One person once said every Zimbabwean deserves an honorary degree.
Given what millions have endured since Independence and the period running from the turn of the millennium to now–bestowing honorary degrees in either Economics or Political Science is not a bad idea after all.
This is the type of comic relief that millions of Zimbabweans have become accustomed to as mapping out a foreseeable future appears to be a pipe dream.
Here we are.
Children that were born at or after Independence in 1980 are now grown-ups.
Many have never been formerly employed and 40 year olds are left with just over 20 years before reaching the official retirement age.
Yet we are told by those who are watching from the ivory tower that there is no crisis.
This week we carried a story based on an exclusive interview with Lindiwe Zulu, the African National Congress (ANC) chairperson for the sub-committee on International Affairs. What Zanu PF wants to project to the ANC or rather to the world is not what they are seeing.
This could be some denialism, some may argue.
From Zulu’s interview what we can conclude is that pressure is piling on liberation movements to reform or sink.
Secondly, South Africa’s governing party is urging Zimbabwe to deal with her housekeeping issues because failure to do so may have serious ramifications in the region.
By proximity, South Africa which is home to millions of Zimbabweans that fled the country due to different push and pull factors, would be the most affected should any crisis in Zimbabwe escalate.
Back at home, Zulu’s ANC has its own challenges too.
The land question remains unresolved and the opposition Economic Freedom Fighters is unhappy over this issue.
The straight talk from the ANC seems to echo what the Communist Party of China told a Zanu PF delegation that visited the superpower a few years ago.
China’s governing party advised Zimbabwe to tackle corruption as well as serve the electorate.
As it stands, there seems to be a discrepancy between election promises and reality. Since the early 2000s, China has been strategic in Zimbabwe in counterbalancing western isolation.
The Look East Policy served Zimbabwe from sinking.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government promised to re-engage with the international community, signaling that Zimbabwe would not only look east.
Fair enough.
But that has been a challenge though as seen by the trickling inward investments.
Should things remain unchanged, the future of liberation movements hangs in the balance if there continues to be a disjoint between governments and the electorate.
Zimbabwe is not spared either.
