, the parties involved must have genuine political capital," chipped in Alex Magaisa, Morgan Tsvangirai’s Chief Legal Advisor during the 2008 to 2013 GNU.

"That's why Lancaster House worked in 1979 while the Smith-Muzorewa show in 1978 flopped. Lancaster was genuine, while the Internal Settlement was Smith's marionette show."

Well Morgan Tsvangirai certainly had “political capital” going into the 2008 to 2013 GNU because he had 73% of the popular vote in the March 2008 vote, according to Robert Mugabe’s Freudian slip. 

The primary task of the 2008 GNU was to implement the raft of democratic reforms designed to stop the blatant cheating that enabled Zanu PF to whittle down Tsvangirai’s 73% to 47% to force the run-off. And to end the wanton violence to punish the voters for rejecting Mugabe and Zanu PF in the early vote. Mugabe had 84% of the vote in the run-off. 

As we know, Tsvangirai and his MDC friends failed to implement even one reform in 5 years of the GNU. Mugabe was able to bribe the MDC leaders, including the Chief Legal Advisor, with the trappings of high office and, with their snouts in the feeding trough, they completely forgot about the reforms.

New UK sanction "Zanu PF has lost international goodwill" - new sanctions must be smarter N Garikai

There is a growing international consensus that the West, starting with the UK, has lost patience with the Zanu PF’s contemptuous arrogance and disregard for human rights and common decency and is turning on the screw on the regime to force change.

In a majority foreign policy statement, flexing its muscle to mark the country’s break away from the EU, the British govern imposed sanctions on four Zanu PF leaders. 

“These sanctions are coming as a signal that Zimbabwe no longer has friends in the West because when Mnangagwa came to power they [British] wanted to see if they could re-engage Zimbabwe,” said Daglous Makumbe, in New Zimbabwe. He is a lecturer in the department of political studies at the University of the Western Cape in South Africa.

“These sanctions are a manifestation of what has happened since 2017 – that Mnangagwa has not fulfilled his promises.”

For the record, the British did bend over backward to help Zimbabwe re-engage with the West following the November 2017 military coup and even after Mnangagwa had failed to keep his promise to hold free and fair elections in July 2018. It was Professor Stephen Chan who advised the British to attend his inauguration; the only Western nation to send a Minister to grace the occasion. 

Thank God the penny has finally dropped and the British have woken up to the reality that Zanu PF thugs are determined to continue to ride roughshod over the ordinary people denying them their freedoms and rights just to hang on to power! Mnangagwa’s promises of free, fair and credible elections, a new democratic dispensation, etc. were just hot air to string the naive and gullible and gain himself a bit of political slack.  

What the British have done by imposing the sanction on the Zanu PF leaders is remind Mnangagwa that they hate being taken for fools. 

The American sanctions on Zanu PF leaders will be due for their annual renewal in the next few weeks. West must do now is fine tune the sanctions and make them bite. There is no doubt that President Biden will not only renew the sanction but also review them, to make them bite!

The West must also think of addition new faces on the sanctions list. Professor Mthuli Ncube, Minister of Finance, must be added to the list for working for the regime knowing fully well Zanu PF rigged the elections and the regime is, per se, illegitimate. 

MDC leaders must also be added to the sanctions list for selling out on implementing the democratic reforms and participating in elections they knew are flawed and illegal and thus giving the vote rigging Zanu PF legitimacy. 

“It is indeed a bad sign that the Zimbabwe administration is fast losing not only the goodwill which it had following the November 2017 military action, but also the very few friends which it had made since then,” said Tawanda Zinyama, a University of Zimbabwe academic. 

Zanu PF has been under these targeted Western sanctions for over 20 years now and they have clearly failed to force the regime to implement democratic reforms and change its ways. They renewed sanctions must be smarter and focus to achieve the desired results!

"Zanu PF believes - rightly or wrongly - that it squarely won 2018 elections" - and "Telling it like it is!" continues to hide behind caveat P Guramatunhu

 “Rinemanyanga hariputirwi!” (No matter how seemingly clever the deception, the truth will always come out in the end!) so goes the Shona adage. 

