At the onset of his presidency eight years ago, President Emmerson Mnangagwa pledged to be a listening president.
Mnangagwa, who took over from the late Robert Mugabe after the 2017 military coup, declared that the “voice of the people is the voice of God” as he sought to endear himself with an electorate that had grown weary of tone deaf leadership.
An assessment of his track record shows that he has largely not fulfilled his promises as his government continues to ignore issues raised by long suffering Zimbabweans be it on the economy or corruption.
Mnangagwa himself has on several occasions dismissed with contempt complaints about people suspected of corruption such as Wicknell Chivayo, who are never investigated by the authorities or made to account for their ill-gotten wealth.
Chivayo, who rose to promise after a scandal surrounding a contract for the setting up of a solar power plant in Gwanda, is a frequent guest of the president at State House.
In June 2018, Mnangagwa himself said the awarding of the Gwanda solar project tender to the ex-convict was a mistake that must never be repeated.
He also warned Chivayo that Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison was not full.
Seven years later, the Gwanda solar project is yet to begin even after the government was made to part with millions of dollars. Chivayo is free to flaunt his ill-gotten wealth and calls for the government to investigate him have fallen on deaf ears.
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At the same time Zimbabwe’s economy has been brought to its knees as corruption, politicking and incompetence by Mnangagwa’s ministers have taken centre stage.
It was against that backdrop that we found the latest pastoral letter by the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops Council on point and a reflection of the national mood.
The bishops told Mnangagwa and his Zanu PF to focus on “bread and butter issues” and do away with “distractions such as the third term” conversations.”
They said preoccupation with extending the president’s term beyond 2028 had brought with it “divisions and unnecessary diversions from the things that matter."
The bishops said corruption was out of control and the “corrupt seem uncensured and even rewarded whilst haemorrgaging the nation.”
We could not agree more with the bishops and we can only urge Mnangagwa to walk the talk on his promises to be a listening president.
He needs to act on the concerns raised by the bishops, which resonate with the majority of Zimbabweans who cannot breathe anymore because of the man-made problems that characterise every sphere of life nowadays.
