via Tokwe Mukosi man-made-disaster cannot just be wished away May 16, 2014 by John Huruva

It took decades to plan the construction of the Tokwe Mukosi Dame. Progress was slow while costs escalated mainly due to corrupt financial greed that had to be satisfied first. Even now as we speak the construction is yet to be completed. Given the time-span in this project, it is madness for anybody to suggest that the events unfolding in Chingwizi are a result of a “natural “ disaster. Not a whiff of that my dear reader, not a whiff. All was planned. Remember there was that flowery language of compensating those to be relocated and provide them with services, amenities and infrastructure. That was supposedly planning and not a freak of nature. But we now know that it was all a con, a fraudulent trickery. There are shedloads of evidence to support my assertion.

When news broke

When something unusual happens, certain reactions are expected especially from the authorities. When the news about the plight of those in the flood basin broke, the lacklustre reaction of the local, regional and national authorities was sickening. A friend of mine asked why I was surprised at such a reaction as it was in line with ZANU PF’s modus operandi.  A nasty taste filled my mouth and I found it hard to swallow my saliva. Anyway, days later Minister Chombo visited the dam to inspect the damage to the dam wall and not the victims who had lost all their possessions. Immediately after, he, The Minister of Local Government, appealed to the international community for help. Apparently no help was forthcoming.

Enters the President

Finally the highest authority in the land joined the fray. His Excellence the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe Robert Gabriel Mugabe who had just been re-elected into office declared Tokwe Mukosi a national disaster.  Very honourable statement indeed but days and weeks pass and no show from any figure of authority. Instead, the Presidium got preoccupied with demands for a visa to enable the First Lady to visit Europe. Some other concerned African Presidents weighed in in support of the poor First Lady who had been refused an entry visa into the evil Colonialist West. In the meantime Chingwizi camp is a no go area for any figure of authority. Instead the President and his entourage headed for Rome to meet the Pope. What a shameless hypocrisy. Chingwizi was a destination too far!

Morgan Tsvangirai joins the fray

The most celebrated and most recognisable opposition leader in the country, Morgan Richard Tsvangirai, took weeks to make an attempt to visit the victims of the national disaster. He made the least dispirited attempt to enter the camp but cried foul when security details refused him entry. He was quick to turn back. This is a man renowned for his bravery. Had Mr Tsvangirai been arrested for attempted forced entry he would have given an unprecedented publicity world-wide to the plight of the victims of fraud, greed and palpable homicide at the hands of the state. Such a feeble attempt by Mr Tsvangirai did more harm than good. The victims will find it hard to differentiate between the lacklustre behaviour of the President and the offhand approach of the opposition leader. Who would blame them for coming to such a conclusion?

The worst of the lot as Chinotimba comes top of the class.

Quite often Honourable Joseph Chinotimba is made fun of and subject of ridicule among Zimbabweans. Quite to the contrary Chinotimba has shown time and again that he knows what it means to be an MP at a national level by talking strongly against corruption and has also raised issues that are of interest to his constituency. We have all been made to understand that he is the “uneducated one” whatever education means in terms constituency representation.

As for Tokwe Mukosi, Chivi and Masvingo MPs, Councillors and Mayors, their silence has been that of a graveyard. They might just as well been dead and nobody would notice. Why? Why? Why? And why the silence if you were elected by the people so you could be their voice? Why? Is this just incompetence? Perhaps it isn’t. It has to be sometime more sinister. I believe just like most of you do that this is part of a grand strategy to silence the people of Masvingo once and for all. These are the first steps. They start by performing localised provocative moves to test your reaction before the final onslaught.

Twisting the dagger.

Some call it rubbing salt onto the wound. As if denied promised compensation and losing possessions was not enough, the authorities commissioned local ox and donkey drawn carts as removal vehicles for those who were stranded in the flood. As usual they were promised payment for their services but up to now they are still waiting to be paid for the services rendered. Most people would not take kindly to this kind of treatment.

The tale tell signs

Where a government is failing to help its people it normally turns to the International Community which in turn provides assistance through the Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs). Ironically the Provincial Governor of Masvingo Province banned all NGOs from the province. No reporters are allowed near Chingwizi camp. In light of the subsequent disaster can you now see the rationale behind these sinister moves?

Enough is enough. Zvakwana. Sokwanile.

People have seen behind the smoke screen. They are now fighting back. It is now clear to them that this was a planned disaster that is meant to benefit a few sharks within ZANU PF with a few MDC accomplices feeding on the crumbs falling off the table but nonetheless appetising too good to be missed. The victimised population deserves your support. They only have each other and perhaps you if you decide to support them. In the history of human struggles social capital has prevailed over financial capital. Together we can defeat this monster. In this instance the challenge is even harder in that we are up against our own. Let’s take heed to Marcus Garvey’s observation in Africa for the Africans when he said, “The worst enemy is the enemy within”.

In a vast swash of land, people who have been forcibly moved from their land are now being forced onto cramped pieces of land that cannot sustain their livelihood in the process creating more space for their game reserves. The young generation has to be told that some of these same leaders in our country used to demonstrate violently against the same laws that forced black people onto small barren pieces of land. The Land Tenure Act and the Land Apportionment Actwere the cornerstones of the Colonial Land Policy. Today the same people who claim to have liberated us from the colonial system of governance are reinforcing the same, if not worse.  It hurts and we are hurting.

Let’s rid ourselves of this cancer

What is happening in Masvingo is a microcosm of the cancer of greed and corruption wreaking havoc at the centre of our otherwise beautiful country. Zimbabwean people’s national hero Ndabaningi Sithole taught us that we are our own liberators and Rhodesian enemy number 1 Josiah Magama Tongogara reminded us that we were not fighting a colour or a tribe but an unfair system. Let us today rally together and finish off the struggle.

I am John Huruva writing in my personal capacity as a concerned citizen.

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The fight for freedom and justice in Zimbabwe will not end with Mugabe’s departure.