Zimbabwe’s polarised electorate needs healing
THE ordinary Zimbabwean electorate is united by poverty in this country.
The people can all agree that the standard of living and the value of the Zimdollar is depreciating at an exponential rate, which is a sign of impending economic doom.
The electorate may differ in the political party or president it supports, but we can all agree that we are tired of cash shortages, ever-rising prices of basic goods, long queues at commuter omnibus termini, corruption, moral decay and unemployment.
Those who have been benefiting from the elitist policies and practices in the nation are in support of the ruling Zanu PF party and are optimistic that vision 2030 is attainable, though those who lost their lifetime savings and pension due to the same policies have been left in the doldrums, hence they do not see light at the end of the tunnel for the new dispensation.
The majority of the roads that went neglected during the late former President Robert Mugabe’s time are now being rehabilitated, though we are not sure about the quality of the roads.
Some people are optimistic, while others see it as a preplanned programme that was penned by the previous administration as a campaign strategy from the election that they never did participate in after the ouster.
The elite class must be done away with and the existing structure that are favourable for elitism must be brought down such that there is equity and fairness in the distribution of resources and opportunities.
Corruption must not have room in this country as we have seen its effects. Another thing that has divided the electorate is the Africa-China relations.
In Zambia, that relationship came at a cost for Edgar Lungu’s Patriotic Front, which was heavily trounced by opposition Hakainde Hichilema’s
United Party for National Development.
Last year, international media reported that Zambian Electricity Distribution Company and the Lusaka airport had been taken over by the Chinese after Zambia allegedly defaulted on loans.
Now we have to ask ourse;ves if our relationship with the Chinese will not put us in the Zambian situation.
Some Zimbabweans, though, who are not upbeat about micro and macro-economic functions, are positive that if the Chinese were to give us aid in the form of debt, it would automatically boost the economy.
But from the past interactions we have had with the Chinese, our levels of hope have been reduced.
Why? The Chinese are said to be brutal and masters of hard labour, such that those who have worked for Chinese companies would rather be vendors than be abused.