We attained independence in 1980. A moment of profound hope. A moment when the chains of colonial oppression were broken, and the promise of self-determination was born. We sang songs of freedom, we danced in the streets, and we believed deeply that the future would be ours to shape.But now, 45 years later, I ask what have we done with that freedom?Drive from Plumtree to Mutare. From Beitbridge to Chirundu. From Harare to Nyamapanda. What do you see? Craters masquerading as roads. Highways that have become death traps. Infrastructure that has decayed not because of war, not because of natural disaster, but because of neglect, corruption, and a refusal to take responsibility.
We cannot continue to blame sanctions for every pothole, every collapsed bridge, every washed-away culvert. Sanctions did not stop us from maintaining our roads. Sanctions did not force us to divert public funds meant for development into private pockets. Sanctions did not tell us to abandon planning, engineering, and accountability.
Forty-five years is a long time. A child born in 1980 is now a parent. A nation that cannot build or maintain roads in four and a half decades must look inward, not outward, for answers.We must stop weaponizing blame. We must stop the politics of excuses. The people of Zimbabwe deserve better. They deserve roads that connect them to opportunity, to hospitals, to schools, to markets. Roads are not a luxury they are a lifeline.
So I ask again until when shall we keep blaming sanctions?