Letters: Mukanya’s open letter to ED

DEAR President Mnangagwa

My name is Thomas “Mukanya” Mapfumo the Chimurenga Music King. I am writing to you at this desperate hour to give you my free point of advice about the conditions in Zimbabwe. I am sure you can feel Zimbabwe going down the drain as a nation. The services are decaying daily, and the situation is now hopeless. You may try to cover it up, but the truth keeps coming out.

The country is facing a load of hardships. People need clean water. That green water that is coming out of household water taps is not a healthy sign and no one drinks that. Cities need proper drainage for run-off water. We cannot continue to have pools of water on the streets. This is unacceptable.

Hospitals have no medication and equipment. Medical staff is running away. Power cuts are now commonplace. Urban transport is now disastrous.

Our people are going to places like Chirundu Hospital on the border with Zambia for medication. What are you doing about this Mr President? Does that mean anything to you and your people?

Now we hear that Operation Dudula is running riot in South Africa. Xenophobia is bad and your people get attacked and laced with burning tyres. Do you enjoy such a sight? What are you doing to save your people Mr President?

We have no national currency as we speak. We are using all kinds of currency and the bond note is not even a currency once one leaves Zimbabwe. Why are we going through so much suffering? What is the end to all this suffering?

Even police do not even have uniforms. Teachers and nurses have similar hardships. The nation is now lawless. Where are we going with this Mr President?

Corruption is now shooting into the roof. You have done nothing to stop this, and you do not want to openly address this or take corrective measures. All the big fish that are stealing the nation’s resources are set free by the judiciary. The catch and release method is real and thieves are always freed.

What example are you setting sir? What message are you sending to the nation?

Why are recreational drugs now commonplace in Zimbabwe? Have you openly denounced them as a menace? Why not? Have you ever taken any steps to deploy your Central Intelligence Organisation teams to find out who is supplying these hard drugs to our youth? Why is this happening under your watch?

Why are our youth being destroyed like this? We can do several campaigns against drugs but those will not help because your government is openly refusing to come up with a tough criminalisation policy to track the sources of these drugs. Why are drug lords not being arrested and jailed?

Please relinguish the presidency if you can no longer control the corruption and the lawlessness. Zimbabwe now needs vibrant young leaders who can fix the economy and get the nation going. Our youth need jobs. Our patients need local medical care. Please step down and let the young take over.

You have failed us as a nation Mr President. Nothing works anymore. We need new and young leaders. The economy should be back to its feet. In every progressive country, young leaders are doing miracles.

Our problem now is that we have had you in government for more than 40 years. You have no new ideas except to send opposition people to jail. You cannot stick to power for the sake of it. Ruining a country should not be a hobby. You are destroying lives and livelihoods.

We now need innovative leaders who can move the country forward. I also urge the youth to desist from using hard drugs. The best way to live stable lives is to be sober and vote wisely to get the economy back on track and create jobs. Zanu PF regalia and propaganda jingles will never bring about jobs.

The youth will remain hungry and jobless unless they register to vote and change the system. Zimbabwe needs new leaders that are real and that must focus on the issues hitting the people hardest. We are going nowhere with the current leadership.

Please accept failure as a Zanu PF government. Admit that you are not doing anything to control corruption. You are clueless about running the economy. You have let everyone down. The nation is going down the drain.- Doctor Thomas Mapfumo

THE Zimbabwe Election Support Network (Zesn) in partnership with Women Coalition of Zimbabwe (WCoZ), Women’s Academy for Leadership and Political Excellence  (Walpe), Women in Law Southern Africa (WLSA) and the Parliament of Zimbabwe (POZ) held a breakfast meeting at Meikles Hotel in Harare on November 21, 2022 with members of the Parliamentary Male Gender Forum.

The meeting sought to bring male gender champions in Parliament to discuss pressing concerns around women’s political participation.

Zimbabwe remains lowly-ranked when it comes to women representation in elected and appointed offices, including in the Cabinet. After Zimbabwe’s 2013 elections, the number of elected women fell from 34 to 26 in Parliament and from 373 (19%) in 2013 to 261 (16%) in 2018 for local authorities. Additionally, the number of women who contested seats as National Assembly candidates fell from 105 in 2008 to 90 in 2018. During the 2018 National Assembly election, 243 candidates were women but only 26 of them were elected.

As of July 2021, women in the National Assembly occupied 81 (33%) of the seats whereas men occupied 163 seats (67%). In the Senate, women occupied 35 seats (44%), while men occupied 45 seats (56%). Similarly, there were limited numbers of women participating in electoral processes and mainstream politics as voters and political party supporters. Furthermore, in the by-elections held on March 26, 2022, only 16 out of 118 candidates running in the overall election were women.

Speaker after speaker at the meeting highlighted the need to deal with the barriers that affect the participation of women in political processes. Speaking on male involvement in women’s political participation, Paul Vingi from Padare emphasized that men need to challenge the narrative to address cultural norms in order to enhance women’s participation in all spheres of life as men and women are equal and should access equal opportunities as well.

He further articulated the importance of setting equal standards for both boys and girls within the family. Vingi cited that there is a need to promote positive masculinity and raising resources and opportunities for it.- Zimbabwe Election Support Network

THE turn of the century was not good for Zimbabwe as the country was slapped with targeted sanctions by the West, and coupled with corruption and mismanagement, it led to the closure of many companies. Despite going for nearly two decades with no meaningful capital investments, the country faced numerous challenges which further impoverished ordinary citizen.

The above scenario gave way to the spirit of entrepreneurship, which saw the establishment of self jobs, with the owners employing one or two people. In cities, towns and growth points, we now have a new crop of businesspeople.

Finance minister Mthuli Ncube showed his support for the small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs) as a basis for future large companies and hubs for employment creation.

It is an open secret that SMEs contribute over 50% of gross domestic product (GDP) and employs about 60% of the population. This shows that SMEs are equally important in the country’s economic revival strategy.

Soon after independence, the Education ministry promoted the learning of practical subjects, even at primary schools. Those were the years when focus was on “education with production”.

The country’s economy is anchored on agriculture, therefore, those who are into farming at a low-scale need financial and material support to boost their production levels.-Tambudzai