Rising Poverty Dents Mnangagwa Support

A report by the Research and Advocacy Unit (RAU) claims that the majority of Zimbabweans are unhappy with the decline in their well-being under President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s administration and are unlikely to retain him for a second term in the 2023 elections.

In its latest report on organised violence and torture (OVT) and elections in Zimbabwe, RAU also recommended the confinement of the military to the barracks ahead of the elections. RAU said:

Notwithstanding the COVID-19 crisis, the general populace has seen a significant decline in their well-being, a condition for which they may well hold the current government responsible, and likely to support it again in a poll.

These are the conditions that increase the probability of the return of OVT, a probability reflected in the warlike rhetoric of ZANU PF supporters.

The non-governmental organisation called on government officials to refrain from fanning hate speech to avoid a bloodbath. The report added:

It is critical that the pre-election period before 2023 is characterised by a total absence of hate speech, especially by members of the government, and that all persons making such statements are charged under sections 37(1)(c) and 42(2) of the Criminal Code.

There must be no deployment of members of the ZNA [Zimbabwe National Army] into the civilian space outside of conditions that approximate a state of public emergency, as indicated in section 113 of the Constitution, and, if deployed, the provisions of section 214 of the Constitution be strictly adhered to, with full public disclosure.

Meanwhile, ZANU PF spokesperson Simon Khaya Moyo dismissed claims that his party was failing to address the plight of the people, saying anyone saying that was not following developments on the ground. He said:

I am not sure what they are talking about. They are not following the implementation of our manifesto. There are lots of projects and programmes that have been implemented.

We are not in 2023, we are only in 2021 and the assessment can only be done before the end of the next election.

Why do they throw away the two years remaining? You can’t conclude when we have two more years to go.

Zimbabwe goes for presidential, parliamentary and local government elections in 2023 amid concerns of growing poverty, unemployment, cash shortages among other problems.

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