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Forward thinking, shaping the future
Mutsa Murenje
September 25, 2010

I have been reflecting deeply on our past and am not impressed. Our history as a nation is, no doubt, replete with mysterious injustice and frustrations. Presently, Zimbabwe remains the exception in the otherwise stable political environment of Southern Africa. Hopes of improvement were raised by the creation of a coalition government comprising of three political parties namely MDC-T, ZANU PF and MDC-M. Unfortunately, this coalition, as many have noted, remains fragile although we-ve had assurances that this is a workable arrangement.

I indulged myself in our nation-s history literature as a social work student (2003-7) with bias obviously on what happened in the post-independence era. I still recollect that the new black government reportedly did well during the first decade of independence (1980-90). Notable successes were registered in education and health BUT . . . we shouldn-t forget that we had Gukurahundi (the genocide) between 1982 and 1987. According to the literature I went through particularly in my first year, the economy started performing badly in the late 1980s largely due to corruption by the new ruling class! And we then implemented the Economic and Structural Adjustment Programme (ESAP) from the early-mid 1990s.

It is a public secret that measures imposed by the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank resulted in severely restricted access to social services for our people (as we shall see later) but we were responsible for what happened in 1997-War Victims Compensation, 1998-2002-DRC war. The country-s involvement in the DRC war drained hundreds of millions of dollars from the economy. And the land reform programme (2000-?) characterised by chaos and violence damaged the commercial farming sector, the traditional source of exports and foreign currency exchange and the provider of 400,000 jobs turning Zimbabwe into a net importing country of foodstuff products.

I hear unemployment stands at 90% and that more than 80% of our people live below the Poverty Datum Line. I wonder if at all we will surely eradicate poverty and hunger by 2015! I believe this is unrealizable unless otherwise divine intervention comes to our rescue.

Zimbabwe is one of the few countries that have instituted an AIDS levy but the management of the funds is poor deeming the levy a double-burden to the taxpayers. The funds hardly reach the intended beneficiaries. Taxpayers contribute to the fund but still look after their HIV-infected and affected relatives. We are glared in the face by decimations of families, increase in the number of orphans and child-headed households as a result of HIV and AIDS related deaths. Zimbabwe is believed to be home to approximately one thousand children who have been orphaned by HIV and AIDS. Some of these are double orphans. The country-s Health Delivery System is crippled in terms of being able to meet the health services demands of the population by both lack of drugs and human capacity due to brain drain. What does the 13.7% HIV and AIDS prevalence rate really mean given this ugly picture?

Zimbabwe-s crisis is not only political and economic, but signs of social disintegration are everywhere. According to IRIN News www.irinnews.org/report.asp "Nightly, street children as young as five or six seek the "protection" of older children who act as pimps . . . ". Research by a Harare-based Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) Futures International in May 2004 revealed that at least 12,000 children eke out a living on the country-s highways and byways. The organization also revealed that street children were also vulnerable to AIDS. Although no official statistics on HIV prevalence among street children exist, another Harare-based NGO Streets Ahead was quoted by IPS News www.ipsnews.net as saying it treats as many as 150 of the children every month for sexually transmitted diseases.

That Zimbabwe has one of the highest literacy rates in Africa is beyond argument. While this is very commendable and the enrollment levels are high, these cannot however be used as a proxy for high completion rates. The reality on the ground is that the completion rates drop especially at high school. This situation is compounded by a number of challenges. The cost of education has gone beyond the reach of many. The introduction of the Economic and Structural Adjustment Programme resulted in the removal of subsidies especially in social services and a number of people lost their jobs as many companies were retrenching. The truth is that Zimbabwe has not been able to recover from the effects of the World Bank and IMF Structural Adjustment Programmes. The high drop out rate is further compounded by the HIV and AIDS pandemic. Zimbabwe is one of the countries in Africa that are at the epicentre of the epidemic.

And on the ongoing constitutional debate here is my input: The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 (Act No. 108 of 1996), contains the Bill of Rights, which provides for not only basic human rights but social and economic rights. The Constitution, notably section 27 (1) (c), also provides for the right of access to appropriate social assistance for those unable to support themselves and their dependants. South Africa is no doubt one of the few countries where the Constitution enshrines a duty to alleviate poverty. The South African government is obliged by the Constitution to meet basic human needs and accords these needs the status of basic human rights. I wish we could borrow this provision from our southern neighbour and make it part of our constitution.

Finally, Zimbabwe has been grappling with the issue of bad governance ever since the turn of the 21st Century. Article 21 (1) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states in no uncertain terms that: Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country, directly or through freely chosen representatives. This has to be because it is only the will of the people that shall be the basis of the authority of government. This will of the people shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures as Article 21 (3) of the aforesaid declaration also states. The present political and economic quagmire that Zimbabwe is grappling with is directly related to Robert Mugabe's bad governance.

We face elections in 2011. Mugabe in times past has vowed "never, ever" to allow the MDC to rule Zimbabwe, threatening "to go back to the trenches" if the MDC were to win an election. My humble appeal is to allow the conduct and outcome of the elections to pave the way for peace processes which have a real positive impact on our lives. This entails a political and economic agenda aimed at eliminating ethnic strife and conflict; establishing a firm foundation for democratic institutions and governance; respect for human rights; and the promotion of economic development and social progress. May God help Zimbabwe!

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