Restoration of Human Rights (ROHR) Zimbabwe

ZIMBABWE A CANISTER OF HUMAN RIGHTS WORMS!!!

A PEOPLE IN PAIN!!!

Zimbabwe is a nation in transition, or should we say in confusion. It is a nation in transition simply because a process that leads to an inevitable change of government is currently underway.  Zimbabweans have never tasted new leadership since 1980 simply because the Zanu PF government, which is a slow learner of the principles of democracy and peace, clung to power at all cost even if it means burning homes, beating and killing people.

It is historic and also unprecedented. It is the first time ever that, Zanu PF and the opposition MDC, agreed to work together in a Government of mutual cooperation, for the purposes of proffering solutions for the beleaguered nation. A month is gone since the three leaders of the political parties entered into a “Deal” to form a Government of National Unity, and the talks are still limping on.

Meanwhile as the people wait for change, they are blistering in the heat of extreme economic hostility. The official inflation rate hit a record high of 231 million per cent for the month of June 2008. Food is scarce and supermarkets shelves are empty, further impoverishing the citizenry. For many, getting access to basic commodities is now a luxury. Food is either expensive or charged in foreign currency as licensed by the Reserve bank, a situation that alienates the majority whose income is in local currency.

People in the rural area are the hardest hit by the economic sting and are forced to face the music of suffocating poverty, hunger, HIV/AIDS and neglect. Men, women and children have resorted to subsisting on wild fruits and herbs as the cycle of lack has become culture in the communities. Thanks to the chaotic agrarian reform, Zimbabwe has never had a meaningful harvest since 1998, and therefore, the rural folks have become dependent largely on foreign aid which is not sustainable and fulfilling. 

The Government Ban of food aid distribution by NGOs exacerbated the catastrophe since people were denied access to food and other critical basic needs at a time when livelihoods and sources of income had been lost during the post March 27 harmonised election violence. Thousands had been displaced, homes burnt, thereby destroying patterns of survival for many of the victims. Rights to life, food and a decent life are curtailed in the process.

Education sector is seriously flouting the right of education for today’s generation. The situation remains untenable amidst calls by the teachers unions to call off 2008 as an academic year. Students are the hardest hit, a situation that robs them of their right to education.

 According to statistics released by Progressive Teachers Association of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) students in the rural and peri- urban areas had an average 23 uninterrupted days in 2008, while those in urban areas had contact time with teachers for 48 days as the academic year was wasted to political disturbances in schools, teacher commitment to election duties and a spate of labour unrests. Eventually 90 percent of students who are to sit for grade 7, ‘O’ and ‘A’ Level examinations were not adequately prepared for the examinations. 

 Universities and schools failed to open on time and those that opened, closed immediately. The poorly paid lecturers and teachers have either opted to migrate out of the country or stay at home because the paltry September salary of ZW$62,000 (US$10) for teachers is not only unsustainable, but a mockery to their profession. They cannot afford to buy basic food items and other necessities for their families and pay fees for their children.

On Thursday 16 October specialist doctors at state hospitals went on strike, protesting against a salary on $50 000 – $100,000 which they are currently earning. Some of the biggest hospitals such as Parirenyatwa hospital, Harare central hospital and Mpilo general hospital were on Friday last week discharging patients and telling them to find treatment in private hospitals and clinics whose prices are beyond reach of many. The doctors were keeping the state institutions running since junior doctors and nurses stopped coming to work in august demanding more pay and better working conditions

While the negotiations are stalling on, we would like to remind Robert Mugabe that he presided over the failed state for more than a decade now and he should do the honourable thing by stepping down for the people’s sake. Thousands are dying and it seems Mugabe is more interested in clinging to power rather than alleviating the hardships of Zimbabweans. The people voted on 29 March 2008, and Robert Mugabe beat up the citizenry, killed and plundered, burnt houses and displaced thousands simply as a way of subverting the will of the people and to earn his place on the negotiating table.