By Precious Chida
MDC leader Nelson Chamisa yesterday said the outbreak of coronavirus in Zimbabwe was a wake-up call for the government to prioritise funding of essential services such as health.
Chamisa made the remarks in a message to mark Zimbabwe’s 40th independence anniversary, which was broadcast through online platforms, where he repeated his calls for unity in dealing with the pandemic.
He said independence in 1980 had brought about a lot of hope for development of the country, but former president Robert Mugabe’s government lost the plot along the way.
Chamisa said the situation had continued to deteriorate under President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who took over from Mugabe following a military coup in 2017.
“Our education was exemplary and I am a good example of that good education system, which recorded the highest literacy rate,” he said.
“Our health services were excellent [at Independence]. We didn’t have to go to China, Singapore or Malaysia for treatment.
“We were the Malaysia of that time and we need to go back to those glory days so that we can move away from these sorrowful days that we are currently having.”
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The outbreak of coronavirus, also known as Covid-19, has exposed the rot in Zimbabwe’s health delivery system, which for years has been rocked by strikes over poor remuneration and lack of essential equipment.
After months of promises that Zimbabwe was ready to handle any likely outbreak of the disease, authorities in recent weeks started scrambling to set up isolation centres and to appeal for donations to aid the country’s response.
As of Friday, the country had recorded 24 cases of the flu-like disease with three deaths.
Meanwhile, Chamisa said the next 10 years leading to the country’s celebration of its golden jubilee should see the resolution of the political and economic problems so that citizens celebrate the milestone with “gold in their pockets”.
“Some of you are feeling the discomforts because of the difficult times that we are going through, we are faced by this pandemic, the coronavirus, which is threatening our lives and livelihoods in our country and beyond,” he said.
Chamisa said there was need for the country to restore its health and education system.
“We must pay our teachers, our health workers and our civil servants a living wage so that they have respect in society,” he said.
“Our people must not have to travel abroad to secure social services. Agriculture, which was the mainstay of our economy, must also be restored.
“The land reform programme was necessary, but its implementation and execution was less than perfect.
“There’s no going back on land reform, but we must give land tenure security and implement a sound agrarian system.”
