In fact, I do not believe there is any place on earth with a “presidential scheme”.
Why should they?
Surely, when a nation is reduced to the point of its head of state embarking on drilling communal boreholes in urban areas which can no longer provide tap water for their residents, giving away agricultural inputs to villagers who are failing to fend for themselves, setting up heifer rearing projects in a country where there are very few opportunities for our youth, and establishing pastures for farmers’ cattle – then, it can only mean one thing…
…the country and its government have dismally and pathetically failed!
There is no greater evidence of unmitigated failure and poverty than a nation that has been reduced to beggars – in a country lacking opportunities for an individual’s independent success – such that, nearly every facet of any semblance of livelihood becomes a “presidential scheme”.
Why would the youth need a “presidential scheme” to set-up their business ventures, or secure gainful employment – had Zimbabwe been a normal country, led by a normal leadership?
When we sacrificed all we had to educate our children, were we not expecting them to one day be independent, as they followed their dreams – whether by finding good well-paying jobs, and hopefully climbing the corporate ladder, or by establishing their own entrepreneurial enterprises, in accordance with the usual channels of raising capital, such as bank loans, attracting investors, or literary starting from nothing?
When our parents, relocated to urban areas around the 1960s – fleeing the treacherous and unforgiving harsh rural life – did they not genuinely believe that they were making the wisest decision of their lives, by setting for themselves and their children, a secure and more convenient comfortable lifestyle, whereby at the very least, water would not need to be fetched from miles away, but be readily available right there in the home?
Would our farmers, both communal and commercial, not have been expected to manage their agricultural programs independently – without the need to always hold out their begging bowls for inputs, pastures, and fisheries implements – had the economy been conducive for business operations?
Yet, here we are in Zimbabwe – where the government does not see anything wrong at all with the president using taxpayers’ money to sustain nearly every facet of our lives!
Then, I begin to imagine a more sinister agenda at play.
If our country’s impoverishment can afford the president a grand opportunity to step in as the “knight in shining armor” – thereby, earning him the popularity and affection he desperately craves, but has so far been elusive – what prevents the government from deliberately scuttling the economy, in order to render the population the “damsels in distress” who need saving?
This is not particularly a far-fetched notion – as incidents of the “arsonist fireman” are more common than many people may think.
As a matter of fact this phenomenon has a name.
The “hero syndrome” is a term used by media to describe the behavior of a person seeking heroism or recognition – usually by creating a harmful situation to objects or persons – which they then can resolve.
As such, I would not be particularly shocked if this was truly the case in Zimbabwe.
Nonetheless, no matter from which angle one looks at this issue – whether these economic challenges are deliberately orchestrated, or we merely have a failed regime that is now taking full advantage of the results of their own ineptitude – the basic facts remain the same.
When a nation has citizens who have been forced by circumstances into paupers and beggars – who need to be assisted in every single thing – then that is a huge unforgivable reprimand against the ruling establishment, who have failed in their mandate.
A normal nation does not need “presidential schemes” for its population to survive – but, a government that formulates, and lays the ground for, good socio-economic policies that ensure that the citizenry stand on their own, and succeed.
What is currently happening in Zimbabwe is a shameful disgrace!
© Tendai Ruben Mbofana is a social justice activist, writer, and social commentator. Please feel free to contact him on WhatsApp/Call: +263715667700 / +263782283975, or Calls Only: +263788897936 / +263733399640, or email: mbofana.tendairuben73@gmail.com
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