The above poster caught my attention as I queued patiently for fuel early on Tuesday morning.
I had woken up at 5am because more sleep could have resulted in being at the tail of the queue and failing to get diesel.
Being an early bird paid off as I only found five cars waiting.
So I sat and waited for a good two hours as the filling station only opened at 7am.
While we are used to such a life of queuing for fuel, it is never a pleasant activity as it is one of the many signs of a failed economy.
Fuel in Zimbabwe is expensive compared to our neighbouring countries as the current price is almost equivalent to P14 a litre and is constantly going up and thus one would expect improved supplies, but is it completely the opposite.
Anyway back to the poster. It actually did not surprise me that suicide cases are on the rise as the bleak situation here can really drive people into depression.
According to the story, 1, 641 took their lives in 2018 while 142 had already committed suicide in the first three months of 2019.
We have had to drastically adjust our lives as the cost of living continues to go up while incomes get eroded on a daily basis.
As I have written in previous columns, so many of us no longer have the luxury of three meals a day. We now have brunch and supper, drink water and go to bed.
For some, this and other challenges we are faced with can be a recipe for depression and disaster.
One of my aunts, who is a civil servant and a single parent, almost broke down when schools opened in January as ends refused to meet.
Fees at government secondary schools and universities are now more than salaries of most civil servants and for those with two or three school going children like my aunt, it means digging deep into pockets which are already empty.
Where does one get ZWL$5, 500 (about P2, 300) for school fees excluding other additional costs when they earn less than that?
These are scenarios that can drive people into hopelessness because here I am talking of school fees and not other costs such as rentals and utility bills.
When schools opened, it was reported that some teachers in areas where there were mopane worms were nowhere to be seen in class as they had joined those harvesting the worms for selling.
And honestly, who can blame them – desperate times call for desperate measures!
On a different note, cracks seem to be widening in the ruling Zanu PF Party.
On Monday, youth league leaders called for a presser where they accused one of Vice President Constatino Chiwenga’s allies, Kudakwashe Tagwirei of corruption and looting state resources.
The man has a vast business empire and literally controls the fuel sector.
This was seen as an indirect attack on the VP and in our local politics is a clear indication that all is not well at the top.
Let their fights begin!
