Mukanya’s open letter to ED
DEAR President Mnangagwa My name is Thomas “Mukanya” Mapfumo the Chimurenga Music King. I am writing to you at this desperate hour to give you my free point of advice about the conditions in Zimbabwe. I am sure you can feel Zimbabwe going down the drain as a nation. The services are decaying daily, and the situation is now hopeless. You may try to cover it up, but the truth keeps coming out.
The country is facing a load of hardships. People need clean water. That green water that is coming out of household water taps is not a healthy sign and no one drinks that. Cities need proper drainage for run-off water. We cannot continue to have pools of water on the streets. This is unacceptable.
Hospitals have no medication and equipment. Medical staff is running away. Power cuts are now commonplace. Urban transport is now disastrous.
Our people are going to places like Chirundu Hospital on the border with Zambia for medication. What are you doing about this Mr President? Does that mean anything to you and your people?
Now we hear that Operation Dudula is running riot in South Africa. Xenophobia is bad and your people get attacked and laced with burning tyres. Do you enjoy such a sight? What are you doing to save your people Mr President?
We have no national currency as we speak. We are using all kinds of currency and the bond note is not even a currency once one leaves Zimbabwe. Why are we going through so much suffering? What is the end to all this suffering?
Even police do not even have uniforms. Teachers and nurses have similar hardships. The nation is now lawless. Where are we going with this Mr President?
Corruption is now shooting into the roof. You have done nothing to stop this, and you do not want to openly address this or take corrective measures. All the big fish that are stealing the nation’s resources are set free by the judiciary. The catch and release method is real and thieves are always freed.
What example are you setting sir? What message are you sending to the nation?
Why are recreational drugs now commonplace in Zimbabwe? Have you openly denounced them as a menace? Why not? Have you ever taken any steps to deploy your Central Intelligence Organisation teams to find out who is supplying these hard drugs to our youth? Why is this happening under your watch?
Why are our youth being destroyed like this? We can do several campaigns against drugs but those will not help because your government is openly refusing to come up with a tough criminalisation policy to track the sources of these drugs. Why are drug lords not being arrested and jailed?
Please relinguish the presidency if you can no longer control the corruption and the lawlessness. Zimbabwe now needs vibrant young leaders who can fix the economy and get the nation going. Our youth need jobs. Our patients need local medical care. Please step down and let the young take over.
You have failed us as a nation Mr President. Nothing works anymore. We need new and young leaders. The economy should be back to its feet. In every progressive country, young leaders are doing miracles.
Our problem now is that we have had you in government for more than 40 years. You have no new ideas except to send opposition people to jail. You cannot stick to power for the sake of it. Ruining a country should not be a hobby. You are destroying lives and livelihoods.
We now need innovative leaders who can move the country forward. I also urge the youth to desist from using hard drugs. The best way to live stable lives is to be sober and vote wisely to get the economy back on track and create jobs. Zanu PF regalia and propaganda jingles will never bring about jobs.
The youth will remain hungry and jobless unless they register to vote and change the system. Zimbabwe needs new leaders that are real and that must focus on the issues hitting the people hardest. We are going nowhere with the current leadership.
Please accept failure as a Zanu PF government. Admit that you are not doing anything to control corruption. You are clueless about running the economy. You have let everyone down. The nation is going down the drain.
Doctor Thomas Mapfumo