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Zimbabwe’s contradictions – Zimbabwe Vigil Diary: 16th January 2021 |
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Written by Administrator |
Sunday, 17 January 2021 13:18 |
https://www.flickr.com/photos/zimbabwevigil/50844380781/sizes/m/
Zanu PF’s attitude has always been do as we say not as we do. Freshly returned to lockdown Zimbabwe from medical treatment in China, Vice President and Health Minister Chiwenga dismissed suggestions that Covid-19 is out of control even though it’s reckoned that a person is dying in Zimbabwe every hour from the disease.
Against all evidence, he said that public health facilities were not yet strained and accused social media of propagating lies that there were not enough hospital beds. He insisted that there were enough beds to accommodate serious cases, maintaining that 85% of people affected were in ‘self-isolation’!
‘However, if the need arises in future, my ministry may consider options of increasing facilities currently designated for Covid-19 or designate more hospitals to take in patients’.
Despite a surge in serious cases, Chiwenga indicated that he was taking a cautious approach to vaccinating people against the virus.
Medical experts have expressed fears that the country is ill-prepared for the new wave of infections, with supplies of medical oxygen running out and a dire shortage of intensive care facilities. Doctors for Human Rights said the country only had 30 intensive care beds (see: https://www.newsday.co.zw/2021/01/covid-19-under-control-chiwenga/).
Another Zanu PF us against them attitude is shown by the release on bail of Mining Federation president Henrietta Rushwaya, a party stalwart, who was arrested at Harare airport trying to smuggle 6 kilograms of gold worth US$330,000 to Dubai (see: https://www.newsday.co.zw/2021/01/rushwaya-granted-bail-2/).
Rushwaya had contacts at the heart of Zanu PF but opponents of the regime are routinely refused bail even when facing flimsy charges.
Rushwaya was a strong candidate for our fraud of the week but the award goes to Florence Chimbumu, a top manager of the Zimbabwe Council for Higher Education. Her qualification for the job turned out to be a single O Level pass but she had produced a forged certificate showing 5 passes, as well as diplomas in accounts and secretarial studies and a higher national diploma in office management.
Great Zimbabwe University says it has withdrawn the Bachelor of Science Honours degree (Politics and Public Administration) conferred on Chimbumu. In addition she loses the perks of being a boss of the country’s quality regulator of degree and diploma programmes, including a private security guard, an all-terrain Toyota Hillux double-cab vehicle, school fees and international holiday allowances – not to mention a domestic worker’s allowance, medical cover for her, her husband and three children, clothing and entertainment allowances etc (see: https://www.thezimbabwemail.com/education/ex-zimche-boss-stripped-of-degree/).
Under Zanu PF you can go a long way with one O Level.
Other Points:
Notices:
Vigil: https://www.facebook.com/zimbabwevigil ROHR: https://www.facebook.com/Restoration-of-Human-Rights-ROHR-Zimbabwe-International-370825706588551/ ZAF: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Zimbabwe-Action-Forum-ZAF/490257051027515 |