The state of the police untenable
THE recent SOS by the Zimbabwe Republic Police, detailing how junior police officers are struggling to make ends meet and facing eviction from their lodgings for failing to pay rentals, among other challenges, is yet another confirmation that our country is at the deep end.
In fact, this shows that the situation for the generality of the population is now untenable. The majority are just living a day as it comes. This situation is dangerous for a country aspiring to become a middle-income by 2030.
Unfortunately, these are the same police officers used by the rich and powerful, who live in comfort and luxury, to brutalise ordinary citizens calling on government to change its way of doing business for the benefit of all citizens, including the police officers.
For too long, the police and other security forces have appeared to exist in their own world, unaffected by what affects us all and thus are easily used by politicians to fight unarmed citizens. Now it seems the chickens are coming home to roost.
We cannot afford to have a disgruntled police force. Not even the whole security sector. And the sooner the government takes necessary steps to address the economic challenges in the country — which will not be stopped by firing Finance minister Mthuli Ncube — the better for everyone.
A distressed police force cannot effectively discharge its constitutional mandate. There have been a lot of police officers collapsing in public due to hunger, and that is a major embarrassment on our security systems. In fact, it can be an indicator of the porous nature of our security system.
What makes this sadder is the fact that the securocrats at the helm of the security system have access to farms, top-of-the-range vehicles, luxury homes, as well as fuel and airtime benefits when the majority at the bottom are living in penury.
This is an equation that does not balance and, sooner or later, it can lead to a revolt. In fact, this is a clear demonstration of the uncaring nature of those tasked with the responsibility of governing this nation.
The most painful irony is that these suffering junior police officers are the ones tasked with responsibilities to protect the powerful politicians and their wealth. This is a time bomb that cannot be ignored for too long. Sooner or later, it is bound to explode.
We appeal, once again, to President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s administration to throw off all the pretence and facades and start addressing issues affecting the population rather than just focusing on lining their own pockets from shared national resources.
It is never safe to keep the majority of men in uniform and with guns in hand hungry and poverty-stricken for too long.
The same applies to thousands of civil servants. It is not right for government to ignore their pleas for succour. One day is one day. We call on authorities to think again. Economists always tell us that the economic fundamentals are correct, thus only the political fundamentals could be everything that went wrong for Zimbabwe.