Zimbabwe Memo

TO: President Donald Trump
FROM: Grace Kane
DATE: 26 March, 2018
RE: Election of President Mnangagwa

Memorandum Zimbabwean Presidency

Introduction
Zimbabwe has a new president, Emmerson Mnangagwa, successor to President Robert Mugabe, who is infamous for violations of human rights against citizens of Zimbabwe and for political corruption. Mnangagwa is an ally of Mugabe and also served on his regime for many years. Due to Mnangagwa’s affiliation with Mugabe, we cannot trust that he will run the government any differently than his ally. We, a country that defends democracy, must intervene in Zimbabwe to prevent another regime similar to Mugabe’s. We should not over throw Mnangagwa, but rather implement institutions that will make a democracy last. The way to do this is by educating the public. Mugabe’s regime created an educational crisis, where the majority of children do not make it past primary school. Children grow up knowing how to read and write, but not knowing anything about their government nor how to protect themselves against it. We must implement schools to educate the citizens of Zimbabwe so that a democracy can thrive in Zimbabwe. The country needs educated citizens to be able to decipher their rights as citizens and be able to recognize corruption and demand change.

Current Situation in the Zimbabwe
The country, after 37 years, is finally seeing a new president. President Mugabe was a dictator who, in 1987 was declared the executive President, which combined the roles of head of state, head of government, and commander-in-chief of the armed forces. He essentially was an all-powerful leader. Mugabe is responsible for crimes against humanity, anti-white racism, political corruption, and human rights abuses. Currently, those below the poverty line is at an astronomical rate of 80%. The unemployment rate is disputed ranging from 11% to 94%, as the majority of the population is informally employed. The population has a high literacy rate, with 90% of the population being literate. Children attend school, but the schools are in such poor condition and often, after primary education, children stop going to school because parents cannot afford it. An estimated 20,000 teachers have left the country. Higher education is not an option for most, with only about 5% attending a higher education school. The tuitions have rose to $1,000 USD, the average annual income for a Zimbabwean Family.  Mugabe’s presidency has caused educational crises that will be consequential in Mnangagwa’s presidency.


Implementation
What is suggested to implement in Zimbabwe are schools in more heavily populated areas educational outposts in more rural areas. The teachers in these schools will be U.S. employed, as teachers if they are employed by the Zimbabwean government could be influenced by the corruption in the government. The children would get their books paid for and students will receive a free lunch every day and a dinner for the family to bring home after the school day 3 days a week. If siblings are in the same school, the eldest sibling in the school will be responsible to bring the dinner back home. They will also receive two uniforms to wear to class. As the majority of families live in poverty, the children will need food and clothing to be able to participate in school and not need to work to make money for food and clothes. With lunch being taken care of and dinner the majority of the time, families can focus on sending their children to school, while the parents work. Children will be able to focus in school until higher education. Once they reach the age for higher education, the tuition will remain the same, with the hope that parents were able to save from not needing to buy food for the entire week. Adults will also have the opportunity to attend classes if desired. With a high literacy rate in the country, adults have the psychological ability to read and write after the crucial years of education. The classes for the adults will be primarily focused on civics, economic, and financial classes, so they can be literate in their government processes and their finances. The hope of having a politically literate generation is that they will be proactive and demand there be institutions in place to protect them as citizens, that they will not fall victim to meaningless words from a president that sound good, but do not actually help them as citizens.

Closing Remarks
There is an educational crisis in Zimbabwe right now that has created a corrupted democracy to rise. Better access to education must be implemented in the country to create a generation that can recognize the corruption in government and know their rights as citizens. The most dangerous thing to a corrupted government is an educated public. The citizens of Zimbabwe deserve access to education so they can develop a thriving democracy. If not, the country will fall into a cycle of having corrupt leaders like President Robert Mugabe. It will take time


Comments

  1. Renee RadavichApril 6, 2018 at 8:45 PM

    Grace, I really liked your argument presented in this memo. I agree that the most dangerous thing to a corrupt government is an educated public. Mugabe's reign has created an educational gap that needs to be addressed. I particularly like your idea about educating adults on things such as civics, economics, and finances. This will hopefully prevent another dictator from rising up. I am a little weary of the suggestion of the United States paying for this change. This project will cost a lot and may produce a financial burden on the United States. Instead, I would maybe suggest going through an NGO. With this, the United States can still assist Zimbabwe, but in a less direct way.

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownApril 15, 2018 at 8:27 PM

    This was a really interesting way to come at the issue around Zimbabwe, Grace. Having an already impressive literacy rate provides a really good foundation for possible solutions on the education crisis in the country. Like Renee pointed out, I am not sold that the US should be taking the lead and bearing the cost of such education programs pointed out in your memo. Although, this would look good on the US, but getting involved in a great deal of countries can still produce animosity, even if the work being done is good. The US does not need another country to be involved in. It might be best if a certain organization fronted the costs and stepped in to implement your plan.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Memorandum Iran

TO: President Donald Trump FROM: Nathaniel Pappas Date: October 18, 2017 RE: Iran Nuclear Deal Memorandum on Iran Nuclear Deal Introduction It has been well documented that Iran has despised the United States since the fall of the Shaw. When the Ayatollahs came into power on the onset of their new government, they have had a strong opinion on the Jewish State of Israel and the United States. Several instances of Iranian terrorism have happened, with the deaths of hundreds of Americans. Iran has also backed terrorist attacks against Israel as well. Iran directed the terror group known as Hezbollah, to carry out the 1983 Beirut Barracks bombing which killed 300 people, over 200 of which were American. They are state sponsors of terrorism, to this day they have not stopped supporting terrorists and even captured and embarrassed US Navy men in 2014. Their leaders still call for the destruction of Israel and the civilians chant death to America. The Iran Nuclear deal that h...
Read more

Memorandum on the Iran Nuclear Deal

Memorandum on the Iran Nuclear Deal To: President Donald Trump From: Leo Field Date: April 12, 2018 RE: Iran Nuclear Deal Introduction The nation of Iran has long been engulfed in turmoil. Since the late 1970s, Iranian-American relations have been strained to say the least. Tensions in Iran reached its peak when the American embassy in Tehran was attacked by a mob supporting the Iranian revolution taking fifty two Americans hostage for 444 days. The chant "Death to America" is often shouted by mobs and protests in Iran even to this day. Iran has openly supported terrorism and is the largest financier of terrorist operations around the world. Iran has also openly made threats towards Israel and supports attacks against the Jewish nation. Iran has long been attempting to develop nuclear capabilities. The Iran nuclear deal is a symbol of trust and cooperation between our two nations. Continued support for this agreement is advised for if it is abandoned, the Iranians ma...
Read more

Walked to the Hill to type this

I think NATO is extremely important to US Foreign Policy and National Interests. NATO perpetuates alliances and as a nation that stands from European countries, it ensures that if there is ever an attack on our soil, they will fight the fight as if it is their own. Though we have a very strong military, if not the strongest in the world, we are surrounded by countries that do not have the greatest military capacity. Even though Canada is a member of NATO, we could not solely rely on their military to suffice if there is an attack on our soil. With that being said, if there is an attack on Canadian soil, chances are there could be an attack on U.S. soil. Though the U.S. and Canada are natural allies because we are neighboring countries, the location to another country does not ensure an alliance and having Canada as a contractual ally makes an attack on Canada much less likely since they are neighbors to one of the most powerful countries in the world.      ...
Read more