Zimbabwe's 45-year fall

The country is emerging from the celebrations of the statehood of the Republic of Zimbabwe on 18 April 2025, just under five years to celebrate half a century of its existence.

Are there any tangible and plausible achievements that citizens could be proud of? Very few or none at all, instead, the economy is melting down at worrying levels, scattering the young citizenry to all corners of the globe.

Lest we forget that, though statehood was secured over a decade of an acrimonious armed struggle, no significant paralysis was inflicted on the country's economic infrastructure, instead it remained intact. As soon as hostilities ceased, all sectors of the economy resumed production. The Smith regime built the strong manufacturing base to insulate itself against the UN imposed trade embargo. Sadly enough, all that has been reduced to ruins.

Robert Mugabe's government inherited not only a sound economy and envy of many polities on the continent, but also the draconian and oppressive legal instruments of the regime. Of the two, ZANU opted for the latter and neglected the former, for the obvious reasons. It was expected that after the attainment of independence, coercive oppressive legal instruments, LOMA, the State of Emergency, and the Unlawful Organisations Act were to be repealed, instead, these were retained and weaponised against ZAPU officials and activists.

The first casualties of Robert Mugabe's unrestrained intolerant fury were Dauti Mabusa, Philip Sigangatsha, and Sydney Malunga, to name but a few. These struggle icons endured torture and indefinite detentions. Also not to escape Mugabe's fury were ZAPU's owned NITRAM business entities, arbitrarily seized in 1982.

ZANU-PF's main focus, therefore, has never been about uplifting the economy and improving the lives of citizens, but the consolidation of power and retention, with ruthless notoriety. The deployment of the 5th Brigade to butcher innocent civilians in January 1983 under the pretext of pursuing dissidents close to a decade kickstarted the economic collapse.

The operation gobbled millions of dollars if not billions. If those millions were directed towards development, Zimbabwe could be one of the economic power houses in the continent. Up to now ZANU-PF doesn't have urgency to rescue the economy from its quagmire, instead it is seized with an anti-constitutional insanity of extending ED's stay at State House beyond 2028. Why this ferocious push when the country is reeling under economic crisis? Worse still, term extension was never part of its 2023 electoral manifesto?

ZANU-PF's inconsiderate and perilous policies reinforced by corruption and looting have condemned the country to a state of penury. Zimbabwe is now a pale shadow of itself, from an exporting giant to an economic nonentity and a liability in SADC. No more railway lines, no more trafficable roads all have collapsed under the weight of immeasurable neglect.

ZANU-PF is among liberation movements, the ANC of South Africa, FRELIMO of Mozambique, MPLA of Angola, SWAPO of Namibia. Unlike ZANU-PF, these movements are free from acrimonious internecine succession battles allowing smooth governance of territories. On the contrary, ZANU has never known internal peace since Mugabe usurped its leadership from the Rev Ndabaningi Sithole. It is plagued by internecine factional battles, resulting in poor statecraft performance. Compare Angola and Mozambique, which endured decades of civil wars and inherited little or nothing from their coloniser, Portugal. After the cessation of hostilities, these territories embarked on journeys of retrieving their economies from the ashes of civil wars and achievements are notable. ZANU-PF has rendered itself a disgrace among liberation movements and at worst, turned the country into a nation of beggars and SADC liability.

Vivian V. Siziba, writes in his personal capacity.