In 2008, Nelson Mandela said there was a “tragic failure of leadership” in Zimbabwe. His words have never been truer than they are today.
There is evidence of failure everywhere you look.
In March 1997, Zimbabwe launched Vision 2020. Among the promises under Vision 2020 were: housing, healthcare, education, and jobs for all by 2020.
Today, not a single one of these promises has been met.
Our healthcare system is facing its worst crisis ever. Our schools are witnessing the highest dropout rates in our history.
Unemployment is worsening, amid currency volatility and an unstable business environment. According to the United Nations, 90% of Zimbabwean children are experiencing malnutrition and stunted growth.
In a nation as rich and talented as ours, this should not be the case. This is a tragic failure of leadership.
The 2018 election presented a chance for Zimbabwe to transition to a modern, democratic leadership. That opportunity was stolen from Zimbabweans, through a deeply flawed election that foisted an illegitimate government on the country.
Ahead of that election, our calls for deep electoral reforms were ignored. In the euphoria of Robert Mugabe’s ouster, many in the world and the region bought into Emmerson Mnangagwa’s ruse. They were sold the lie that he would bring stability and change.
It did not take long for the mask to fall off. The murder of six civilians on August 1, 2018, and the deployment of the army in January 2019, when at least 17 people were killed and many more wounded, revealed the true face of the regime. Zimbabwe is once again isolated from the world, facing a massive man-made hunger crisis.
Today, Zimbabwe is a broken and divided nation, led through fear, governed by force and ruled through violence.
The “New Dispensation”, “Open for Business” and “Second Republic” slogans ring hollow even to those that were once deceived by them.
It is the superficial rhetoric of a clueless administration, just muddling through on directionless experimentalism, hoping that somewhere along the way, it will somehow stumble upon solutions.
No change can ever come under ZANU-PF, simply because ZANU-PF itself will never change.
The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) has proven its capacity to deliver real change. Our capacity to deliver has been second-guessed many times by those who chose the route of appeasement. The reality is that our country did better when the MDC was in government, and in charge of the Ministry of Finance.
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