The Kim dynasty has ruled North Korea since 1948 for three generations. Kim Jong-un, the current Supreme Leader’s, grandfather Kim Il-sung made himself the Supreme Leader with all the absolute power of an autocratic and tyrannical ruler. And yet, he named the country The Democratic Republic Of North Korea. His son and now his grandson have all kept the country’s name for the same purpose - to deceive! 

“It has been painful to watch over the past few days the desperation with which the small cast of know-it-alls, that is contributing so much to the country's toxic politics, has been attacking talk about the urgent need for national dialogue in the country,” reported Daily News. 

“Our hope, in this regard, is that the intended beneficiaries of the regular poisonous epistles will continue to see them for what they are - disastrous "advice" that is guaranteed to end otherwise promising careers in the fast-changing local political terrain.”

Cut!

As one of those “small cast of know-it-alls” who have dismissed the Daily News’ proposed Mnangagwa, Chamisa and Mwonzora, “The big three”, political dialogue as a total waste of time. I will state why it is a waste of time; the three are the ones who got us into this mess; they are the problem and cannot be, can never be, the solution to the problem too!

Zanu PF leaders created and have ruthless retained this de facto one party dictatorship for selfish political gain. 40 years corrupt, incompetent and tyrannical rule have left the country in economic ruins and political paralysis, stuck as we with corrupt and incompetent politicians on both sides of the political divide.

MDC leaders had the golden opportunity to implement the democratic reforms to end the dictatorship during the 2008 to 2013 GNU. They failed to get even one reform implemented. To make matters worse, the MDC leaders completely abandon the fight for free and fair elections and participated in flawed and illegal elections for the sake of the few gravy train seats Zanu PF offered as bait. By participating in the flawed elections MDC gave Zanu PF legitimacy. 

What the country has needed to get us out of the hell-on-earth, Zanu PF landed us into and MDC has done its bit to keep us stuck there, is to implement the democratic reforms. The challenge has to been finding the competent men and women to carry out this important task.

Let’s return to Daily News.

“What these Smart Alecs seem oblivious to, or is it that they conveniently choose to ignore this reality, is that Zanu PF actually doesn't care much about the mooted national dialogue, as the ruling party believes - rightly or wrongly - that it won squarely the 2018 parliamentary and presidential elections, and thus does not really need to talk to anyone.”

The country’s failure to hold free, fair and credible elections is the root cause of Zimbabwe’s economic and political crisis and therefore whether or not the  July 2018 elections were rigged too have huge implications to our efforts to end the crisis. We cannot seek a way out of this mess without first answering the question; was the July 2018 election free, fair and credible?

We know 3 million Zimbabweans in the diaspora were denied the vote and  Mnangagwa reportedly got 2.4 million to win the presidency. Many election observers reported that the election process lacked transparency, traceability and verifiability. ZEC failed to produce a verified voters’ roll. 

In the light of the above the only reason why Zanu PF would still “believes that it won squarely the 2018 elections” for the same reason Kim Jong-un believes North Korea is a democratic republic - to deceive.   

As for the Daily News, the paper claiming “Tells it like it is!”, it is shocking that even now with all the benefit of hindsight it cannot make up its mind whether the July 2018 elections were free, fair and credible. Instead of giving a clear cut answer on this, the big issue of our generation the paper merely restating Zanu PF’s position and hide behind cowardly caveat of “rightly and wrongly”. 

The truth is the cowardly Daily News answer did not fool anyone, certainly not the investors who have stayed away from investing in Zimbabwe because the country is, rightly, viewed as a pariah state ruled by corrupt, incompetent, vote rigging and murderous thugs. 

By blatantly rigging the 2018 elections, Mnangagwa confirmed Zimbabwe was still a pariah state as during Mugabe’s days, the November 2017 military coup had changed nothing. Investor have shied away from Zimbabwe because they do not do business with thugs. 

The purpose of proposed political dialogue is have a new GNU, Zanu PF in all but name, in the hope investors will be fooled into believe Zimbabwe had finally cast off its pariah state characteristic. Zanu PF will never implement the reforms and so nothing will change. Absolutely nothing!  

“Our pledge to our readers is that we will never yield to dubious agendas nor abdicate our key watchdog role, as well as our truthful, non-partisan approach to news - even if this may displease some misguided people,” concluded Daily News.

