If ED doing great job why is he afraid to be questioned by the nation?

The world over, heads of state and government are never wary of availing themselves to the media.

Even unpopular ones, as former US president Donald John Trump - who knew he would be ruthlessly bombarded by the media - still availed themselves.

In so doing, these leaders open themselves to public scrutiny, as a way of accountability to the nation they lead.

One of the most common and widely used methods is via press conferences - whereby, the respective president or prime minister is subjected to a barrage of usually tough questions from the media.

This is hoped to not only make those in power answerable to the people - but also place under the microscope, by tight interrogation, the leader's performance and actions.

This is in stark contrast to one-way communication normally favored by the ruling elite - normally through public rallies or mere 'addresses to the nation' - where there is never an opportunity for the people to question their leader.

Instead of 'addressing the nation', the president should, in fact, be questioned by the nation.

The same applies to what I would term 'rigged interviews' - in which the head of state or government is asked flimsy and relatively benign questions by 'favorable' (ordinarily state-controlled) media.

Under such circumstances, the objective would clearly not be to hold the leader accountable - but purely for the purpose of campaigning and giving him a platform to sell himself as a resounding success.

This is exactly the tragic situation we find in Zimbabwe - where President Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa has never ever subjected himself to the nation - through a press conference.

Never has he ever given himself to the mercy of the media - both public and privately-owned - so as to be placed under meticulous scrutiny.

Here and there, he has accepted interviews with the obviously pro-government state-controlled media - knowing very well that they will never dare ask the real questions bedeviling the nation.

This is more true in a country where half the population lives in extreme poverty, with three quarters earning below the poverty datum line.

I am sure these suffering and impoverished people have a lot of questions.

They would want to know where billions of dollars in our natural resources - especially gold, diamonds, chrome, platinum and lithium - are going, in the midst of untold poverty.

They would want to ask the president why no one named in the Al Jazeera 'Gold Mafia' documentary has been arrested and prosecuted.
 
This, in spite of several politically-aligned people openly admitting, to undercover investigative journalists, their involvement in the massive smuggling to Dubai (UAE) of our gold, and enabling money laundering.

In fact, as suffering Zimbabweans, we would want to know his own position - considering that he was implicated in these criminal corrupt activities by his own Ambassador-at-Large Uebert Angel, his sidekick Rikki Doolan, and convicted gold smuggler Ewan Macmillian.

Can he explain to the nation why no one of significance has never been brought to book for prejudicing our country $2 billion in our minerals, US$3 billions in illicit cross-border financial transactions, and half our GDP (currently standing at US$29 billion) in corrupt activities.

Why is Mnangagwa not willing to be held to account for the huge ever-widening economic gap between the rich and the poor - with a very small wealthy class getting wealthier, and the over 90 percent poor only getting poorer.

Zimbabweans need to understand why the government embarked on a Zimbabwe dollar printing frenzy - which they flood on the parallel market, in order to buy as much US dollars as possible - to finance ZANU PF campaign programs.

As a result of the oversupply of these Zimbabwe dollar, chasing after scarce US dollars, the local currency has been on a frightening freefall - leading to a resurgence of hyperinflation, with most basic commodities out of the reach of the majority.

We also want to know why the Mnangagwa administration is stubbornly adamant that Zimbabweans, especially civil servants and pensioners, continue receiving their dues in the weak useless local currency.

I am sure the nation demands answers as to why our hospitals and clinics have been reduced to ramshackle shells - lacking the most basic essential medical needs, as paracetamol, cancer machines, and decent maternity facilities.

We would be glad to understand why our children are learning in the absence of proper conditions - lacking relevant educational material, and in rural areas, learning in the open, without chairs and desks, much less modern science and technology facilities.

Why is it that, 43 years after independence, the majority of Zimbabweans still have no access to tarred roads, potable water and reliable electricity - more so in the rural areas?

I am not even making reference to urban areas - where we, at least, still have the infrastructure constructed by the colonial regime, although now largely dysfunctional - due to lack of proper care, maintenance and upgrading.

I am talking about rural areas - where they do not even have tarred roads, electricity lines, or water pipes reaching their homesteads.

These same rural folk would want Mnangagwa to explain why - despite the liberation struggle being waged on the basis of land distribution imbalances - the majority remain on infertile dry lands, and forced to depend on handouts.

Yet, those in power, or aligned to them, own huge tracts of commercial farms - with recent reports signaling to former president Robert Gabriel Mugabe's daughter, Bona, owning a staggering 21 of them.

We may also want to know what became of the Justice Uchena Land Audit Report handed to Mnangagwa way back in 2019.

Why has its findings not been made public, let alone acted upon?

Zimbabweans have endless questions which they want their president to answer.

However, it would appear that he is too cowardly to face the nation he leads.

What is he afraid of - especially when he claims to be doing a fantastic job, worthy of another term in office?

In a nutshell, the people of Zimbabwe would want their president to explain to them why they are still so poor in a country endowed with such abundant wealth.

© Tendai Ruben Mbofana is a social justice advocate and writer.  Please feel free to WhatsApp or Call: +263715667700 | +263782283975, or email: mbofana.tendairuben73@gmail.com, or visit website: http://mbofanatendairuben.news.blog/