By Pride Mkono
Dear Zimbabwe
For the last 2 weeks I have not been active on the various social media platforms I am part to because of two reasons. Firstly I was not feeling well suffering from a fungal infection on my left foot and later a tonsil infection which caused me some serious pain.
The other reason has been my participation in the #16daysofoccupation of Africa Unity square which I joined 3 days after it commenced on 31 May 2016.
My experiences from the day I joined have been enriching as much as they have been challenging and until 16 June 2016 I will be publishing blog posts on various aspects of the occupation as it happens.
On this post I will draw my attention to the bigger demands that have pushed the various occupants that have braved the severely cold winter nights to make a statement against the Mugabe regime.
Speaking to various comrades, it is without doubt that the foremost reason for occupation is to demand a better future for this generation and those to come.
This is at the back of betrayal form the current government which has focused on self aggrandisement and primitive accumulation of wealth and total betrayal of people’s aspirations as captured by the liberation ethos.
Zimbabwe is now a country of extreme contradiction on one hand a parasitic elite which comprises less than 1% of the population has looted 99% of the economy while the bulk majority of citizens i.e. 99% live in extreme poverty and squalor as a result of dis-empowerment from those that claim to have liberated the country.
In the words of Makomborero Haruzivishe, ZINASU Secretary General, this represents “the complete theft of our future and that of our children and must be stopped.”
Secondly, unemployment is one of the problems that have burdened the entire country, more so young people. 98% of the youths in Zimbabwe are literary unemployed and are scrounging for a living as vendors and informal traders.
The reasons for this unacceptable level of unemployment fall squarely on the ZANU PF government which has successively put in place policies which has led to the total collapse of the local industry.
In Tatenda Mombeyarara’s view, socialist and anti-privatisation activist, “unemployment does not just represent a lost opportunity to be productive and earn a living but it is extremely dehumanising as it impacts on one’s self-worth especially in a capitalist society.”
Thirdly, the human rights situation in the country is pathetic. The Mugabe regime has over the years used the dark art of naked violence and intimidation to cow down any dissent and opposition to its hegemony. From Gukurahundi, operation Murambatsvina, the 2008 June 27 run-off and up to the disappearance of Itai Dzamara, Zimbabwe has been subjected to bouts of extreme bloodletting by the Mugabe regime.
In the words of Patson Dzamara, brother to missing activist Itai Dzamara, “this is unacceptable and its time we draw a line in the sand and say it’s enough.”
The forth issue is that of sky high corruption across all departments of government at all levels. In Mugabe’s own admission Zimbabwe lost an unimaginable US$15 billion from the Marange diamond fields alone in record time between 2009 and 2015.
According to Linda Masarira, women political rights activist, this is “theft writ large that will forever haunt this country.”
There many demands coming out of the square which touch on many aspects of people’s lives such as access to social services like education, health, food, water and better roads.
The disabled are also there demanding passionately that this is their country too.
They too deserve to access welfare packages and empowerment opportunities to better their lives. Comrade Nespar Manyawo summarises the multiple demands in simple terms and says “we must at the end judge this government by how it has treated those with disability in our society. On such a scale they have dismally failed and must go.”
Zimbabwe has entered a new wave of seeking change and as the complex transition unfolds before us I am happy to be a participant. I am enthusiastic and challenge fellow young people to come to the square and join us as we make history.
Indeed people power is in action and there is no turning back, it is only ALUTA CONTINUA!!!
Yours Comradely Always;
Pride Mkono is social justice activist, former student leader, treason trialist for watching the Arab Spring.
He is currently resident at Africa Unity Square and will do so until Zimbabwe is free. He can be contacted at pridemkono@gmail.com and tweets @pridemkono.