Zimbabweans will feel cheated

The parties to the Global Political Agreement (GPA) have now failed to consummate it. There is now virtually no possibility that the GPA will ever be fully implemented. While the politicians are bickering and fighting over who is to blame for this failure to fully implement the GPA the people have continued to suffer under the burden of poverty.

Most Zimbabweans have no electricity, no water and other everyday needs. They are struggling to survive on little or no income because industries and other commercial organisations have not yet started recruiting workers. Against this background there is an even bigger tragedy happening across the country. Life is becoming increasingly difficult for ordinary people in Zimbabwe. The ushering in of the US dollar/ South African Rand monetary system was meant to slow down inflation as well as to bring back goods on the supermarket shelves. It was also meant to reduce the rate at which goods increase prices. The use of US dollars and SA Rands has cut down inflation and has made goods available in shops. What the policy has failed to do is to ensure that the prices charged by utility companies (water, electricity and phone) and other service providers are reasonable in terms of the foreign currencies that are being used in the country. What is clear is that, based on their buying power, the US dollar and the Rand are less valuable in Zimbabwe than in their native countries. This means that the prices people are paying are still as astronomical as they were when we were paying in Zimbabwe dollars.

This is clearly illustrated by the medical costs where you are forced to take your relative to private hospital because the state hospitals cannot treat them or because there are no specialists at state hospitals to treat them. I am not talking about people choosing to go private hospitals because they can afford it but people who have no choice because if they do not take the loved ones to a private hospital/ clinic then chances are that their loved ones will die. I strongly believe that the role of government is to ensure that there is fairness especially for the vulnerable. Medical bills have become too expensive for most people in Zimbabwe resulting in people who shouldn’t die dying. Medical bills for hospitalisation at private institutions range from 300USD to 500USD for three days excluding food which is paid for separately. So if you stay in hospital for nine days you will have to pay 1500USD for the stay then pay for the food and medication separately. The food and medication could set you back another 2000 – 3000USD. The cost of a pint of blood at private clinics is 600USD while it costs 50USD in state hospitals. I have evidence for these figures because I have paid or have been charged these amounts in the last few weeks. If people who give their blood freely realised that they could fail to get blood when they need it if they do not have fifty dollars or more they would think twice before donating blood. Most people give blood because they believe that it could save lives without realising that it will only save the lives of those with money. I propose that if the government does not urgently take action then those who give blood should consider selling their blood to the Blood Transfusion Service to ensure that they have the money to pay for blood when eventually they need transfusions.

It will be a sad day when the Blood Transfusion Service will have to pay more than a soft drink and a biscuit for a pint of blood. However, government inaction leaves people no option but to act selfishly. People elect governments to ensure that all people (rich and poor) can go to hospital and receive treatment that is good and affordable. I call on government to seriously look into the amounts being charged by utility companies and private hospitals in order to ensure that they are commensurate with the salaries that are being paid to people. It is immoral that these companies and organisations are allowed to act with impunity. Both MDC and ZANU PF claim to stand for ordinary people but evidence on the ground does not seem to suggest this. We need intervention from government on behalf of the poor to ensure that all people get the benefits of introducing US dollars and SA Rands into the Zimbabwean economy. Until this happens the people will feel cheated by this Government of National Unity. I do not blame the businesses and private hospitals for taking advantage of the new dispensation because the people we pay to protect us from this are doing nothing. The government is failing the ordinary people.

Mugabe’s problem with Malema

This week has seen the arrival of the controversial leader of the ANC Youth League, Julius Malema. This was considered good by ZANU PF who considered an endorsement of their policies from him as a coup against the MDC. After all he had publicly endorsed the chaotic land reform, called the Dear Leader a hero and spoke the ‘revolutionary’ speak that resonates well with the ZANU PF supporters. However the Shona people have a saying that says ‘Unofarira n’anga neinobata mai (Praising a healer who will accuse your mother of being the witch)’.
There are two things that would have embarrassed Mugabe and his party during the recent visit of Julius Malema.
The first issue that left Mugabe with egg on his face is that Malema actually told ZANU PF what no other ANC leader has had courage to. Speaking to ZANU PF Youths he is reported to have said, “But militancy does not mean cutting people hands, militancy does not mean violent politics...” Reading the lines here shows that Malema is telling Mugabe that his party is a party of violence and that it must change. Even though I do not like Malema’s politics I think he hit the nail on the head here by telling ZANU PF that they are the party that has visited violence on the people of Zimbabwe. There is no ambiguity here. ZANU PF kills and maims people and it must stop this if they are to be trusted by the people of Zimbabwe. Malema also suggested that ZANU PF had run out of ideas so they were resorting to violence. His words were, “Those who think violence is a means for solutions, they cannot think, that is why they introduce violent politics in the politics of Zimbabwe…” This drills huge holes into the claims by ZANU PF that MDC is a violent party. Even though MDC leaders have been arrested more than ZANU PF leaders on charges of violence we now know the truth because a close friend of ZANU PF has told us. It is no longer the European and American imperialists telling us Mugabe and ZANU PF are violent. It is his friends. Vakapemberera n’anga yakabata mai (The ZANU PF traditional healer accused of being a witch).

Malema also appeared to suggest that whites are better looking than black people. This will disappoint Mugabe who has been quoted as saying that white people stink. It will also disappoint those of us who believe in the beauty of all humanity regardless of their skin colour. But the controversial Malema thinks otherwise. Having captured the headlines with his rhetoric against white people, white interests and all things white Malema appeared to change his mind. In remarks attributed to him in Mbare Malema is reported to have said, “They are so bright, they are colourful, we refer to them as white people, maybe their colour came as a result of exploiting our minerals and perhaps if some of us can get opportunities in these minerals we can develop some nice colour like them." This seems to suggest that he is unhappy with the colour of his skin. For a ‘young revolutionary’ who has made it his life’s career to verbally attack white people this is the kind of mixed message that shows there is a chink in that ‘shining black armour’. I am sure Robert Mugabe winced when he read these reports.
The lesson from all this seems to be that it is political suicide for anyone to rely on unpredictable, fringe politicians like Malema to put across your views. Mugabe will rue having given Malema a red carpet reception.