Well then the Daily News must give a truthful answer to the question; Were the 2018 elections free, fair and credible? 

The Daily News will not accept that Zanu PF rigged the July 2018 elections just as the party has rigged many other elections in the past. Mnangagwa’s “Zimbabwe is open for business!” call has failed to attract the investors because no one wants to do business in a pariah state. 

All this talk of a new GNU is to give Zanu PF a new name and, hopefully new legitimacy. No one will be fooled; it will take a lot more than a few MDC manikins in the Zanu PF cabinet to transform a pariah state into a democracy! 

Of course, it is insane to still be trying to dig ourselves out of this economic and political crisis by appeasing the vote rigging Zanu PF; repeating, 40 years and counting, the same foolishness behind the crisis. It does not help when the institutions, the media, the intelligentsia, etc. who should be warning society against foolish behaviour are the ones cheering and applauding the madness! 

"What kind of leaders will an armed struggle throw up?" - we should have considered and have paid dearly for our folly P Guramatunhu

 During India’s struggle for home rule, especially during the years when some felt Mahatma Gandhi’s passive resistance was going nowhere, the question did arise on whether they should wage an armed struggle. 

“What kind of leaders will an armed struggle throw up?” Gandhi and the other leaders asked. “And are those the men and women we would want to lead the nation after independence?”

An armed struggle could have hastened India’s independence by a decade or two, no one will ever know for certain. The most important question is would India, led by liberation war leaders, be the healthy and functioning democracy it has been since independence? Probably not!

In the case of Zimbabwe, we did wage an armed struggle to end white colonial rule and the armed struggle did thrown up hawks who have ridden roughshod over the people, denying them their freedoms and rights including the right to a meaningful say in the governance of the country and even the right to life. 

It was laughable, if it was not so tragic, that during the 1979 Lancaster House talks it was the black nationalists leaders who objected to the multi-party democratic Lancaster House constitution. Both Zanu PF and PF Zapu wanted a one-party state, they did not push for it only because each wanted to be the dominant party. 

Mugabe and his Zanu PF party launched the 1983 to 1987 Gukurahundi massacre whose principle purpose was to crash Dr Joshua Nkomo and his PF Zapu, his main political challenge, and force them to join Zanu PF in the 1987 Unity Accord. The Unity Accord was then used as the excuse for imposing a de facto one-party dictatorship that has ruled the roost to this day. 

Zimbabwe had many opportunities to end the Zanu PF dictatorship with the best of these coming during the 2008 to 2013 GNU. SADC leaders had managed to get Mugabe and his Zanu PF party to commit to the implementation of a raft of democratic reforms designed to dismantle the dictatorship. The task of implementing the reforms fell to Morgan Tsvangirai and his MDC colleagues. 

Mugabe bribed the MDC leaders with the trappings of high office and, with their snouts in the feeding trough, they forgot about the reforms. They failed to implement even one reform in five years!

Ever since the 2008 GNU, Zanu PF has toned down the dictatorship by giving away a few gravy train seats and a share of the annual payout from the Political Party Finance Act as bait to entice the opposition to participate in elections even when it is clear Zanu PF was rigging the plebiscite. Zanu PF blatantly rigged the July 2018 elections, the regime failed to produce something as basic as a verified voters’ roll for Pete’s sake. 

Still, the party was able to point to the opposition’s overwhelming enthusiastic participation in the elections as proof Zimbabwe is a functioning democracy. There were 23 presidential candidates and 130 political parties contested for the parliamentary seats to say nothing of independent candidates. 

Zimbabwe had the potential to become the South Korea of Africa - a free dynamic and prosperous nation, if the country had had the fortune of quality leaders. Sadly, the armed struggle had thrown corrupt, incompetent and murderous thugs as the nation’s leaders and Zimbabwe has become the North Korea of Africa - a nation with a few filthy rich and ruling elite crashing the poor and powerless majority into the dust. 

“If the armed struggle throws up corrupt, incompetent and murderous thugs as the nation’s leaders; what must you do to wrestle power from these thugs?” 

