Thread by @Wamagaisa

1. Countries like ours will need radical approaches to how public office holders conduct their affairs. As long as those who manage public services have the option of using private services, they will have no incentives to enhance public services, which they do not use.

2. If you look at the response to the COVID19 pandemic, there was a flurry of activity to enhance private health care facilities compared to public hospitals. When public officers got sick, they had the option to check-in at top notch private healthcare facilities.

3. When your Minister of Health goes abroad for healthcare needs, what incentive is there to develop the local healthcare system? Same when you’re in charge of education, energy, water & other public services. If you rely on private, there’s no incentive to invest in public.

4. The neglect of public services & the looting of public resources is not unconnected to the fact that those in charge of these services do not have to use them. Instead, they have an incentive to divert public resources to their private spaces - this is a driver of corruption.

5. If I were in charge, I would give every public officer a grace period, maybe 2-3 years to regularise their affairs and shift to public services or leave: public hospitals; public schools & universities; water. There would have to be very special circumstances for exceptions.

6. This may be where it’s a life/death case where local treatment isn’t available; or a special course that’s not available. The rationale is simple: If you choose to hold public office, use public services so that you have an incentive to improve them #ZimbabweanLivesMatter

7. I believe if the people we put in charge of public services are the ones who use them, we will see a drastic improvement. This is because they have an incentive to make sure they are in good condition. #ZimbabweanLivesMatter is also about practical ideas, not just rhetoric