Zimbabwe recently celebrated 44 years of political independence from white minority, but is the country actually free?
Political independence, since 1980, has come with a litany of unintended consequences, a case of each successive government papering over the cracks.
In fact, political independence has ironically brought political repression, military dictatorship, government corruption, and runaway inflation, the suppression of fundamental freedoms pertaining to self-expression, voting, and peaceful protests among others.
Aluta continua!
That is the popular slogan in the corridors of power in government as each newly elected president comes in with his coterie of hangers-on which includes multiple wives, sons and daughters, nephews and nieces, aunties and uncles, party apologists and bootlickers.
Like a swarm of locusts, they invade and occupy all government high offices. The president’s army of leeches wipes off every government coffer in every. These are the only few families in the country enjoying the fruits of the so-called independence in Zimbabwe.
Bob Marley came to Zimbabwe in 1980 to celebrate political independence yet today his son Ziggy Marley is more popular across Zimbabwe. After several attempts to arrest hyperinflation by introducing a new currency, the recent but certainly not the last resonates in name with Ziggy Marley.
Many analysts are already observing that Zimbabwe is not addressing the root problems of hyperinflation but instead Mnangagwa’s government is simply making superficial and cosmetic changes to the economy.