By Evans Mushawevato
INDEED, we are on our own.
But this should not be a source of despair.
It should be a clarion call.
It should be a call to take a different course of action.
Zimbabwe, like most developing nations in the world, is in dire need of financial help.
And the World Bank which allocated US$2,1 billion to struggling Third World countries, in its ‘infinite wisdom’, decided Zimbabwe did not qualify for assistance.
The UN cited Zimbabwe and South Sudan as being the most vulnerable countries to COVID-19 on the continent; a situation made more dire by recurring droughts and cyclones that devastated Zimbabwe.
Well, this should come as no surprise as these institutions, the Bretton Woods institutions, are not neutral players; they represent the interests of the US and its allies, sworn enemies of Zimbabwe.
One cannot help but feel that COVID-19 has just been weaponised in the hope that it will do the job that the US and its allies have failed to do — regime change.
COVID-19, is a relentless foe and these institutions have become a ‘Hitler’ bent on the genocide of our people.
It is a truth now universally acknowledged that millions of dollars are required to fight and control this pandemic.
The asymptomatic latency period- one of its more diabolical features — means that people who have been infected will only become ill after infecting many others.
COVID-19 has demonstrated that while medicine has made giant strides and many institutions that claim to help humanity have sprouted, human beings remain trapped in behaviour and thinking we would like to believe went out with the Dark Ages.
Its a fact that if no support is extended, we will witness immense suffering and hardship as a people.
And one hopes that when this ravaging virus has passed, those who withheld assistance as ordinary citizens of Zimbabwe faced the possibility of being wiped out will be summoned to the West’s beloved Hague to answer to charges of crimes against humanity.
African leaders have been summoned to this court, accused of complicity to crimes they have had no part in.
We shall see if justice is truly blind.
What has been done against Zimbabwe and other nations deprived of support is akin to closing the door on a people being chased by a pride of hungry lions and asking them silly questions as they pound the door begging for it to be opened.
That is a crime against humanity.
The lone voice of telecommunications tycoon Strive Masiwa has been drowned in a sea of malevolent silence.
“We are deeply concerned about the potential loss of life if international aid does not come quickly, especially to address the needs of this pandemic.
This is a humanitarian appeal. Please help Sudan and Zimbabwe’s people. In God’s name, please help these nations before it is too late.
The money would be used to provide urgently required medical supplies, training and remuneration for healthcare workers,” said Masiwa.
Every one knows how bad COVID-19 is, especially America and Europe; that they would want what happened in their countries to happen in Zimbabwe just goes to show that, to them, black lives do not matter.
According to David Nabarro, a professor of global health at Imperial College, London, a special envoy to the WHO: “There are some viruses that we still do not have vaccines against. We cannot make an absolute assumption that a vaccine will appear at all or if it does appear, whether it will pass all the tests of efficacy and safety. It’s absolutely essential that all societies every where get themselves into a position where they are able to defend against the coronavirus as a constant threat and to be able to go about social life and economic activity with the virus in our midst,” is on record saying.
Now that we know the unvarnished truth, that we are on our own, what then must we do?
We must pay heed and fully support President E.D. Mnangagwa’s call at the 339th Ordinary Session of the Politburo, this week, which appealed for co-operation between small and medium-scale enterprises, educational institutions and local manufacturers.
Obviously, we cannot continue looking up to institutions that do not care an iota about us.
Continuously, benchmarking or basing our efforts at revival and development on their templates is no different from seeking medication from the one who has caused our illness.
Zimbabwe is a nation short of nothing.
Our economy can be solely sustained by agriculture.
It can be supported by the mining sector alone and, not even the whole sector but just a single mineral we choose: gold, diamonds, platinum or lithium, among many others on high demand.
We all just have to come together, decide and commit as one people and pull in one direction.
“The manufacturing sector and SMEs must harness the immense potential in home-grown, innovative solutions to drive and propel our country’s modernisation and industrialisation, which have been made more evident during the present COVID-19 response strategies. In this regard, there should be closer co-operation between the manufacturing sector, SMEs and our education institutions,” said President Mnangagwa.
In place is a leadership determined to improve the status of its people, making every effort to achieve excellence; what it requires is support and commitment by all stakeholders.
The vision for the nation is sharp, goals are clear, resources are abundant and all that is required is a strong will to do what is right, especially among the citizens.
Personal interests must make way for national interests.
Despair and pessimism are transient what unites us largely surpasses our differences.
Discord is not normal and we wont achieve much if trivia dominates our major concerns while negative attitudes keep overwhelming the positive.
COVID-19 has highlighted the capabilities of our institutions which have shown that the shortest way to the bright future we seek lies in a creative and pioneering approach.