President Robert Mugabe’s reaction to mass protests by an angry population and job boycotts by civil servants that rocked the country in the past few days demonstrates just how futile it would be for Zimbabweans to expect their tired leader to provide any solutions to the multi-faceted crisis pushing us to the abyss.
Comment
On Friday Mugabe told a rally in Bindura that civil servants who were angry about the government delays in paying their June salaries did not appreciate the problems facing Zimbabwe, which he claimed were caused by sanctions.
He suggested, rather lamely, that if the civil servants had taken part in the 1970s liberation war, they would not have gone on strike.
Predictably, the 92-year-old leader blamed Western sanctions for his government’s increasing failure to honour its obligations, including paying workers on time.
He said the economic problems that have dogged the country for over a decade now were temporary, but did not hint at any measures being taken by his government to reverse the decline.
Mugabe was also dismissive of last Wednesday’s stayaway, described by some sections of the media as the biggest in the last decade, claiming that it was sponsored by the West.
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However, the truth that is clear to all Zimbabweans not living in denial like Mugabe, is that civil servants, like the rest of the population, are fed up with the Zanu PF party’s failure to deliver on its election promises.
The citizens are angry over the president’s failure to act on corruption by his inner circle, the high number of police roadblocks on the country’s roads and human rights violations, among a litany of issues.
Contrary to Mugabe and his party’s warped reasoning, people do not need anyone,whether from the west or east, to tell them that the wheels have come off. The writing is clearly on the wall.
Zimbabwe has been lurching from one crisis to another and the government does not seem to have any solutions to the problems. Neither does it seem to care that the majority of the country’s population now lives in poverty.
Instead of addressing the problems raised by citizens, the government reacted with brute force.
Police officers raided homes in Bulawayo and Harare in the aftermath of the Monday and Wednesday protests where they arrested even children.
Those arrested claim they were tortured while in custody, in total violation of their constitutionally guaranteed rights.
There are reports that the Zanu PF politburo actually ordered Home Affairs minister Ignatius Chombo to ensure that police use more heavy handed tactics in dealing with the protests.
True to his character, Mugabe was clearly not in the mood to listen to the masses. He believes he has done nothing wrong and is hell bent on continuing on the self-destructive mode.
The president, in his long stint at the helm, has never brought himself to admit failure. Instead, he blames everything that goes wrong on imaginary enemies.
He has also become notorious for his history lectures that have no connection to Zimbabwe’s contemporary problems. On Friday he had no business invoking the liberation struggle to explain why civil servants are not getting their salaries on time.
His empty address only proved that Zimbabwe’s biggest problem right now is that it is saddled with a president who is in denial that his rule has been a disaster and lives in the past.
The country can only be saved by Mugabe’s departure from the scene. He has become a very costly liability.
