Tendai Ruben Mbofana
When they fell sick, in the midst of their own unhealthy lifestyles – jealous relatives, who were envious of their success, were always responsible!
If the wife suffered a miscarriage – the hateful mother-in-law, who did not want to see the family grow, was the culprit!
In the event of break-ins at their homes – those who despised them in the community, as a result of their phenomenal business performances, were the architects!
Even when involved in road traffic accidents – clearly under heavy intoxication – there just had to be someone else to blame for this mishap!
Or, when their spouses left them, on account of their own philandering eyes – the spouses’ friends would be fingered for negative influence, through the planting of destructive seeds in their minds!
For such people, it is never their fault – and even if, indeed, they are not to blame for the sad tragedies befalling them – they still have to find fault with perceived enemies, who hold some grudge or mischievous intentions.
Nonetheless, the greatest tragedy with such a self-deluded and self-defeating attitude is that, the challenge at hand is hardly resolved (and, may even worsen) – as a result of this “ostrich head-burying” approach, which leads to the real causes never being identified and seriously tackled.
Unfortunately for Zimbabwe, these are exactly the people we have in charge of running the daily affairs of our nation.
It never ceases to amaze, how, each and every time we are faced with a challenge in this country – the ruling elite’s first port of call is to point the accusing finger at some ghostly and unidentifiable “illegal regime change agents”.
What more, there is hardly any evidence proffered for such grievous accusations – which fall in the realm of subverting constitutional government, economic sabotage, and even treason – yet, not a single Zimbabwean has ever been successfully charged and convicted of such offences, in spite of the existence of adequate relevant legislation.
Merely issuing flimsy baseless accusatory statements in state-controlled media, or at political rallies (solely for the purpose of grandstanding and rabble-rousing) will never cut it – since, the problems at hand can never be solved that way, but need to be genuinely identified and confronted without fear or favor.
There is nothing more dumbfounding than listening to a country’s leadership – when faced with a freefalling local currency, and the world’s highest inflation rate, which have left millions of citizens unable to afford the most basics of necessities – resorting to endless ranting and raving over faceless “economic saboteurs”, who, for reasons only known to those in power, are doing this to unconstitutionally remove the sitting government.
These are the same “culprits” who have received the brunt of the blame for the past two decades – alongside, supposed “sanctions imposed by western countries” (who, supposedly, harbor similar nefarious agendas) – in spite of not a single one of these “enemies” ever being identified and prosecuted.
In fact, I always find it ironic that, during the more stable 2009 to 2019 years – after the shelving of the useless local currency, that had been spiraling out of control in the early 2000s – these so-called “economic saboteurs” would be nowhere to be seen.
Are those in power telling us that, these “regime change agents” only rear their heads when the government implements unsound, inconsistent, and clearly unworkable economic policies – as occured in 2019, with the widely unpopular and rejected reintroduction of the Zimbabwe dollar, under an undoubtedly inconducive economic environment, that could not sustain a local currency.
Why is it so difficult for the Zimbabwe’s ruling elite to admit that, the main reason for the unbearable and untenable situation we find ourselves in as a country, are the skewed and brainless policies implemented by the clueless regime, coupled with rampant corruption sponsored by those welding power themselves?
What about also just acknowledging the fact that there are people in Zimbabwe who will do anything to make money – even when that entails selling foreign currency at the black market at exorbitant rates (as a way of exploiting a dysfunctional and rigged official auction system) – without actively harboring any ambitions of removing the government from power?
If we have Zimbabweans willing to part with their toes for hard cash – without the slightest idea, or care, what those body parts will be used for, and the possible undesirable ramifications – what stops them from venturing into the business of selling foreign currency, even if that is at the expense of the economy?
Did the president himself not urge Zimbabweans not to waste their time on “meaningless demonstrations”, but rather expend their efforts and energies on “making money”?
If the Zimbabwe authorities genuinely want to bring back sanity in the country, the first thing they need to do is stop with the paranoia, and the seeing of “regime change ghosts” in every corner – but instead, tackle head-on the real challenges facing the country.
When teachers and nurses demand living wages, and refuse to work virtually as slaves – the sane response would be to address their grievance, rather than accuse them of trying to topple the government!
If truth be told, the only people interested in removing the sitting government – through purely constitutional and above-board means, as a vital component of any democracy – are opposition political parties.
The rest of us do not lose any sleep on who becomes leaders of this country – as long as they genuinely serve the citizenry, and place our interest ahead of themselves.
All we want is to live a dignified and respectable life – that is worthy of citizens of a country endowed with some of the most precious and valuable natural resources on this planet.
However, that can be accomplished only when we have a government that knows what they are doing, who implement sound economic policies, and confront corruption with the seriousness such a grave scourge and affront on our country deserves.
This can never be achieved when our leaders are perpetually haunted by their own insecurities and paranoia – who are unable to perceive things beyond “regime change agents”!
Let me remind our ruling establishment of something that may help them – the world does not revolve around them, and they would be better saved if they faced the brutal reality that…no one on this planet gives a hoot about them, and is hellbent on removing them from power!
© Tendai Ruben Mbofana is a social justice activist, writer, researcher, 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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