FROM INDUSTRIAL GIANT TO ECONOMIC JOKE

Long ago, Zimbabwe was one of the top countries in Africa. Only South Africa was more developed. Our factories were busy, workers had jobs, and our economy was strong. But now, our leaders are proud to say we are number five in the region. They are celebrating this like it is a big win. But it is not. It is a big failure.

The truth is simple. We used to be number two. Now we are number five. This is not success. This is going backwards. But the people in charge are smiling on TV, talking about how our GDP is now US$66 billion, based on new numbers from the IMF. These numbers say we are just behind South Africa, Angola, Tanzania, and the DRC. But what does that change for the people?

Ask yourself this: does this number stop your child from learning under a tree? Does it fix the hospital with no medicine? Does it bring fuel prices down? Does it mean civil servants will now be paid better? No, it does not.

This number is just for headlines. It’s for the ruling party to say, “Look, we are doing well.” But we know the truth. We live the truth every day. We feel the pain of a dying economy. We see young people leaving the country to go wash dishes and clean homes in other nations because there are no jobs here.

Zimbabwe is not a country that should be number five. We were leaders in farming, mining, and manufacturing. We made our own clothes, cooked our own food, and built our own buses. But now we import almost everything, even toothpicks. So why is the government celebrating?

Because they have no shame. They want to distract us. They want us to forget that they destroyed this country. They want us to look at fake growth and forget the real suffering. They want us to clap for them while we eat sadza without meat.

Our rulers are out of touch. They don’t use public hospitals. They don’t send their children to schools in Chitungwiza or Rusape. They don’t drink from dirty water in the high-density areas. They live rich lives. And then they come on TV to tell us that the country is doing well.

We cannot accept this. We must ask questions. Why did we fall? Who stole the money? Why are our roads full of potholes? Why is ZESA always off? Why is the currency collapsing every year? Why do our young people have no future?

This is not just bad leadership. This is betrayal. A government that destroys and then celebrates its mess is dangerous. It is like a man who burns down his house and then brags about having a tent.

We must wake up. We must speak out. We must stop this madness. We cannot allow them to tell us that suffering is normal. We must say no to lies, no to fake numbers, and no to the idea that being number five is good enough.

Zimbabwe needs new thinking, new leadership, and real change. Not recycled lies. Not fake smiles. We must go back to what we were and rise higher. That means building real systems, fixing industries, and putting the people first.

Until then, we must never forget: being number five is not success when you used to be number two.