Trickle down? Where? When?

Ask  any economist. Trickle down from wealth at the top is a fine theory but where and when does it actually happen?

Like highly-paid bankers in lofty towers, politicians are principal offenders, hands constantly on the zips of their trousers. Ne’er a care for the ordinary citizen.

Rulers everywhere are extravagant spenders on themselves and there are few exceptions. The plan is not only to consolidate power but also to enable them to bask in worldly comforts unreachable by others.

Luxuries, new cars, huge motorcades and arrogance are flaunted daily. The government here just gave away 90 Isuzu double cabs, at US$ 70,000 a pop, to loyalist traditional chieftainships from rural heartlands to ensure their continued support as public wellbeing falls apart. It was the second handout of cars to chiefs this year.

For the first time in a long time our president did not go to the United Nations General Assembly this year, a showcase where meeting with other leaders is more important than the speechifying. The official reason was that Mr Mnangagwa’s diary of commitments at home was already too full.

Among those diary events was his lavish 82nd birthday bash and a sideshow youth rally. His Russia-donated helicopter flipped and crashed while parking away from crowds of stage-managed supporters after dropping him off at the venue.

And as the economy tumbles further, plans were also afoot to devalue the local currency by a massive 40 percent. As a result those lucky enough to have jobs and unlucky enough to be paid in local Zig banknotes ( Zimbabwe Golds, said to be backed by gold reserves) found their pay halved overnight. The American dollar is still the strongest and preferred means of transaction.

All the while, the propaganda goes on.  One statement has dismissed calls for fresh reform as ‘’hallucinations” by those who did not fight in the guerrilla war that ended British colonial rule in 1980.

 “No-one can make us turn our back on the liberation struggle. It is unimaginable for us to spit on the struggle by meeting sellouts.We have no time to meet sellouts. We are different. Just like oil and water, we cannot mix,’’