It is painful that most Zimbabweans are still living like slaves in their own country exactly 40 years after gaining independence. There are no decent standards of living for the poor and the weak.
The educated and many graduates have become vendors in the streets of cities and towns of Zimbabwe. As we observe the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery, let us not forget that Zimbabweans are experiencing slavery system which is being caused by the careless, clueless and corrupt ZANU PF government.
How on earth can you expect professional doctors, nurses, teachers and other civil servants to earn less than 45 US dollars a month and expect them to meet basic essentials and travel to work monthly?
Under age children are doing forced Labour and get almost nothing under harsh and unbearable conditions in Zimbabwe. Adults in Zimbabwe who work in tobacco production face serious health and safety risks but the government and tobacco companies are failing to ensure that workers have better working conditions, sufficient information, training and equipment to protect them.
Workers on tobacco farms said they were pushed to work excessive hours without overtime compensation, denied their wages, and forced to go weeks or months without pay. The ZANU-PF senior members are smuggling gold and putting money to their pockets and the children who get nothing are working for them in illegal gold mines.
Zimbabweans are in a bondage in their own country and this is the reason why an estimated 5 million Zimbabwean have swarmed South Africa and bring a huge burden to the public services of a country with nearly 4 times population compared to Zimbabwe. President Emmerson Mnangagwa should immediately stop treating civil servants like slaves, end the corruption pushing Zimbabwe into ashes or resign to stop burdening neighbouring countries with hungry Zimbabweans who push the wages of host countries down.
Kudzai Chikowore, Defender of Human Rights
The views expressed herein are not necessarily those of Independent Media.