ZIMBABWE BUILDS AN $88 MILLION ROAD WHILE PEOPLE STARVE

Today in Harare, President Emmerson Mnangagwa will open the new Trabalas Interchange. They say it is a great road project, but many of us know the truth. This road cost US$88 million. That is a very big amount of money for a road. The problem is not just the cost, but also who got the money and how they got it.

I am a political activist. I speak out against ZANU PF, the ruling party in Zimbabwe. I write about the pain they cause our people. Today I write about this road, because it is another example of how they steal from us while pretending to work for us.

If you look at the road with your own eyes, you can see the workmanship is poor. It is not even strong or beautiful. Yet the government says it cost US$88 million. This is more than other similar roads in Africa. In South Africa, the Mount Edgecombe Interchange cost only US$65.9 million. That one is stronger and better than this one in Harare. So why did ours cost more?

The answer is corruption. That is why we must speak out.

The company that built the road is Fossil Contracting. This company belongs to Obey Chimuka. He is friends with Kudakwashe Tagwirei, a businessman who is always close to the top leaders in government. This is not the first time we hear about these two in scandals. They get government projects and make millions while our hospitals have no medicine and our schools fall apart.

This is what makes me angry. People are dying in hospitals with no doctors. Families have no clean water. Roads in rural areas are broken and dangerous. Children walk long distances to school. But the government finds US$88 million to build a road in Harare for the president to cut a ribbon. This is wrong.

Also, no one knows how this company was chosen. The tender process was not open. It was not fair. Only people close to ZANU PF were allowed to take part. That is not how a good government should work. A good government lets everyone compete fairly. That way, we get the best work at the best price.

But in Zimbabwe, the leaders give jobs to their friends. They make fake prices. They share the money among themselves. This is what we mean when we say there is no transparency. This is what we mean when we say ZANU PF is a corrupt party.

They do not build for the people. They build for themselves.

I became an activist because I want Zimbabwe to be a better country. I want leaders who care. I want money to go to health, to education, to jobs. Not to roads that are just a show for TV cameras.

When I write these articles, I know there is danger. Speaking against ZANU PF is not easy. But someone has to say the truth. Someone has to fight for the people. I will not be silent while the poor suffer and the rich enjoy.

Zimbabwe is full of talent. It is full of hope. But we need leaders who love the country, not just their pockets. This US$88 million road is not a success. It is a sign of failure. A sign of greed.

We must continue to speak. We must continue to fight. Even when it is hard. We owe it to the children of Zimbabwe. We owe it to the future.

Let this road be a warning. Not everything that shines is gold. Sometimes, it is just dirty money hidden in cement.