Zimbabwe is going through a rough patch economically and politically. Currently, our nation is faced with a lot of challenges. Over the years, these challenges which Zimbabweans face have continued to intensify. Unemployment levels have gone beyond 95%, with only about 5% formally employed.
The informal sector continues to balloon, but with no meaningful contribution to the national fiscus. The cost of living continues to skyrocket. Many people have little to no access to safe water or adequate waste and wastewater disposal services. The medical system is in shambles, with no medicines - and facilities are failing to cope with the huge number of people in need of medical attention - not to mention the number of nurses and doctors we are losing to other countries. And even our schools are inadequately staffed. The problems are endless.
Depending on several factors, we—or many of us—have been negatively affected by the state of our country. According to the Zimstats, there are approximately 15.6 million of us in Zimbabwe and of those millions, 63% are recorded to be living below the poverty line. This means a large proportion of the population is bearing the biggest brunt of all that is wrong in Zimbabwe. Many are struggling to keep up with the rising cost of living. No survival strategy seems to suffice. A majority are wallowing in poverty. The poor have become even poorer and can hardly afford a decent meal every day. Millions sneak through the dangerous Limpopo into the neighbouring South Africa, in search of better living conditions. Unfortunately, some have become victims of xenophobia. It is a sad situation.
We can talk about many other issues that paint the grim picture of where we are as a nation. We can also talk about how some among us have given up hope that things will get better in the future. To be honest, who can blame them?
While some of us may have stopped seeing any light at the end of the tunnel, there still are those of us who hold onto the belief that a better Zimbabwe is possible. Those who believe that the darkest hour is just before dawn. We want things to be OK for everyone especially the ordinary Zimbabwean. It is good that we have hope - because it is this hope that will drive us to begin to think about what a better Zimbabwe looks like for all of us and what it will take to create that.
Any dreams of a better Zimbabwe will remain a dream if we do not take the next necessary steps to bring it to life. It is up to none but ourselves if we are ever going to be liberated. It is a self-liberation; hence action is required.
But what does a better Zimbabwe even look like? How will we know that we have created such a nation? Who are we going to look at and use their improved standard of living as a measure of our success? What is going to be the yard-stick to measure such success? What can each one of us do to drive the country towards the change we want to see?
This may be hard to accept but no one is coming to save us. What’s more, we all know that the Zimbabwe we want will not be handed to us on a silver platter. We may receive much-needed support from others - but the work that needs to be done to improve our nation is going to have be done by us!
This means it is up to us to decide if we will commit to working together to build a Zimbabwe where everyone can easily access basic goods and services and all of us will have an equal opportunity to thrive. I hope that our work will inspire all of us to start thinking about the questions I have asked here and what role we all can play to be the change we want to see in Zimbabwe.
We want to hear from you. Your voice can change Zimbabwe.
