There is no development to talk about when Zimbabweans have to be bussed hundreds of kilometers just to see it!

Tendai Ruben Mbofana

The sight of busloads of ZANU-PF Women’s League members being ferried hundreds of kilometers to the capital Harare to be shown “development” is as puzzling as it is revealing. 

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It is a spectacle that exposes the hollow core of the so-called Second Republic’s claims of progress. 

The women were paraded through the corridors of the new 650-seat Parliament building, the Museum of African Liberation, and the site of an imaginary “Cyber City.” 

These were presented as the crowning “success stories” of the so-called Second Republic under the “able leadership of President Emmerson Mnangagwa.”

If there were genuine development in Zimbabwe, there would be no need for a road trip to find it. 

True development is not a tourist destination or a distant landmark; it is a lived reality that should be visible the moment a person steps out of their front door. 

It should be felt in the pockets of the people and reflected in the dignity of their daily lives.

Authentic development begins at home. 

It is seen when a mother can send her children to school without the crushing weight of fees she cannot afford. 

It is felt when a family goes to their local hospital and finds essential medications in stock, rather than being met by empty shelves and overstretched staff. 

It is experienced in classrooms that are well-furnished, equipped with science labs, and stocked with adequate learning materials. 

When a woman owns a decent house with consistent running tap water and electricity, that is development. 

When she, her husband, and her children have secure, decent employment—rather than being forced to sit on the pavement selling vegetables or second-hand clothes just to survive—that is progress.

Real development means seeing infrastructural development in their own areas, where they benefit from the natural resources found where they live, providing a dignified living for their families.

If these basic markers of a dignified life are absent, then there is absolutely no development to talk about. 

When people must be taken on a long-distance excursion to witness “projects” in a remote corner of the country, it is a clear admission that the state has failed to improve the lives of the majority. 

Development should be in our homes, our clinics, and our local infrastructure, not hundreds of kilometers away in the form of glass and mortar that serves only the elite. 

This indicates that the narrative of progress peddled by the current administration is both fake and imaginary.

Even the residents of the capital city, who live in the shadow of these new structures, are struggling just as much as those bussed in from rural areas. 

The people of Harare face the same crippling challenges: dry taps, skyrocketing costs of living, and the daily battle to put food on the table. 

In suburbs like Mbare, Zimbabweans live in squalor without decent housing. 

The contrast is stark and insulting. 

These women were taken to see a new Parliament building, a museum, and an “imaginary” cyber city—entities that will never benefit the ordinary Zimbabwean. 

These are vanity projects that do nothing to alleviate the poverty grinding the nation to a halt.

This tour should serve as a wake-up call. 

It highlights a reality many have pointed out for years: poverty in Zimbabwe has worsened since 2017. 

These are no longer just statistics in an analysis; they are the lived experiences of millions. 

Yet, in the face of this misery, these women were told that these buildings represent “unprecedented development” that justifies a push to extend the presidential term by two years beyond the constitutional limit in 2028. 

We must ask: what exactly is being rewarded? 

What has been achieved in nine years that warrants an extension? 

If a leader has failed to uplift the lives of the people in nearly a decade, there is no reason to believe that four more years will yield a different result. 

A leader who has not achieved anything of note in nine years has quite simply failed.

Furthermore, term limits exist for a vital purpose. 

They are a safeguard for democracy, intended to ensure a rotation of leadership even if a leader has been successful. 

Even if Zimbabweans were enjoying a “first-world” standard of living today, the constitutional requirement for the president to step down in 2028 would remain absolute. 

If the law applies to those who succeed, what possible excuse does a leader have who has embarrassingly failed to provide even the most basic necessities? 

The attempt to bypass term limits under the guise of “completing” invisible development is a betrayal of the people. 

Development is measured by the well-being of the citizen, not the height of a building in Mt. Hampden. 

Until the ordinary Zimbabwean can live with dignity in their own community, any talk of success is nothing more than a desert mirage.

The fact that people have to be bussed hundreds of kilometers to see “development” speaks for itself.

• Tendai Ruben Mbofana is a social justice advocate and writer. To directly receive his articles please join his WhatsApp Channel on: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaqprWCIyPtRnKpkHe08