We can forgo some luxuries
We as an arm of Government and also as the ruling party are ready to lead by example and make sure we put our hands together in order to rebuild Zimbabwe
OUR health sector has been bleeding for the past two decades, but now as we seek to rebuild and invest in the critical sector we find ourselves confronted by a new challenge, the challenge of striking doctors who are demanding better conditions of service. Of course their concerns are genuine and require lasting solutions.
However, our economic situation, just like the health sector has bled for over a decade and the solutions so required to put the nation on a recovery path again are by no means simple, but being implemented nonetheless as Zimbabwe rediscovers its lost glory.
As Zanu-PF parliamentarians we are alive to these genuine concerns raised by doctors, but also aware of Government’s fiscal position and we implore the doctors to negotiate in good faith and with Zimbabwe and the sick people in our hospitals at heart.
To play our part, however, small or little, we are ready to forgo the luxury vehicles that come with our parliamentary positions as we are representatives of less privileged people whose only access to health is public hospitals.
For those MPs who are desperate for vehicles we propose that they be given affordable vehicles that allow them access to their constituencies, but certainly not luxury vehicles in a sea of poverty. Let’s allow Government to deal with urgent issues and vehicles will be bought at the appropriate time.
We as an arm of Government and also as the ruling party are ready to lead by example and make sure we put our hands together in order to rebuild Zimbabwe. The night is certainly dark, but the darkest hour comes just before dawn.
All Zimbabweans, from any political party, we have a duty, and a role to play as we lay stone on top of a stone (ibwe pamusoro peibwe) reconstruct and strive to attract not only foreign, but also local investors. We are aware of the many hurdles along the way, but we will not be deterred in the march towards attaining Vision 2030.
There is so much at stake that we cannot be divided at this crucial juncture. We need to bring back lost pride, we need to create employment and we need the strike by doctors to end.
Hopefully, teachers and other civil servants will also bear with Government as it seeks to rebuild the economy to ensure that in just more than a decade Zimbabwe will be a middle income country. ◆ Cde Pupurai Togarepi is the Zanu-PF Chief
Whip and Secretary for Youth Affairs