THE Emmerson Mnangagwa administration is facing challenges, fuel shortages, an unprecedented price hikes of basic commodities, forex scarcity, and drug outages, doctors’ strike, which it has so far failed to deal with.
NewsDay Comment
It is over two years since Mnangagwa grabbed power from the late Robert Mugabe in a military coup. He was initially celebrated for ending the 38 years of a brutal regime which ruthlessly silenced all opposition and muted any divergent views.
But the ululations are slowly being replaced by wailings which grow louder as the Zanu PF government blunders and fumbles for solutions to the biting economic crisis.
The praises are turning to ash as it becomes more apparent that the more things change, the more they remain the same.
Most companies have shut down and the manufacturing industry on which our hope was premised is not opening any time soon.
As the country sinks into the doldrums, the mantra ‘Zimbabwe is open for business” is now a mockery in the face of so much suffering. What sort of leader presides over a country which does not have a single functional public hospital?
While in Zambia, Edgar Lungu is now aiming for worldclass medical facilities with state-of-the-art equipment, our own hospitals are struggling to remain open.
We pile the blame on the leader, who has not only failed the country, but refuses to acknowledge the people’s suffering. It is quite obvious now that his team is as clueless as their President and the honourable thing would have been to step aside or allow for meaningful talks and not the charade dubbed Polad.
As we go into 2020, parents are seized with extortionate school fees, exorbitantly priced uniforms and rentals in United States dollars.
The festive season was subdued as many could not afford even a decent meal. Many will remember Mnangagwa for all the bad things that are happening.
Families of those who were shot on August 1 have no kind words for the government which allowed soldiers to open fire on civilians. They repeated the trick in January, killing 23 people and injuring others. What an affront to human rights and freedom of expression and human decency.
What makes it all sadder is that the government is not paying heed to what the international community is saying or even the regional watchdogs.
The Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission in its report for 2019 strongly condemned the use of live ammunition and excessive force against unarmed protesters. But those concerned do not care and it will become one of the reports from “detractors”.
Surely all this overwhelming narration of failures warrants action, but are there any more tricks in Mnangagwa’s bag or we are dealing with a tired system that is comfortable regurgitating yesteryear solutions that never worked.