This is the third question Mahatma Gandhi and his fellow Indian leaders never asked because they ruled out the armed struggle. Zimbabwe had the armed struggle and it did thrown up corrupt and murderous tyrants. And for the last 40 years we, Zimbabweans have pretended the third question was irrelevant and have paid dearly for our folly as Zanu PF has dragged the nation deeper and deeper into the abyss. 

The corona virus pandemic has hit Zimbabwe very hard because at the outbreak the country was already in an economic mess with its health care service all but broken. And going forward, Zanu PF’s blundering incompetence, the failure to test and isolate for example, has turned a tragedy into a catastrophe. 

Nations get the government they deserve and we in Zimbabwe certainly deserve this corrupt, incompetent, vote rigging and tyrannical Zanu PF dictatorship because we have done nothing to stop the thugs getting into power. And, once in power, for 40 years and counting, we have done nothing to remove them!

"Government has well-oiled covid-19 data collecting system" - bull, collecting what when you not testing W Mukori

 “If you can’t dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bull!” said W C Fields.

This Zanu PF government has mastered the art of baffling with bull to the t!

“Health and Child Care Deputy Minister Dr John Mangwiro yesterday dispelled assertions from some quarters that Government was understating the number of deaths from the deadly pandemic. He said such reports were false, mischievous and a clear attempt to cause alarm and despondency in the country,” reported The Herald.

"Government has got representation all over the country. Our health system is well organised from the minister, it goes to the deputy minister, permanent secretary and each town has got a representative and each province has a representative called a provincial medical director," said the Deputy Minister.

"Our systems are so well organised, well-oiled such that we collect data easily. We get accurate figures and information every time we need it.”

The official corona virus cases and deaths are only of those who would have been tested for the virus and the result was positive. And so one can keep the figures down by reducing the number of corona virus tests carried out! 

In December 2020, at the onset of the current corona virus wave, SA (whose corona virus cases will be similar to ours given the heavy human traffic, legal and illegal, across our common border) was carrying out over 44 000 test per day. Zimbabwe, with 1/4 SA’s population, should have ramped up its tests to 11 000 per day but only doing 1 500 tests, 10%, on a really busy day! Well one easy way.

Dadaya High School had corona virus cases and the powers that be send out 47 test kits when everyone of 1 000 students and staff could have been infected and therefore should have been tested. The school closed and every one was went back to their homes without ever being tested. 

The consequence of failing to test, trace and track is that infected individuals who, if tested and found to have the virus would be put into isolation, are allowed to mix with the rest, freely. And thus, they would, unknowingly, spread the virus far and wide.   

The World Health Organisation recommended that all those showing corona virus symptoms must be tested of the virus; that is common sense. The question the Deputy Minister of Health should have answered is why has Zimbabwe with it’s “well organised and well-oiled” system failed to test even those clear cut cases common sense would dictate must be tested? 

Instead of answering the pertinent question the Deputy Minister of Health is now trying to bamboozle the nation with details of the data collecting chain of command. If tests were not being carried out then there is no data to be collected and so the efficiency or otherwise of the latter is of no consequence! 

There is no doubt that Zimbabwe’s REAL corona virus cases and deaths are far higher than the official figures and it is the real figures that affect real people.

Zimbabwe was in a serious economic and political mess before the corona virus outbreak after 40 years of gross mismanagement, rampant corruption and rank lawless under this Zanu PF dictatorship. And so with its economy in total meltdown and its health care services in shambles everyone knew the country was going to be hit very hard by the corona virus. 

Now, it turns out, Zanu PF’s obsession with hiding facts to hide the regime’s blundering incompetence has turned the corona virus tragedy into a catastrophe of Biblical proportion!  

Whilst few nations, if any have been spared corona virus’s devastating economic, health and death blows; there is no denying (Zanu PF’s pathetic attempts to understate the effects must be dismissed with the contempt they deserve) Zimbabwe has been crashed! All because the country has a corrupt, incompetent and tyrannical government and 40 years of misrule has left the nation economical and political weak and feeble!  

If anything positive can ever be said to come out of the tragic human suffering and deaths brought on by corona virus; then it must be that the pandemic focused Zimbabweans to finally address the nation’s number one problem of bad governance.