Zimbabwean government operates in a zone of its own

A political commentator Alex Magaisa has said the Zimbabwean government operates in a zone of its own considering the stance it takes in relation to the economy pretending as if everything was normal yet the economy is crumbling.

"It's hard to imagine it still has any moral compass at all. They spent last week demolishing houses, well-built properties, located near the airport. Some blame the city council but this is a weak defence. The reality is this was government's hand at work and, in any event, they did nothing, as the superior authority, to stop the heinous acts," said Magaisa.

"They drove bulldozers into the residential area and razed down huge houses. Not shacks but proper houses, with all the bits. They said the houses were illegal. But a house is not built in a day. It takes months, sometimes years, to complete the kind of properties that were callously brought down last week. It takes many processes and permissions to get services like water and electricity into a home. The people had all or most of these things. They paid for them."

He said the local authority and government would have known what was going on. Those people didn't just settle themselves in the area. He said they were given authority by someone and by those promises, sunk their savings into those properties.

"Sometime last year, President Mugabe complained about the properties. He didn't fancy them and he made it known. They were unsightly, and embarrassing when visitors came and it was airport land, he said. A couple of months later the bulldozers arrived and the houses were demolished. No court orders as required by law. They just came and demolished. It's the middle of Summer and it's raining. Women and children have been left exposed. But who cares?" Magaisa said.

"President Mugabe was in Addis Ababa, where he gave a rousing speech at the AU. Those present cheered on and clapped hands in acclamation as he pontificated about humanity and justice in the world; as he challenged the skewed international system which favours the big boys and crashes the small man."

Magaisa said it must have been great speech, because our President nearly always delivers great speeches, especially on the international stage, well, most of the time anyway.

"But he would not have told them about the women and children back home who are sleeping in the open because his government decided that their homes were an eyesore; that they were illegal, and were razed down in minutes as if they grew overnight like mushrooms. Never mind that the new constitution has provisions protecting the right to shelter and prohibits such demolitions in the absence of a court order. He is their hero. He spoke their language. They don't know and don't care. So they cheered him on and clapped hands as he spoke and criticised world bullies," he said.

"The Minister for Local Government, under whose charge the demolitions took place has invited "patriots" to come to the airport to welcome the "iconic leader" and "hero". Those are his words. He wants people to give Mugabe a warm welcome, a hero's welcome. Never mind there are women and children who have no longer have a home, because the government led by this "icon" and "hero" decided that they should be demolished. When he drives to him big home on the other side of town, in his long motorcade, President Mugabe will pass through the area where these homes were demolished. He might take notice of their absence. He might even if in agreement, that the ministers obeyed his disapproval."

Magaisa said he do not know how they sleep at night, but he guess they have big houses with many bedrooms; big, big bedrooms and big, comfortable beds, and they never have to worry about a thing.

"But where do they get the arrogance to perform those callous acts and then invite people to come to the airport to welcome an "icon",the same man whose government destroyed their homes and livelihoods? Perhaps it's because they know no one will challenge them. I wonder what Okonkwo, the tragic hero in Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart would think of us as a people. "If a man comes into my hut and defecates on the floor, what do I do? ..." he once asked of his fellow men of Umuofia. He would probably ask us the same question. I don't know how we would answer. I really don't know," he said.