IN one of his works Kenyan writer, Ngugi waThiongo, examines the concept of “where the rain started to beat us” and exhorts us to dig out the real causes of our suffering as the wananchi (the masses).

One such situation, in contemporary Zimbabwe, is the plight of public service workers who earn below the poverty datum line. They are confronted with the onerous challenge of paying for exorbitant rents, astronomical school fees, food, as well as expensive medical bills in order to sustain themselves.

We, as a nation,  know where the rain began to beat us. It was when Zanu PF, the former ruling party, became reckless with the economy more than a decade ago in another moment of economic madness.

This saw unbudgeted gratuities being dished out to war veterans, as well as the fast track land redistribution programme which was described as an “agrarian racist enterprise” by the late Zanu PF founding member Eddison Zvobgo. Added to this was our involvement in the DRC war.
Workers’ unions should not forget this series of events in their present struggles, so that they don’t just confront the symptoms of the problem instead of the real cause.

Public Service minister, Lucia Matibenga, is only trying to rectify this situation in the ill-fated inclusive government the MDC-T finds itself in.

Zanu PF, which is the sole author of this malaise, remains the arrogant gatekeeper to the road to salvation for the toiling public workers.

It continues to refuse to cooperate on the issue of ghost workers who are still on the bankrupt coalition government’s payroll.

Vivid Gwede,
Harare.

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