Advocate Fadzayi Mahere responds to musician Greatman,

By Staff Reporter

Musician Greaterman this week wrote to Advocate Fadzayi Mahere, requesting that she donate wheelchairs for his foundation. However, the wording and context of the request appeared insincere, as Greaterman seemed to be urging the former opposition spokesperson to be more active and not always criticize on social media.

Below is Mahere's response:

????Chinonetsa ndechekuti munobvuma kuvharwa netunhu-tunhu.

Pamakaenda ikoko, makadii kuenda neposition paper inotaura kuti gadzirisai zvakati nezvakati eg:

♿Bvisai mataxes ema assistive devices,
♿Open social welfare offices in all provinces,
♿Hire dedicated disability officers in the civil service,
♿Create a disability fund to buy wheelchairs, hearing aids and braille equipment for those who need it,
♿Provide welfare grants,
♿Use sign language in official comms,
♿Create a disability register, assess needs and give welfare support etc.

Instead of doing that, makanovarairwa and instead sung 2030. Now we are back at square one yekupemha.

You cannot run a country on handouts. Don’t let politicians use you for their own agendas. Focus on building a nation that works for everyone.

????On persons with disabilities:

1. Persons with disabilities are not a tool that politicians can play political football with nor must they be treated by the Govt as an afterthought. Where 9,5% of Zimbabwe’s population has a disability, why do we not have a robust Disability Policy? Why must persons with disabilities suffer the indignity of having to beg for basic needs such as wheelchairs on social media?

2. USD millions are spent by the Govt each year on cars. How much is spent on wheelchairs, braille books and learning material, hearing aids and other tools of necessity required by persons with disabilities?

3. Why is the Department of Social Welfare silent and invisible when it comes to the welfare of persons with disabilities? Why were they not there to advise on the appropriate vehicles to give those valued content creators? What is this Ministry doing for persons with disabilities? How much money is disbursed to them annually? Where are they as vulnerable persons with disabilities beg for assistance on social media? Who is the Minister of Social Welfare? Why do we not have functional social welfare offices throughout each province to ensure nobody is left behind?

4. Disability is more prevalent in rural areas than urban areas. Persons with disabilities constitute 2% of Zimbabwe’s rural population compared to 0,9% in urban areas. Why does Govt not have a Disability Register to ensure all Zimbabweans who need disability support get it as opposed to just a few who have a following and support on social media? In some rural communities, children walk over 10km to go to school - what is being done about the children who cannot walk?

5. The most common disability in Zimbabwe is visual impairment or blindness which afflicts 5,8% of the population. What has Govt done to help those who live with blindness? Why did the Govt introduce a 15% value added tax on Braille reading material, Braille typewriters and Braille wrist watches? Why is this tax being increased to 15,5% in the 2026 Budget?

6. Why did the Govt impose a 15% Value Added Tax on imported and locally-assembled wheelchairs last year? Why is this VAT on wheelchairs also being increased to 15,5% in the 2026 Budget? Why are wheelchairs not exempt from tax? Why has the Minister of Social Welfare not pushed for a 0% tax on this basic necessity? Would this not be a more sustainable way to help as opposed to donating ill-suited cars that are not accessible to persons who have difficulty with mobility?

7. What happens to all the other persons with disabilities who did not get a car? How are they expected to navigate the chaotic and dangerous “public transport system”?

8. Only 1 in 3 children with disabilities are enrolled in school. That’s only a third of the child population. What happens to the 66,6%? Is it enough to pop up when they turn 30 with a wheelchair and say they’ve been helped? What support exists for children with disabilities? How are their needs met? Has the Govt built any schools for children with disabilities? What state institutions exist to ensure they have an education?

9. Why is there so little effort to ensure there’s sign language translation at state events like the Budget Speech? Why is sign language not taught in schools?

10. US$2,2 billion is lost to corruption annually in Zimbabwe. US$7 million was recently looted in a bogus goat scheme. That could have bought over 40,000 wheelchairs that could have been distributed to social welfare departments in all ten provinces and averted the undignified begging that our important and valued citizens are being subjected to.

I repeat - arbitrary, stuntmaster handouts can never substitute the need for deliberate, Govt-led support and a sustainable and well-implemented Govt policy for persons with disabilities.

They must not be used to score cheap, political points by political elites. At best, charity may in some instances complement Govt action but it can never substitute it.