What do our Cabinet discuss every Tuesday when the whole country is on fire?

I recently had a very enlightening conversation with a former cabinet minister from the post-independence government of Zimbabwe.

Over time, we have developed a strong friendship, and each discussion we have is an eye-opener into the tragic direction our country has taken.

During our latest exchange, this once-prominent figure in national leadership expressed sheer disbelief at the rot we now call governance in Zimbabwe.

He had just returned from a professional engagement, where he had been surrounded by some of the world’s most brilliant minds—an experience that cast into stark contrast the mediocrity that has come to define our national leadership.

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His insights were as disturbing as they were sobering.

He expressed utter dismay at how a government that once genuinely cared for its people soon after independence had now sunk to the lowest depths of primitive governance.

This collapse is evident across all sectors.

Zimbabwe still suffers from near-daily 18-hour power outages.

How is a nation supposed to develop under such conditions?

Industries are crippled.

Small businesses that cannot afford expensive fuel for generators are shutting down.

Children cannot study at night. Hospitals cannot operate life-saving equipment.

And all the while, those in power sit in their air-conditioned homes powered by solar systems and generators paid for by taxpayers.

They do not experience the anguish and desperation of ordinary Zimbabweans.

Then there are our roads—most of which were built during the colonial era.

Today, these roads have become impassable.

Potholes so large they could swallow an entire wheel.

Streets that more closely resemble war zones than avenues of economic activity.

Yet, year after year, the government collects millions of dollars from toll fees and vehicle licences to fund road rehabilitation, and still nothing changes.

Where does the money go? Who is benefiting?

Of course, one cannot speak of Zimbabwe’s dysfunction without mentioning the appalling state of public health institutions.

Hospitals have become death traps.

Basic painkillers are unavailable. Patients are asked to bring their own syringes, bandages, and medication.

Cancer and dialysis machines are either broken or nonexistent. Ambulances are scarce. Pregnant women die in labor for lack of care.

This is the cruel reality.

It was particularly bizarre that on the eve of a Tuesday cabinet meeting, the Minister of Youth, Tino Machakaire, took to X (formerly Twitter) to express shock at the deplorable conditions of a hospital he visited to see a sick relative.

He went as far as inviting the president to visit these institutions himself.

While the gesture might seem noble, it raises serious questions.

Why resort to public displays of dismay when he was due to meet the president and fellow ministers the very next day in cabinet?

If he genuinely cares, why not raise these issues within government structures where real action can be initiated?

Or does he know—like the rest of us suspect—that cabinet meetings have become nothing more than formalities, where nothing of national benefit is ever discussed?

Because if Machakaire truly believed that cabinet meetings were effective, he would have no need to post on social media.

His tweet, in fact, exposes just how hollow and performative our government has become.

Ministers, it seems, would rather grandstand in public than speak frankly in meetings designed for decision-making.

And one has to wonder: what, then, is the purpose of these cabinet meetings held every Tuesday?

What do these men and women discuss while the country burns?

Judging by the collapse in every sector of national life, it’s clear that they do not discuss solutions.

They do not debate developmental strategies. They do not review research or consult experts. They do not even listen to each other.

From all indications, their Tuesdays are likely spent scheming on how to loot national resources, protect their political positions, and tighten their grip on power.

It would be laughable if it were not so tragic.

Even the rampant armed robberies across the country can be traced to this failure.

Nobody trusts banks anymore, and citizens keep cash at home—ripe targets for criminals.

Yet this is a government that, week after week, ignores the growing lawlessness while focusing on laws to silence critics and opposition parties.

The disconnect is glaring.

We have a government that doesn’t plan.

It reacts—badly and too late.

We have ministers who are not moved by suffering unless it touches their own families.

We have a cabinet that meets, but never leads.

Even more shocking is the silence of cabinet on rampant high-level corruption.

Is there even an attempt during these meetings to discuss the billions of taxpayers’ dollars siphoned off in scandal after scandal?

For instance, South African authorities recently revealed that R1.1 billion was transferred to Ren-Form CC, a company across the border, supposedly for procurement purposes.

Yet, within days, R800 million of that was funneled into business accounts linked to convicted criminal and tenderpreneur Wicknell Chivayo.

Is this not something worthy of serious cabinet scrutiny? 

Or do they look the other way because the real beneficiaries of this systematic looting are within their own ranks, while characters like Chivayo merely act as errand boys?

When a government can’t be bothered to investigate or even acknowledge such egregious abuse of public funds, then we know that corruption has been fully institutionalized.

One of the issues we also spoke about was the recent and frankly embarrassing phenomenon of drilling boreholes in urban areas as a supposed solution to the ongoing water crisis.

The former minister aptly described these efforts as mere band-aid measures, devoid of any meaningful strategy.

What struck him most was how such infantile ideas could even make it into national policy discussions.

How can anyone seriously believe that drilling boreholes in Redcliff, a town with a population requiring long-term urban planning, is a solution?

It is the thinking of people who have no understanding of development, planning, or investment.

Indeed, what benchmarks are our leaders using?

Cities like Harare were designed by colonial planners for far smaller populations.

Today, Harare’s population has more than quadrupled, yet the water and sanitation infrastructure has remained unchanged.

It does not take a Harvard graduate to understand that such a mismatch creates a breeding ground for diseases, especially in overcrowded areas like Mbare.

The tsikidzi infestation—tiny bugs symbolizing decay and filth—is a metaphor for the collapse of hygiene and living standards in Zimbabwe, and a vivid reminder of a government that has completely failed its people.

Zimbabwe’s tragic story is not the result of sanctions or global economic downturns.

It is the direct consequence of a government that has long ceased to care, and that no longer functions in the service of its people.

The real question, then, is not what our cabinet discusses every Tuesday.

The real question is: how much longer will Zimbabweans tolerate a government that does not even pretend to govern?

Post published in: Featured