Zimbabweans have said former President Robert Mugabe looted the country’s resources, but he did not pass the cost onto the masses like what Mnangagwa is currently doing.
In a snap survey at the 60th edition of the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) which ended yesterday in Bulawayo, a majority of Zimbabweans said they regretted having Mnangagwa replacing Mugabe.
“Mugabe and Mnangagwa both engineered the Gukurahundi genocide were more than 20 000 civilians were killed by armed soldiers mainly in Matabeleland. However, I have to say Mugabe was the better devil because he kept the cost of living almost constant since dollarisation in 2008. Bread was just $1 per loaf until his ouster in the November 2017 coup,” said Daniel Shumba from Zvishavane.
He said under Mugabe kombi fares were $1 per trip for almost 10 years until his ouster.
“Mugabe made sure we had bread and basics unlike Mnangagwa. Mnangagwa has officially been in power less than a year and bread is already pushing towards the $4 per loaf mark. The price of fuel and everything else has more than doubled but salaries have remained the same from the Mugabe era. Mugabe was way better in that sense,” said Shumba.
Mary Muhambi from Victoria Falls said all Mnangagwa had done since coming into power was to use soldiers to kill civilians.
Asked if they would want Mugabe to return to power, all respondents said no. Mavis Makoni from Harare did not mince her words on the subject.
“It would be the greatest tragedy of our time to have that ill-mannered uneducated secretary who was his wife (Grace Mugabe) to return and abuse the country, it’s resources and citizens,” said Makoni.
Bulawayo 24
