We spent the whole of today without electricity, rendering us unproductive for the greater part of the day.
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Not that this is news anymore or worth being surprised about, as this has become the norm in Zimbabwe.
Yet, the disruptive nature of these incessant power cuts and the lost productivity is something no one can ever get accustomed to, regardless of the fact that this crisis has been ongoing for years.
To make matters worse, some of us—despite residing in urban areas—have gone for years without running water in our homes.
Families are forced to resort to communal boreholes, begging or buying from households with private boreholes, or even drawing water from unsafe sources.
Those with the means are compelled to drill their own private boreholes, a costly exercise that drains away scarce resources that could have been directed toward real development.
It is frustrating and painful to pay out of one’s pocket for something that, not too long ago, was a basic and reliable public service.
As I sit in the dark pondering how life had gone so horribly wrong in Zimbabwe, seemingly dragging the country back to the Stone Age, I can not help but wonder whether the president himself, even in the privacy of his own thoughts, ever acknowledges that he has failed.
At what point does a president admit that he has failed?
Surely, there has to be a time in anyone’s life—no matter how self-deluded—when they look themselves in the mirror and ask the difficult but honest question: have I succeeded or have I failed?
Is my leadership truly taking my people forward, or am I dragging them down into despair?
Forget the propaganda.
Forget the sycophancy of loyalists who merely want to curry favor.
Forget the constant refrain of blaming external forces.
There must come a moment when the truth is confronted.
Any normal person should reach that place of honesty where they can say, “I have messed up. I have failed, and I have no one else to blame.”
That is the only point where genuine transformation can begin.
It is the moment that marks redemption, humility, and courage.
I do not write these words to judge anyone, but to share from personal experience the reality that nothing changes until we face the truth about ourselves.
I know what it means to live in denial.
For years, I struggled with alcohol to the point of near self-destruction.
I inflicted unbearable pain and anguish on those close to me, and I could not see it.
I stubbornly refused to admit that I had a problem, let alone that I was the problem.
But the day of truth eventually came.
My salvation only came the day, some years ago, when I finally faced myself with complete honesty and admitted that I was a failure, that I had failed others, and that I desperately needed to change my life.
That was the moment I made the bold decision—on my own, without a pastor or counselor—to call upon my God Jehovah, through my Lord Jesus Christ, to rescue me.
In that moment of humility, I became a new creation and began a new life.
That day marked the end of being a menace to myself and my family, and the beginning of the years of dignity, personal growth, and genuine joy.
That is why, when I write these things, I do so not to disparage but to call for a much-needed transformation in our leadership.
Our leaders in Zimbabwe have become a menace to the very people they are supposed to lead.
They have let us down in a big way.
And the only way forward is for them to find the courage to look in the mirror, admit the truth, and repent.
How can any president claim to have succeeded when over 80 percent of the people he leads are living in poverty?
How can a leader boast of progress when over 90 percent of the youth—the very backbone of the nation’s future—are without decent jobs, and are forced to leave the country in droves, or else turn to street vending, prostitution, artisanal mining, or survival through precarious backyard projects?
How can there be talk of economic growth when most families cannot afford more than one decent meal a day, or send their children to school with confidence?
Is this the picture of success?
Is it not rather a picture of national collapse and betrayal of a people’s hope?
Hospitals across the country cannot provide even the most basic of services.
Medication is scarce, cancer machines are non-functional, and even something as simple as a bandage or painkiller is often unavailable.
Parents send their children to schools where lessons are conducted under trees, or in dilapidated buildings without proper books, desks, or resources.
Teachers are demoralized, doctors flee the country, and the little infrastructure left behind by the colonial government crumbles before our eyes.
Can a president truly feel proud presiding over such shame?
This is a disgrace. A monumental disgrace.
A president’s greatest responsibility is to safeguard the dignity and well-being of his people.
That is the very essence of leadership.
When people live in darkness without power, when they fetch water with buckets like villagers in a forgotten age, when hunger stalks every home, and when the young abandon their motherland in despair, then leadership has failed.
And it is cowardice—not strength—that refuses to acknowledge this reality.
As I write this article in the dark, without electricity, I find myself asking the same question again and again: at what point will the president admit that he has failed?
When will he choose the path of truth, humility, and redemption?
Doing so would not be an act of weakness, but of maturity.
It would not be the end of his legacy, but the beginning of a new chapter of healing and progress for the country.
There is never any shame in admitting one’s failures.
In fact, it is the bravest thing any human being can do.
I am living proof of that truth.
My life only changed when I admitted my failures and sought a new path.
Zimbabwe can change too, but only when its leaders show the courage to acknowledge the obvious.
Until then, we remain trapped in a cycle of excuses, propaganda, and false pride, while the nation decays around us.
The question, then, is simple but urgent: at what point will the president admit that he has failed?
- Tendai Ruben Mbofana is a social justice advocate and writer. Please feel free to WhatsApp or Call: +263715667700 | +263782283875, or email: mbofana.tendairuben73@gmail.com, or visit website: https://mbofanatendairuben.news.blog/