ZANU PF’S SPOILED MILITARY DOGS: A TICKING TIME BOMB

ZANU PF sees citizens as threats to its power. The military acts as its spoiled dogs, defending it at all costs. Just like a dog that is constantly spoiled for loyalty and protection, the military needs to be kept happy. If they are not, they might turn against their master. ZANU PF knows this, and so they spoil the military with luxury items, like new cars for 300 newly appointed lieutenant-colonels. These luxuries come at the cost of ordinary Zimbabweans, many of whom face starvation and high taxes.

The real problem, however, is not the high-ranking officers enjoying these luxuries. It’s the ordinary soldiers, the infantry, who are deployed on the streets to suppress citizens’ rights. These soldiers don’t get luxury cars or wealth from diamond fields. They can’t afford medical treatment abroad, and their children go to underfunded public schools.

These soldiers have the most to lose. Their children’s futures are uncertain, yet they do the dirtiest work for ZANU PF. They help keep ZANU PF in power by harassing and threatening citizens. Unlike their higher-ups, they don’t have Swiss bank accounts or access to precious resources. ZANU PF keeps them loyal with basic needs, like salaries, but these are paid with largely worthless currency.

In economics, this method is called quantitative easing. It’s a fancy term for printing money. In Zimbabwe, this means printing billions of mostly worthless paper to pay the military. There’s nothing wrong with paying salaries, but it’s wrong to think that only the military deserves protection from inflation. ZANU PF uses this strategy to prevent the rightful transition of power to the people.

ZANU PF’s actions are not out of goodwill. They are a preemptive strategy to keep power. They resist development and economic growth, which the opposition aims to achieve. But these measures are like building sand walls against an incoming tide. History has shown that no military can stop an idea whose time has come—an idea of change, democracy, and national healing.

The helicopter money ZANU PF pumps into the economy is supposed to cushion the military. But it only causes more inflation. Meanwhile, the general populace is excluded from economic relief. ZANU PF views the citizens as threats and treats them warily.

ZANU PF recently relaxed the lockdown, knowing that frustrated citizens would protest. These citizens faced a high cost of living and a lack of social safety nets. Most live hand-to-mouth in an informal economy. ZANU PF has butchered the economy through incompetence and violations of property rights. To prevent protests, they try to keep the military happy with their worthless currency.

ZANU PF doesn’t care about the military or the citizens. They only care about staying in power. But as history has shown, a time will come when the military will no longer be swayed by printed money. When that happens, the military will either turn against ZANU PF or support a peaceful transition of power to the genuine opposition. Either way, the people will triumph.

In the end, ZANU PF’s strategy of spoiling the military is a ticking time bomb. The military, like a dog that’s been spoiled too long, will eventually bite back. And when that happens, the people of Zimbabwe will finally see the change they deserve.