Letters: Zimdollar has made citizens poorer

WE can’t progress if we don’t accept reality and correct our shortcomings. It’s a fact that the Zimdollar has brought more problems to our sick economy.

The Zimdollar prescription is adding more poison to the sick economy and surely, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor, John Mangudya, must do the honourable thing, and resign immediately.

I urge the government to urgently do away with this poison — Zimdollars — and revert to multi-currencies.  It is better to get sweets as change than the poisonous Zimdollar.

 As long as we continue using this poison, our economy will never recover due to the thriving black market. Those who have access to forex are getting huge returns, simply by spinning the forex with no production at all. The government must accept reality for the sake of economic progress.

It has failed dismally. Patriot

SEX education for teenagers and youths in Zimbabwe has been limited to abstinence, shying away from the reality that some teenagers, because of the changing times and globalisation, are sexually active at a very tender age making them susceptible to unwanted pregnancies, which result in them dropping out of school or marrying early.

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In Zimbabwe and most African countries, sex or reproductive education is only introduced at the secondary and tertiary levels and the way such information is packaged leaves a lot to be desired, as despite this education, cases of abortion and unwanted pregnancy still remain high.

Given such a scenario, there is a need for organisations working in the area of sexual reproductive health and the government through respective ministries to package sexual reproductive health messages in a friendly manner which generates excitement among the youths.

There is also need for government and stakeholders to invest, especially in youth behaviour before conducting education to avoid emphasising on abstinence to a group that is sexually active.

Proper education on the use of contraceptives should be imparted to all women to equip them with fundamental education.

A study by National Teenage Fertility revealed that Zimbabwe had the highest teenage fertility rate in sub-Saharan Africa yet most of the youths in the rural areas have little knowledge of modern-day contraceptive methods.

As a nation we still have a long way to go in educating the younger generation about their sexual and reproductive health rights.

This does not only help in reducing teenage and unwanted pregnancies, but also helps to contain HIV and Aids and other sexually transmitted diseases and more importantly, unsafe abortions.

Women’s rights will not be fully realised if contraceptives are not readily available and known to all our youths regardless of their physical ability or social class.- Tarirai Tambe

WHILE it is a public secret that Zimbabwe is a democracy where freedom of expression and freedom of thought are enshrined in the Constitution, it defies logic that a person who left the comfort of his home to wage the war of liberation expresses views that are contrary to the ethos of the liberation struggle.

 The statement that war veterans are plotting to force the government to  facilitate their acquisition of vehicles free of duty is a sign of misplaced priorities.

The war veterans are just thinking of themselves and not the country as a whole. Other countries are forging ahead with their development agendas, why not Zimbabwe?

If President Emmerson Mnangagwa is serious about reviving the economy, he has to be firm and ignore the war veterans’ demands.

While Mnangagwa is indicating that he is turning left, his foot soldiers are turning right. The dream of attaining a middle-class economy by 2030 is likely to remain a pipe dream if the comrades are not called to order.

We thought Mnangagwa learnt from the late former President Robert Mugabe’s moment of madness when he awarded $50 000 gratuity to each war veteran which led the local currency to crash.

Several countries around the world are registering meaningful development and Zimbabwe should not be left behind. 

The war veterans’ demands must be thrown out the window.

It’s time to rebuild the country.- Mambo Dari