It''s been a while since I posted about Zimbabwe... It's not that there isn''t a lot going on; it''s just that most of it is waiting and frustration. Lots of waiting. Loads more frustration. However. We always look to the future, when things finally start on the road to normalcy....
So, there have been a lot of improvements. The power situation, at least in Bulawayo, or at least in my part of Bulawayo, is mostly bearable. We don't have daily power cuts anymore, and the power cuts are much shorter. The other day I imagined I heard the power station towers roaring, so maybe part of the power station is back online. I will say, I went to Harare (an unplanned trip) two weeks ago, and was mostly horrified. I have always been leery of Harare's quality of life (- like the fact that you generally can't drink the water that comes out of the tap), but the power situation seems pretty insane. As exciting as that city is, I get the feeling if you don't go away on holiday often enough, you start to think that way of life is normal.
Anyway, the reason for my post is mainly to gripe, so I will now gripe.
There have been a lot of stories in the papers lately (thank You Lord for the independent papers) about corruption on both sides of the GNU. The latest, and most scandalous, is the ZESA saga. Four individuals owe the power company a million dollars between them. The same power company that owes its creditors, and is always being switched off. Incidentally, also the same company that switches off people who owe as little as $200, but has not seen fit to disconnect these customers who owe hundreds of thousands.
Now, I do understand that the little ZESA functionary who arrives at State House (or even at Mr Tsvangirai's house) to disconnect the power supply would definitely be someone with more guts than you would generally find in any big slaughterhouse; but perhaps that is the problem with today''s Zimbabwe. Was the liberation war fought to make some more equal than others? Is that what the MDC is fighting for?
If that''s the case, perhaps Zimbabweans need to go back to the drawing board. I will never stand up and say that we should not honour those who fought for our liberation, or for those who continue to do so; but I will always argue against those who believe the people we elect to national office should now be treated like the traditional concept of an African father, or ''chefs'', as we have been prone to call them. [Perhaps this would be easier if we were not so fearful, but of course even as I write this post, I am quaking over possible consequences]. It''s hard for us to imagine right now, perhaps; but these chefs are in office to serve the people, not themselves. Being elected is not a reward for being charismatic (or brutal), and so now the rest of Zimbabwe must pay for it (literally). We Zimbabweans need to think hard about what kind of leadership we want, and whether we really want an Animal Farm situation. If the MDC leaders are showing a propensity towards the kind of corruption and lack of accountability we have come to hate, then they must never be elected.
My heart breaks for every Zimbabwean who has to go to Bulawayo Central Hospital, and bring their own linen and blankets; for the woman who missed work on Thursday to go to her grandchild''s school to explain why she has not paid her fees for this term- and the reason is because her company has not paid her for four months, because "there is no money"; for the woman who had her power disconnected over a bill of $200, which is exactly how much she earns, but she, too, has not been paid for four months. There's no room in this kind of situation for 1% behaviour, but apparently our politicians think there is.
Clearly, this is only part of the story, but the rest is obvious, so I will end here.
PS. I wonder how many young people strive to become a chef too- with such obvious benefits, who wouldn't want to be one? I will write more in a future post about that.