Is Mnangagwa stalling real economic empowerment so that he can be thanked for handouts?

This morning, I watched a news report where the people of Goromonzi converged to receive one or two fire trucks which had been bought using so-called "Devolution Funds".

My heart broke as several people from Goromonzi lined up to shower glowing praises on President Emmerson Mnangagwa for "leaving no one and no place behind."

It was as though many believed these fire trucks were purchased using Mnangagwa's personal funds.

This gross misunderstanding highlights a deliberate strategy to misinform the public, creating a dependency on the government.

Yet, this money is coming from the citizens themselves through taxation.

However, the heart of this article is the deliberate stalling of genuine economic empowerment by the Mnangagwa regime, seemingly to perpetuate dependency on the ruling elite.

Why did the funds for these fire trucks even originate from central government?

Zimbabwe's Constitution, under section 264, explicitly provides for devolution of government powers and responsibilities.

The aim is to ensure equitable sharing of resources and transfer responsibilities and resources to establish a sound financial base for provincial and local authorities.

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Devolution, as envisioned in the Constitution, would empower communities like Goromonzi to directly manage and benefit from their local resources.

Instead, what we witness is far from true devolution.

Local authorities are relegated to being recipients of centrally-controlled funds, leaving citizens at the mercy of central government.

Mashonaland East Province, which includes Goromonzi, is endowed with vast natural and economic resources.

Fertile soils support large-scale production of crops like maize, tobacco, and horticultural produce.

Livestock farming thrives alongside forestry.

The province also boasts mineral wealth, with gold deposits in Mutoko, Mudzi, and Uzumba-Maramba-Pfungwe (UMP), as well as the internationally coveted black granite from Mutoko.

There are even promising lithium and tantalite deposits.

Tourism opportunities abound, from Nyatana Game Park to the ancient rock paintings in Murehwa.

Water resources like the Nyagui and Hunyani rivers, coupled with potential for small hydropower and solar energy, add to the region's wealth.

With such immense potential, why are Goromonzi's citizens celebrating a couple of fire trucks?

Shouldn't they be enjoying a far higher standard of living through direct benefit from the vast resources in their region?

Had these resources been managed locally, they could have transformed the area into a hub of prosperity, instead of leaving people to rely on crumbs from central government disguised as "Devolution Funds."

This phenomenon is not unique to Goromonzi.

Consider Marange in Manicaland Province.

Despite being the seventh-largest diamond producer globally, with 4.9 million carats extracted in 2023 alone (valued at $303 million), the local population remains among the poorest in Zimbabwe.

Since the discovery of diamonds in 2006, Zimbabwe has likely earned over $20 billion from their sale.

Yet, this immense wealth has not translated into improved livelihoods or significant infrastructural development for the people of Marange or Manicaland.

Instead, they are left waiting for small allocations from central government, which they must stretch to cover basic infrastructure projects like clinics and schools.

One cannot help but wonder: how transformative would even a fraction of the diamond revenue, say $30 million of the $303 million earned in 2023, have been for the people of Marange?

Would we not be envying their beautiful homes, upmarket schools, hospitals and shopping malls in an area once viewed as rural and backward?

The same question applies to Goromonzi and every other resource-rich region in Zimbabwe.

Genuine devolution would enable such regions to fully exploit and benefit from their local wealth.

However, the Mnangagwa administration has deliberately stalled this process, fearing it would render citizens economically independent and diminish their dependency on the ruling elite.

It is evident that the current regime thrives on fostering a personality cult around Mnangagwa.

This is achieved by keeping the population impoverished and desperate, forcing them to rely on government handouts for survival.

The sight of grateful citizens showering Mnangagwa with praises for food aid, or a classroom block, or a small clinic feeds into this strategy.

A country where 70% of the population lives below the poverty datum line, with half in extreme poverty, provides fertile ground for such manipulation.

Zimbabwe also needs to move away from supposed "empowerment projects", where the citizenry is forced to accept a mediocre livelihood, where living from hand to mouth is packaged as "success".

What Mnangagwa and his regime fail to grasp is that true leadership lies in empowering people to be self-reliant, not in orchestrating their dependency for political gain.

Zimbabweans would undoubtedly respect and appreciate their leaders even more if they were to implement genuine devolution, fostering self-sufficiency and local development.

Yet, the ruling elite appears to believe that such empowerment would erode their grip on power.

In their minds, it is far better to hear desperate citizens singing their praises for saving them from hunger (through food aid and agricultural inputs) than to see a nation of empowered individuals who do not depend on government handouts.

They want to see, in some depraved manner, the people of Zimbabwe reach such desperate levels of despair so that the ruling elite may then swoop in as the prince who saves Cinderella.

This mindset is both myopic and cruel.

Real empowerment is not a threat to leadership but a legacy.

Leaders who facilitate genuine development and independence for their citizens are remembered as visionaries.

By contrast, those who manipulate poverty to maintain power are condemned to history's annals of mediocrity.

The Mnangagwa administration must be held accountable for its failure to implement genuine devolution as prescribed by the Constitution.

Citizens must demand that local resources be managed locally and that the fruits of these resources benefit the communities where they are found.

Only then can Zimbabwe break free from the cycle of poverty and dependency that has been deliberately perpetuated for political gain.

This deliberate stalling of economic empowerment to sustain a dependency-driven political strategy is a betrayal of the people of Zimbabwe.

It is high time citizens saw through this charade and demanded the economic independence and empowerment they deserve.

For Mnangagwa and his administration, the question remains: will they continue to thrive on the suffering of the people, or will they rise to the challenge of true leadership?

● 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: https://mbofanatendairuben.news.blog/