I HAVE over the past few weeks been of the view that the challenges ravaging our economy have nothing to do with us locals; that they are a creation of our usual enemies.
It seems I have been wrong.
There is a disease, a certain ailment that has been slowly creeping into our country.
Perhaps it has been there all along and we have been too busy to notice it.
Now that this disease has reached full cycle it is time for some serious introspection.
This disease has been unleashed by our service providers.
A story carried by one of the country’s leading daily on the front page this week made very sad reading.
It was about the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) expressing anger over unjustified drug price hikes.
And Zimbabweans are understandably agitated over this sad development.
Despite the RBZ allocating US$4 million to pharmacies every week for the importation of drugs, someone finds it prudent to hike prices by a whopping 70 percent.
Other service providers have been demanding payment in United States dollars despite the allocations.
This is selfishness at its worst.
This is gluttony.
This is indiscipline.
This is unmitigated greed.
This is bad business practice.
This is brazen abuse of toiling consumers.
This is senseless and blatant disregard of people’s health.
What kind of people are we becoming?
What kind of people have we become?
What kind of people shall we be in the future?
Clearly someone is trying to sabotage the economy and tarnish the image of the Government.
What justification is there for the price increases?
What explanation does the Association of Healthcare Funders of Zimbabwe (AHFOZ) have for this wanton and unwarranted abuse of consumers?
Clearly we have in our midst people who are orchestrating evil meant to bring the nation down on its knees.
Prices are being pegged at black market rates so that producers and service providers increase prices and we do not believe that this is just being done for bigger profit margins but to agitate the people.
For, at the end of the day, it is the ordinary person who bears the brunt of this mischief.
We need to curb this disease before it eats us all.
We need to contain it before it spreads.
We need solutions to curtail this sabotage.
What is happening in this industry is indiscipline.
Clearly these people do not care; in fact they resent the country.
Should they not be protecting the consumers!
What we are seeing are concerted efforts to frustrate the development agenda at every turn, the enemy is not resting but continues to devise new strategies to derail us.
But we remain vigilant.
We are not naïve, the enemy has not given up and will not be doing so any time soon.
Our message is that we see you and we shall not be caught napping.
We will not realise the national agenda if we are not disciplined, if we have saboteurs in our midst.
Let us come together and unite for the development of our country.
We hope that the relevant authorities will ensure that the drugs issue is resolved as a matter of urgency.