'Power first, people last' - Welcome to my country!!

"Power first, people last" – Welcome to my Country. ZANU-PF manipulates increase in Civil Service pay at expense of public services.

Zanu PF never ceases to amaze me. They bulldoze their way to making ridiculous decisions while sacrificing the whole nation just to protect their power and continued benefits they enjoy from looting the nation's resources. What is even more bizarre is their ability to walk tall and blame the MDCs for their mess while ordinary people continue to languish in poverty. At this point in time, it's clear, as always has been, that they would do anything to make sure they get their wishes. During the June 2011 National Security Council (NSC) meeting, the civil service salary was described as a national security issue. The Permanent Secretary for Finance, Willard Manungo told the NSC that it would be possible to increase civil service salaries, leaving the Finance Minister Tendai Biti with no choice but to agree to increase them.

And where exactly would that money come from?

We have been told over and over that the government is broke. Just last week, the Finance Minister said the US$23m received from the diamond sales was not enough to cover civil service salaries. Could we question whether the money was really going to increase the CIO pay? He also said the government was now running a deficit of US$80m a month and warned that financial discipline was lacking in government. We know too that most of the diamond revenues actually goes to line the hardliners private pockets.

…and again, at whose expense?

I recognise the crucial work done by many civil servants but in terms of priorities surely investment in the restoration of basic services should have come first. As such, the increase comes at the expense of ordinary Zimbabweans who struggle to get these basic services. People queue for days at hospitals and clinics, and have to provide their own medicine once they finally get seen. Water gushes from broken pipes and sewage runs in the streets in some neighbourhoods. Cars and buses break down as they hit huge potholes, even in the centre of cities. School buildings are crumbling and books are very scarce. Services are so bad that as his farm burned, not even a General could get assistance from the police due to lack of petrol, or from the fire brigade because there was no way to pump the water to the fire. Gono of course, was more fortunate, as he could provide his own water supply!

Bored of blaming Tony Blair we now blame MDC

Word on the street is that Zanu PF is attempting to blame the incompetence of the emergency service response to the fire at the Mujuru farm on the MDC, as they are responsible for the district that it occurred in. However to me it's clear that for Zanu PF longevity it has been and still is a higher priority to increase the wages of public sector workers than to invest in public services such as health, education and of course the emergency services. It does not take a rocket scientist to realise that this move was taken to please the defenders of the Mugabe regime including the Central Intelligence Organisation. So ask yourself: if "Rex Nhongo", a liberation hero, can't get help in his time of need, who can?

As the German philosopher Kant once said "The enjoyment of power inevitably corrupts the judgment of reason, and perverts its liberty."…. so are these days of our lives!