On the 24th of November last year the people of Zimbabwe celebrated what they thought was the end of tyranny in Zimbabwe but after almost a year of President Mnangagwa's reign it's sad and heart breaking to acknowledge that tyranny is very much alive and thriving in the country.
It has been a year filled with disappointment after disappointment as the promises that President Mnangagwa made on his inauguration have fallen way short of the mark. We had a cholera outbreak this year that killed at least 50 people and what makes this situation so heart breaking is that these deaths could have been avoided if the government had prioritised the needs of the people by providing safe, clean drinking water and better sanitation services. To top it off the government started to crowd fund because they didn't have enough money to help eradicate this disease which is ironic because the government had enough money to hire a private plane to pick up Grace Mugabe from Singapore so that she could attend her mother's funeral. President Mnangagwa pledged that he would be a President to all Zimbabweans but his actions and those of his government have proved otherwise. The health service in Zimbabwe is so crippled that those in government don't even trust themselves into its care. It is hypocritical that Vice President Chiwenga had to jet off to South Africa to receive private medical care especially after ED pledged that there would be improved health care under his government. I take it that he was paying us lip service and that his VP knows better that that pledge was a lie.
In February and August of this year we had numerous deaths at the hands of the police and the security services, when they fired live rounds of ammunition into crowds of people. In February when people were shot the police Commissioner said that they were investigating but nine months later we are still waiting for the policeman who did the shooting to be brought to justice. We are also still waiting for the perpetrators of the August shootings to be brought to justice whilst in the meantime contending with the farce of the Commission of Enquiry that was put in place to discover why the shootings happened. Does it take a Commission of Enquiry to know who did the shooting when there were numerous photos and videos of people captured whist the army was running rampant in the city shooting people? Over the year of his reign ED has been proving that he is not concerned with the welfare of the lives of the ordinary Zimbabweans and will do whatever is necessary in order to remain in power just as his predecessor President Mugabe did.
President Mnangagwa also pledged to stamp out corruption in his government but to date no one has been brought to justice. We have had a few ex-ministers who were arrested but like everything else that ED and his government do those convictions came to nothing. On the other hand we have had numerous people who have been arrested for undermining the authority of the President and in my view it appears as if ED is more interested in his reputation as opposed to actually running the country in a way that will bring a real change in Zimbabwe that will benefit all Zimbabweans.
To conclude I just want to point out that ordinary Zimbabweans are worse off today than they were a year ago as prices have escalated to such an extent that many people are failing to feed themselves and their families. Everything seems to be falling apart in Zimbabwe from the roads to the care in the hospitals, and instead of focusing on the rebuilding effort, those in government have been patting themselves on the back for doing such a great job and are keen to reward themselves with brand new cars and yet when it counted and people were dying of disease the government had no money to take care of its people. Is Zimbabwe better off with ED and his government at the helm?...I think not.
