De facto or De jure the obligation to deliver does not go away
Events of the last month have left Zimbabwe once more reeling and sinking deeper into an abyss of a political crisis.
It is a continued crisis of legitimacy which unfortunately is and has been at the centre of the social and economic crisis arresting our country for decades. The July 2018 election provided an opportunity for a rare cure of this ailment sadly we still refer to a montage of a dream deferred.
We in the MDC Alliance however make the point that delivery is an obligation which those in office cannot dodge despite being occupants of these offices fraudulently.
The reality faced by those who stole the people’s victory is that the citizen still expect them to deliver especially when the country is facing so many challenges, some of them are old while some of these were created under Mnangagwa’s watch.
While we are aware that not every problem is of the government we contend that the failure to respond is a result of the broken politics of Munhumutapa buildings.
Zimbabwe faces the following urgent problems whose solutions cannot be rolled over:
1. A broken down social contract
2. An economic crisis characterized by high levels of inflation, a liquidity crisis, unsustainable debt levels, shocking budget deficits funded through crude means while crowding out the private sector and high levels of de-industrialization and informalization of the economy.
3. A social crisis manifesting itself in a failure to deliver basic social services including health and education.
4. High levels of poverty, rising inequality and unemployment.
5. Toxic corruption, captured institutions and a centre which is not holding sadly backed by coercive apparatus.
Our country is currently struggling to contain a typhoid outbreak which in the firstly a stone age disease which must be read only in history books and more importantly an effective public health system must be able to deal with threats of that nature.
Typhoid is not the only element of the health situation but also a serious shortage of TB drugs which has placed thousands of TB patients in danger.
Apart from the non-communicable diseases, lives are also being lost due to manageable causes especially HIV/AIDS. We find this to be an unacceptable situation which can only be normal in a country with a government on auto-pilot.
We in the MDC Alliance are concerned that our country seems to continue on a fudging path, straddling from one crisis to another, radar-less, clueless, and leaderless. The urgency is sadly not there in the current crop of leaders of course placing aside how they end up in power.
Economic deterioration is itself a major concern, our concern is that of a failure to chat a proper path out of the crisis beyond the Zvavhugwa slogan (the so called Zimbabwe is open for business mantra).
We want to restate that a slogan is not a plan, as patriots we also advice that you campaign in poetry but you govern in prose, if the government continues to grandstand after an election disaster will inevitably strike. We wish a break from suffering for our people.
The cash crisis has been there long enough it must just go, equally the multiple exchange rates have overstayed their welcome those who grabbed power fraudulently have an urgent obligation to get rid of them.
The biggest crisis is however that of lack of a shared vision coupled with toxicity, hate speech, the leaders are sadly at the Centre of dividing our nation.
In a country where voting results by ZEC’s fraudulent figures reflect a neck on neck scenario triumphalism cannot be the best wisdom.
Sending unmarked vehicles to follow opposition leaders cannot the best thoughts, abducting and torturing opposition agents is again an own goal and a clampdown of vocal dissents arresting them and fabricating funny charges is also unacceptable.
This is time for Nation Building, we must develop a shared common vision and modernize our country but truth telling and dialogue must precede everything otherwise we build on a shaky, false foundation.
We must endeavor to create a rights based society anchored on a new contract of mutual respect where the citizen can negotiate with those in power and with power itself without fear of tanks and automatic weapons being introduced behind their backs.
Reform must ensure disputes are resolved, the rethinking and reconfiguration of the state and a framework to avoid future electoral disputes.
While these process are taking place the following considerations must be done;-
1. Dealing with the cash crisis including demonetising the bond notes which is driving away good money and distorting the financial markets.
2. Weeding out the multiple exchange rates which are a second generation problem sadly perpetuated by the government which itself prints bond notes and to buy foreign currency.
3. Dealing with the hygiene of the economy including fiscal reforms, the monetary crisis is a result of relentless budget deficits.
4. Implementation of a holistic debt resolution plan in the form of Smart Arrears Debt & Development Strategy (SADDSA) enunciated in the MDC Alliance policy blue print.
5. Attending to social delivery staring with the emergency crisis of drug shortages.
Only SMART ideas will take this country forward, political grandstanding will only take us back, a failure to appreciate the flaws will only create stagnation and sadly still birth of the people’s dreams.
MDC Alliance Communications