Zimbabwe has endured a whooping umpty two decades of economic and political instability. Without a figment of imagining otherwise 2021 is promising to be more feverish coming from a hectic humpty-dumpty 2020 owing to the coronavirus induced shocks. While the government through its mouth piece, the ministry of Information, enablers, paid trolls (varakashi) tried on several occasions to firefight by downplaying the Zimbabwe crises, no amount of fickle or deceptive speech can hoodwink the world that Zimbabwe has been in the doldrums for a long time owing to the “extractive” policies of the government.
Zimbabwe has experienced several unprecedented economic, environmental and political shocks and stresses that have dented any hope as the political future remains uncertain and the country faces severe democratic deficits. The increasing level of muzzling of the democratic space through violating human rights, manipulating state institutions and suppressing dissenting voices has been one of the biggest undoing of the much touted second republic.
The cancerous corruption scourge has remained endemic even to the extent of some in high offices stealing covid-19 funds at a critical juncture like this. More deplorable and shocking is that despite overwhelming evidence of pilferage of covid-19 funds, the pilfers are walking scot-free while government critics such as Allan Moyo are languishing in prison. While civil society space for policy dialogue has increased in recent years, the challenge remain with government insincerity and lack of trust on independent actors such as NGOs and other non-state actors thus we have seen even front line workers such as doctors subjected to obscenities and tastelessness of being labelled “medical assassins”.
The stinging stunting effects of the deadly coronavirus (COVID-19) have grounded economies and is threatening to obliterate any hope of recovery especially with a government that is clueless on the way forward. To date hundreds have perished because of the coronavirus pandemic disease. However, there seems to nothing tangible from the government side to address the multiple quagmires effacing the nation. Some analysts are arguing that talk of a vaccine by the government are a sheer figment of imagination , however it remains to be seen how the government is going to address the contentious issue of procuring vaccines .
The continued lockdown induced effects are already chewing up the most vulnerable in communities thus exacerbating the effects of poverty, food insecurity in Zimbabwe which have been resident for some time. This situation has been exacerbated by changes in climate patterns, over both the short and longer terms. The current coronavirus crisis has caused a severe shocks especially to the urbanites such that million are in need of assistance.
Borrowing from scholars, Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson's, in the face of calamities what separates nations depends above all on the inclusiveness of economic and political institutions. In the case of Zimbabwe our biggest undoing has been "extractive" institutions as opposed to “inclusive" institutions in which many people have a say in political decision-making, as opposed to cases where a small group of people control political institutions and are unwilling to change and at least consult the people.
In the face of multiple predicaments, those in high offices have chosen to follow the destructive path of building “extractive" institutions the ones that permit them (elite) to rule over the poor without consulting the vulnerable. For example the continued shutdown measures which affects the most vulnerable are only announced short of due consideration of what will happen to the poor.
We are where we are because of the incompetence, carefree approach to problems by our Government. Without beating by the bush political expediency, and insensitivity to the plight of the poor and sheer intransigence on the part of those who run this country has been our biggest undoing as a country.
It is the hope of every suffering Zimbabwean that policies are inclusive and are considerate of the multiple shocks that have befallen people for some time, “THINK OF THE POOR”
