Government has failed ZEC, and all Zimbabweans – You must go, Comrade Mnangagwa – An Open Letter

 

A screaming headline “Government has failed us: Zec” comes up at a time when President Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa has just dished out half a million United States dollars to his Ministers, over one-third of a million United States Dollars to Deputy Ministers, and forth thousand United States dollars to members of Parliament as interest-free loans. Has the government become a financial institution to give loans?

A few days before the news broke out about the interest-free loans to government ministers, deputy ministers, and members of Parliament, the European Union Delegation had donated over US$5.9 million to the Zimbabwe Elections Commission (ZEC) towards the holding of Zimbabwe’s 2023 watershed elections. A few days after the donation to ZEC, ZEC Chairperson narrated how her organization had struggled to hold by-elections due to resource constraints, to the extent that ZEC had failed to adequately pay their election agents, yet you, President Mnangagwa, where holding on to millions and millions of United States dollars to treat your ministers with half a million United States Dollars.

Members of Parliament had long complained of poor conditions of service. Parliament has long approved free loans for the purchase of vehicles by members of parliament, and as explained by Honourable Temba Mliswa, US$30 thousand of the loan was part of the approved US$80 thousand dollars that had been budgeted as car loans. Zimbabwean parliamentarians are reportedly the least paid in the region, hence some of them cannot afford to buy cars, justifying car loans for them. And the members of parliament are poorly remunerated because of the corrupt Zanu PF government which has allowed your relatives to loot the country’s resources. Henrietta Rushwaya, for example, was exonerated after being caught red-handed trying to illegally smuggle gold out of the country, but she is a free woman who is a regular at your visits to churches. Fifteen Billion United States Dollars worth of diamonds vanished under Zanu PF rule as acknowledged by the late President Mugabe. So parliamentarians, whether you are Zanu PF, MDC-Alliance or CCC, or Temba Mlwisa (Independent), your Zanu PF cabinet has caused you to suffer. You may deserve the US$40 thousand dollars loan to exhaust your car loan and get $10 thousand extra because the Zanu PF government has failed you.

It’s a big surprise to contemplate what the half a million dollars United States dollars given to Ministers is for. Government ministers and their deputies in Zimbabwe are given three vehicles each, hence there is no justification to give them car loans. They have fees for their children, salaries for their domestic workers and their accommodation paid for by the Government, hence they do not deserve loans from Government, especially since there are a lot of other important things such as paying for the services of polling agents.

The Public now knows you for who you are, Comrade President. You don’t think like a human being.

I would encourage members of Parliament from across parliament to pressurize those who gave half a million United States Dollar loans to Ministers and over three-quarters of a million dollar loans to deputy ministers what the justification for such loans was for. The heads of any members of parliament who don’t question the loans to ministers and deputy ministers whose welfare is well taken care of must roll. It would be good if all parliamentarians can petition the authority that approved loans to ministers and deputy ministers.

Zimbabweans at large, this is an opportunity to show bad leadership the red card. Vote Emmerson Mnangagwa out.