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Ranga Mataire
Writing Back
If truth be told, President Emmerson Mnangagwa has led from the front and exhibited astute leadership qualities in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.

Of course, his adversaries won’t publicly admit it, but while they publicly throw shade at him, the man has managed to rally significant support from the private sector, religious and traditional leaders and international partners.

Just as my brother Joram Nyathi noted on Facebook, the coronavirus has exposed the derisive racist trope that African leaders are inherently incompetent.

Faced with a tough foe, African leaders have led from the front in rallying citizens to adhere to their respective measures meant to contain the spread of the virus.

President Mnangagwa and his two Vice Presidents — Cdes Constantino Chiwenga and Kembo Mohadi — have all led from the front. Working to find fault in their intervention to prevent a new virus, for which there is no world precedent, is surely a reflection of an inherent malaise.

On social media, nonentities who have overvalued their influence by hammering on about reforms are announcing their resignation from their daily drivel, claiming they now want to focus on the poor. On the other hand, the opposition, which has long accused the ruling Zanu PF of tokenism, is spending their time stage-managing pictures of themselves giving handouts.

Let’s put a few things in perspective. Zimbabwe is one of the few countries in southern Africa to be hit by Cyclone Idai, which ravaged families in Chimanimani and adjacent areas just a year ago.

Without the significant global financial support that others in the region immediately received, Zimbabwe had to divert its meagre resource towards rescue efforts and, over the past year, towards rehabilitation.

And before we had even recovered from Cyclone Idai, the country was hit by a drought, which the United Nations describes as the worst in 40 years. Again a large chunk of financial resources has had to be channelled towards grain importation and other drought mitigation measures.

Third, and most fundamental, is the fact that Zimbabwe is under Western sanctions. It has been under sanctions for over two decades.

Hate him or like him, President Mnangagwa has confounded his critics by riding above the tide. What this has done is to force his opponents to seek relevance in trivia.

Let us cut through the noise and state the facts.

In 2018, the President launched the concept of innovation hubs at several universities across the country. These were specialised units that would twin colleges with businesses and other key institutions, in order to push universities to become more practical, and less theoretical. They had to be changed to design and contribute to real solutions to real problems.

Some called it a political gimmick. But there was method to it. Here is how he described the hubs in 2019: “An Innovation Hub is a place which provides facilities to nurture new ideas and help develop inquisitive perspective. These hubs serve as springboards for new ideas and innovation and thus helping the society and economy to face future challenges.”

Today, those challenges are here, this time in the form of Covid-19, and our universities are rising to meet them. We are seeing more innovation in our universities now, than we have seen in years.

They are making PPE for our health workers, while Harare Institute of Technology has even started testing a prototype ventilator. Across the country, our institutions of higher learning have been re-purposed from bastions of theory to centres of innovation.

This is part of the President’s vision. This is leadership.

The President has even secured funding for research into Covid-19. Sakunda has agreed to pay $5 million every month over the next six months to universities, so that they step up research into infectious diseases.

Another area in which President Emmerson Mnangagwa has shown leadership is in listening to experts. We know these days, there are Presidents in so-called enlightened nations who are in denial, to the extent of urging people to inject themselves with disinfectant to cure the virus.

But President Mnangagwa has instead deferred to the experts at the Ministry of Health and Child Care, and even those Zimbabweans outside the Government.

We were all heartened to hear him speak on the Government’s strategy on testing.

“Experts tell me that an ideal situation is devoting one contact tracer to every four infected cases. Tracing and isolation limits the multiplier effects of the pandemic. It also allows early treatment, which lightens the burdens on our facilities,” he told the nation last Sunday.

On the same day, he announced a phased relaxation of the lockdown. Mines will be reopened, but only after a mass testing of workers. These workers will also be confined to the precincts of their operations. Manufacturers will also reopen, under strict supervision of health experts. His decision was not arbitrary. It was the result of wide consultation, including with businesses and various interests.

He said: “Over the past few weeks, I have held several meetings with different professionals and business interests, in order to mobilise our nation towards this new campaign.”

Yes, there is more to be done. There is work to be done to get the President’s message out there to the people, in ways that people can easily consume.

In a country where social media hacks are always ready to cloud his message with their hate and anger, this has become more necessary than ever.

With meagre resources, the President is doing his part and is showing direction. We all should do ours.

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