Editorial Comment
SOME among us, who are able recall to events of 2009, may remember very well that soon after the government decided to dump the badly mangled Zimbabwe dollar, things began to really look up by the end of that year.
Everyone was positive about the future of the country and we were all eager to see things happen, albeit a relatively unchanged status quo. But it wasn’t long before the euphoria started dipping.
Despair soon turned to anger culminating in the November 2017 military coup that saw our longest serving leader yet, former President Robert Mugabe, being overthrown after he was tried and sentenced in the public court of law for being the chief culprit in the country’s unending socio-economic troubles. All of us — for the first time in decades — felt a breath of fresh air.
This time around, the euphoria did not last much, but some mere months. In fact, the excitement seemed to have ended the very day Mugabe was ousted because ever since that time the government and its people have never really found each other.
We are not, by any slightest means, suggesting that Mugabe’s era was any better. We are merely saying there is just something missing in the so-called second republic. Nothing seems to be jellying at all.
To graphically put the issue into perspective, the United Nations — in its 2019 World Happiness Report, placed Zimbabwe at position 146 out of the 156 indexed countries. The country effectively dropped two places from position 144 last year.
If our unhappiness is now that evident to the outside world, we believe it is high time the long-suffering Zimbabweans found each other to make life bearable for themselves.
- Chamisa under fire over US$120K donation
- Mavhunga puts DeMbare into Chibuku quarterfinals
- Pension funds bet on Cabora Bassa oilfields
- Councils defy govt fire tender directive
Keep Reading
It’s no secret that the source of our current differences emanate from the 2018 disputed presidential election results which culminated in the political standoff between President Emmerson Mnangagwa and the opposition MDC leader Nelson Chamisa.
Zimbabweans, however, continue to urge the two protagonists to find each other for the sake of our happiness. Period!
We implore that none of the two should detect the terms of engagement for the sake of our happiness and nation-building.
Chamisa says the nation is deeply divided and needs healing, but his arch-rival, Mnangagwa does not seem to agree with him. He appears determined not to entertain Chamisa. This, we are afraid, is one contributing factor towards the country’s unhappiness label. We can only find each other as a nation if our leaders are able to first find each other.
