THE recent donation of 300 vehicles by businessman Kudakwashe Tagwirei to Zanu PF has sparked outrage — and rightly so.
In a country where the economy is on its knees, public services are in a coma and citizens are drowning in poverty, with the unemployment rate at 94%, such a gesture reeks of misplaced priorities and political extravagance.
Let’s put this into context.
Hospitals in Zimbabwe are barely functioning.
Doctors and nurses are underpaid, demoralised and fleeing the country in numbers.
Critical labour and skills are leaving Zimbabwe for other countries in search of better opportunities.
Basic medication and sundries like painkillers, gloves and bandages are non-existent, leaving the poor to suffer in silence.
In education, the picture is equally grim.
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Thousands of children under the Basic Education Assistance Module have not had their fees paid for a long time, while teachers survive on a paltry US$240 and ZiG3 000 monthly salary.
The result: At least 1 200 teachers quit the profession every month in search of greener pastures.
Against this background, 300 vehicles are donated — not to hospitals, schools or public institutions — but to a political party.
A party whose officials are swimming in privileges derived from power and control of State resources.
The glaring question is: Who really benefits from such a donation?
Certainly not the ordinary Zimbabwean struggling to put food on the table.
That President Emmerson Mnangagwa accepted such a donation without redirecting it towards national priorities is deeply troubling.
Almost every Zimbabwean expect him to redirect donations of that nature towards the health sector, which has been plagued by a number of challenges for decades.
This is not charity. It is politics of patronage.
It is a system where businessmen enrich themselves through opaque deals with the State and recycle a fraction as “donations” to secure protection and favour.
If, as has been alleged, Tagwirei siphoned billions through Sakunda Holdings’ shadowy dealings, then such generosity should not be celebrated — it should be investigated.
Zimbabweans are not blind to this charade.
They see a government that asks them to tighten belts while its allies drive brand-new cars.
They see nurses without gloves, children sent home for unpaid fees and families sleeping on empty stomachs — yet ruling party officials receive keys to luxury vehicles.
Charity should not be used to sanitise misdeeds.
In a nation yearning for economic recovery, with its citizens trapped in poverty and public services in decay, such lavish donations by zvigananda are not just out of touch, they are deeply offensive.
This is not the time for Zanu PF to receive a fleet of brand-new vehicles while our hospitals run on “E” and millions sleep on empty stomachs.
Mnangagwa and his administration had an opportunity to show leadership by redirecting such resources towards national development, but instead, silence and complicity prevailed.
The people deserve answers.
The people deserve action.
And above all, the people deserve a government that puts public interest before political convenience.
Until that day comes, Zimbabwe will remain trapped in the cycle of elite privilege and mass suffering.
Zimbabwe needs real solutions — not political theatrics disguised as generosity.
Our leaders must put people first before politics.
Donating to a political party in times of crisis is not patriotism.
Until donations serve the people and not the party, Zimbabwe’s politics will remain steeped in patronage — where the poor are left with promises and the powerful drive away in brand-new cars.
