Zimbabwe’s extravagant preparations for the recent SADC Summit starkly contrast with daily struggles. The newly constructed Chairman Mau Boulevard, VVIP amenities, and opulent presidential villas, built for the summit’s brief duration, highlight a troubling disparity. While the government showcased lavish infrastructure, many citizens endure severe shortages and hardships, including water shortages and imprisonment without trial. This disparity underscores the disconnect between high-profile events and the ongoing reality for ordinary Zimbabweans.
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By Cathy Buckle
Dear Family and Friends,
Zimbabwe now boasts a boulevard. The Chairman Mau Boulevard runs from Westgate shopping centre on the outskirts of Harare to the new, Chinese built and funded, parliament in Mount Hampden. A boulevard, in a country full of potholes, was constructed for the just ended SADC Summit. Trying to understand the need, expense and rationale of a boulevard was nothing compared to the other extravagances for the two-day Summit.
In a post-cabinet briefing to journalists just before the start of the two-day SADC Summit, Information Minister, Jenfan Muswere, described the state of Zimbabwe’s preparedness. Three main access roads to the new parliament were completed, he said, as was a VVIP lounge at the R.G. Mugabe Harare International Airport. This wasn’t just a VIP lounge but a VVIP one and there was also something called a VVIP Pavilion access road. What country are we living in, I wondered, as I zig zagged around potholes in the road in my home town. We could do with a boulevard here, or just a road with markings on it or even a man with a wheelbarrow of gravel filling in potholes.
The Information Minister went on to describe other details of Summit preparations which sounded very much like ordinary, normal things which should be happening all the time anyway. These included: removing and replacing damaged curbstones, re-marking the airport road, painting barriers and an airport hangar. The Minister said traffic lights had been installed at intersections and street lighting installed on major roads. Daily repairs apparently deserved the highest mention, how absurd. The list continued: A 2.8 million megalitre water reservoir and 14 boreholes had been drilled to guarantee sufficient water supply for Summit delegates. An 11kV uninterrupted power supply with a dedicated feeder and a transformer had been installed; high-speed internet service had been provided at the new Mount Hampden parliament and all other Summit related venues including international airports.
Lugging another bucket of water into my house as we have not had piped water in my area for a month, I tried to reconcile the huge extravagance for a two-day Summit at a time when most of our lives here are a continual struggle.
As the big day approached NewsDay newspaper wrote about the 18 ‘state of the art presidential villas’ that were being built in Mount Hampden to accommodate the SADC delegates. The government had hired a Swiss engineering and construction company to build the villas and they were bringing 500 of their own engineers to do the work with 300 local artisans. Materials used in the construction were imported from the United Arab Emirates, including concrete blocks which could have, and should have, been made in Zimbabwe but there is so much more to this story then meets the eye. All this was in vain however because by the time the Summit arrived none of the villas were ready and delegates were staying in Harare hotels instead. So who gets the Villas now, we wonder?
While all this was going on, none of the SADC delegates said anything about over 100 people still in prison without bail or trial, many brutalized and tortured by police. These include the Avondale 78, Former Cabinet Minister and Senator, Jameson Timba, and other Human Rights defenders, all silenced in case their movements or voices shattered the SADC Summit mirage.
To end this whole SADC Summit story came Zanu PF spokesperson, Christopher Mutvsangwa, who taunted the arrests of over 100 government opponents. He called them ‘deviants’ saying: “they were dealt with properly. And they failed. And we are very happy that they failed. And they will never succeed again. This was their last oomph at misbehavior,” he said. “They will never get another chance again. Because now they know what happens when they try to behave in a certain manner.” What an unbelievable thing for a party spokesperson to say.
Our hearts are with those in prison without bail or trial. Our thoughts are with those who can’t afford their groceries today, with the countless people carrying buckets of water into their homes because water no longer comes out of our taps. This is the real Zimbabwe, not the one with VVIPs, Boulevards and Villas.
There is no charge for this Letter From Zimbabwe but if you would like to donate please visit my website. Until next time, thanks for reading this Letter From Zimbabwe now in its 24th year, and my books about life in Zimbabwe, a country in waiting.
Ndini shamwari yenyu (I am your friend)
Love Cathy 22 August 2024.
Read also:
- Tragic irony: As SADC summit nears, Zimbabwe faces a crisis – Cathy Buckle
- Cathy Buckle: Letter from Zimbabwe – Visible scars of torture
- Cathy Buckle: Zimbabwean team rescues a young elephant from deadly snare
Copyright © Cathy Buckle https://cathybuckle.co.zw/
