Opinion / Columnist
Who Owns Blinart Investments?
04 Oct 2022 at 12:49hrs | Views
Zimbabwean people never stop to amaze me-how can a whole parliament waste time debating about a USD$9,000 laptop? Is our parliament genuine in discussing this issue or it is just one of the sideshows to distract the masses from real bread and butter issues?
Do I need to constantly remind people that we are living under dictatorship? Despotic regimes violate the natural order of things therefore I cannot understand the farce about these US1.6 million laptops.
It is either we are playing dump or something has seriously gone wrong in our heads. In a dictatorship, if you do not pay a 'success fee' for any contract you sign with government organizations, big or small, you will be out of business very quickly. The "success fees" range from 10 to 30 percent of the total value of a contract paid to government officials, which could be as much as USD$480,000 in this instance.
In our dictatorship, most of these companies competing for government contracts are owned by our leaders. They have created deep seated corruption that gives them total power. They use their positions to parcel out large chunks of the economy to relatives, kinsmen, cronies, or secretive military groups.
Just be honest with yourselves and tell me which government department does not tolerate petty corruption? You and I know it-chiokomuhomwe has become a way of life and is necessary to secure contracts, business loans, freedom, and even jobs.
Remember economic wellbeing and power are cousins, dictators and the ruling clique understand that very well and use state controls and instruments to enrich themselves, and also to punish their rivals, silence their critics, and reward their supporters.
Have you ever asked yourselves how much of the Zimbabwean economy is under the control of the Zimbabwean army?
The good news however is, a despotic regime does not last forever. It violates the natural order of things and eventually collapses under the weight of its own internal contradictions. Paranoia and insecurity is plaguing ZANU (PF), and palace intrigues is leading the despot to suspect plots by anyone, even his own military-are you following the arms import deal?
Today, we see layers upon layers of security, just in case one layer fails. In the end, however, the dictator will be hoisted by his own petard-overthrown or killed by members of his own security apparatus.
To the freedom lovers and democracy activists, do not wait for a despotic regime to self-destruct. It may take decades-we saw this with our own Robert Mugabe and Colonel Muammar Qaddafi of Libya. In Zimbabwe, the regime self-destructed and, another dictator took the place of Mugabe. Therefore, a proactive stance or strategy must be forged to hasten the demise of the dictator and ensure a peaceful transition.
Do I need to constantly remind people that we are living under dictatorship? Despotic regimes violate the natural order of things therefore I cannot understand the farce about these US1.6 million laptops.
It is either we are playing dump or something has seriously gone wrong in our heads. In a dictatorship, if you do not pay a 'success fee' for any contract you sign with government organizations, big or small, you will be out of business very quickly. The "success fees" range from 10 to 30 percent of the total value of a contract paid to government officials, which could be as much as USD$480,000 in this instance.
In our dictatorship, most of these companies competing for government contracts are owned by our leaders. They have created deep seated corruption that gives them total power. They use their positions to parcel out large chunks of the economy to relatives, kinsmen, cronies, or secretive military groups.
Just be honest with yourselves and tell me which government department does not tolerate petty corruption? You and I know it-chiokomuhomwe has become a way of life and is necessary to secure contracts, business loans, freedom, and even jobs.
Remember economic wellbeing and power are cousins, dictators and the ruling clique understand that very well and use state controls and instruments to enrich themselves, and also to punish their rivals, silence their critics, and reward their supporters.
Have you ever asked yourselves how much of the Zimbabwean economy is under the control of the Zimbabwean army?
The good news however is, a despotic regime does not last forever. It violates the natural order of things and eventually collapses under the weight of its own internal contradictions. Paranoia and insecurity is plaguing ZANU (PF), and palace intrigues is leading the despot to suspect plots by anyone, even his own military-are you following the arms import deal?
Today, we see layers upon layers of security, just in case one layer fails. In the end, however, the dictator will be hoisted by his own petard-overthrown or killed by members of his own security apparatus.
To the freedom lovers and democracy activists, do not wait for a despotic regime to self-destruct. It may take decades-we saw this with our own Robert Mugabe and Colonel Muammar Qaddafi of Libya. In Zimbabwe, the regime self-destructed and, another dictator took the place of Mugabe. Therefore, a proactive stance or strategy must be forged to hasten the demise of the dictator and ensure a peaceful transition.
Source - Sam Wezhira
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