There are a number of issues that disturb the security of any nation. A nation’s success depends largely on how it is governed. But for many nations in Africa, politics has been the most destabilising factor. Development has been slow, and to some like Zimbabwe, service delivery has collapsed. Leaders there have neglected basic service provision like healthcare, education, and local authorities have not been able to provide clean water and simple refuse removal. Electricity supply has been erratic, affecting industry adversely and limiting chances for economic growth.
Leaders are elected into office to make sure that these services continue to run, and that people access them. The level of deterioration of service provision in Zimbabwe leaves many wondering if the government of Emmerson Mnangagwa is at all interested to have these service provision facilities active. But the election algorithm is simple, you don’t provide what the electorate wants and they don’t vote you into office.
Had ED gone through a fair election process, he couldn’t be in leadership now because of the poor state or total absence of service provision. Mnangagwa has meticulously manipulated the whole system so that he gets into power and it looks certain that he will retain power in 2023. But his government has not shown any diligence to make sure the services keep running. So we have a very absurd situation.
People need services, the services are not there. Those who are supposed to make sure the services are there are busy looting national resources. It is a fact that anyone who does not enter a building through the front door but sneaks in is a robber and has only come to steal. For the record, election times in Zimbabwe are the most difficult times, with people afraid even to go out of their houses. Many are killed, tortured, injured, raped or driven away from their homes.
Extortion is also high during election periods. These disturbances are deliberate under the auspices of the leaders who often pretend not to be aware of them taking place. The disturbances serve to make sure that many people refrain from casting their votes. In remote areas, it's worse. People are actually ordered to vote for the ruling party candidate and all State machinery is deployed to sway the election in favour of Mnangagwa, before him it was Robert Mugabe. Pressure is also brought to bear on the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) itself, both from outside and from within to conduct a blurred election. So, we see that immense force is used to make sure Zanu PF leaders stay in power. If such force could be used to provide services to the nation, people wouldn’t be in want. But the problem is it is only applied to sway votes in favour of the ruling party.
So those who steal the election do so not to push for service delivery. They steal the votes so as to get into a strategic positions to milk the State and plunder national resources.
Once they get to control State security arms and the Judiciary, they become ‘immune’ to prosecution and the courts find it difficult to prosecute them. Which means these leaders are just a mafia that steal the election so that they rob the citizens of their tax money but deny them services.
These leaders avoid going through a fair election process because they know that given their record of zero service delivery, they are not wanted. People know that these leaders cannot and will not provide the services they need, let alone all other rights.
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So the only way to power for such corrupt leaders is to break in, whatever it takes to do that.
So, the security of the nation is in danger. Yet it's not that these criminal leaders don’t know that we need water, hospitals etc or that children need to go to school. These wicked leaders send their children to well-run schools overseas and when they get ill, they also fly to nations that have well-run health delivery systems. But when the ordinary man or woman gets sick, they find all State hospitals not functional. There is no State hospital that’s functional in Zimbabwe.
Such leaders are cruel and selfish because they think it’s only them that need to have better standards of life, all others people in the nation do not matter. They are cruel in that they don’t care about providing much-needed services.
They are not nation builders; they only serve to enrich themselves and lives of their relatives who now are running almost all-important government contracts in Zimbabwe.
When the general citizenry tries to voice out, the State machinery is ordered to descend on any protestors to make sure their anger is bottled up. Neither is criticism tolerated. Everybody must keep quiet and let Mnangagwa and his ilk do as they please.
So, in the end the nation is serving the interests of only one man. In 2018, ED participated in an election at the backdrop of 90% level of unemployment, 70% of people living below the poverty datum line, a shrinking economy and hyperinflation.
There has not been improvement in any of these parameters since he forced his way to ‘win’ that last election.
Actually, the economy continues to shrink and many people continue to leave for better life in the diaspora. Now he wants to run and force himself again on the people in 2023.
There is no sign of economic improvement and the standard of living keeps getting low. High-level corruption has intensified and the government has already admitted that. So, it’s only through sheer brutal force that Mnangagwa can win the next election.
Otherwise through a fair and transparent election, the odds against him are too numerous such that it is totally impossible for him to retain power.
