When President Emmerson Mnangagwa visited the Dubai Police General Headquarters recently, he came face-to-face with the future. He was shown artificial intelligence systems managing police patrols without a single human involved. He stood in awe. But it was his own words that hit harder than anything else. He admitted that Zimbabwe is “almost 1000 years behind in terms of technology” compared to Dubai.

That statement, while clearly an exaggeration, paints a painful picture. Zimbabwe is not just behind—it is frozen in time, stuck in a system that cannot keep up with the rest of the world. This is not just a technology problem. It is a leadership problem. It is a vision problem. And it is one created by the very people now pretending to be shocked by it.

While Dubai races ahead with artificial intelligence, smart infrastructure, and digital services, Zimbabwe struggles with basic internet access. Where Dubai is using data and innovation to run a city, Zimbabwe is still fighting corruption in simple service delivery. Our leaders talk about the future, but continue to rule like it’s the past.

The digital gap between Zimbabwe and developed nations is not new. It has been widening for decades. But it is only now, when Mnangagwa walks through the glossy corridors of Dubai’s high-tech command centres, that he admits how far behind we are. Why? Because it embarrasses him. But embarrassment is not enough. What Zimbabwe needs is leadership that understands technology, invests in it, and allows innovation to grow freely.

Innovation doesn’t just happen because a president says he wants it. It comes from an environment that supports new ideas, young minds, and bold experiments. Zimbabwe doesn’t have that. We have tight control, censorship, and fear. We have brain drain, where our best engineers and developers leave the country because they know they cannot grow here. We have an education system that is outdated, underfunded, and disconnected from the demands of the digital age.

STEM—science, technology, engineering, and maths—should be the core of our schools. Instead, our children are forced to learn under trees, with no electricity, no labs, no internet, and no hope. Research is almost dead. Innovation is left to a few startups who fight daily battles just to survive. There is no serious investment from the state, and the private sector is too scared or too small to make a difference.

If Mnangagwa really believes we are 1000 years behind, what is he doing to change it? It is not enough to travel to Dubai and take selfies with robots. He must look inward and see how his own government has failed to create the space for Zimbabwe to grow. He must accept that the same system he defends is the one choking the life out of progress.

The solution is not rocket science. Zimbabwe must invest heavily in its young people. It must support innovation hubs, science labs, and digital startups. It must stop criminalising freedom of speech and expression—because tech innovation thrives in a free and open society. It must offer real incentives for research and development. It must fix the electricity crisis, improve broadband infrastructure, and allow tech entrepreneurs to work without interference.

We cannot keep saying we want to be like Dubai, while behaving like North Korea. Zimbabwe must pick a side—either join the 21st century or stay trapped in the past.

Mnangagwa’s trip to Dubai could be a wake-up call. But only if he stops using these visits as photo opportunities and starts building something real back home. It’s time to stop admiring progress from a distance. Zimbabwe has the talent. What we lack is political will, good governance, and serious commitment to real change.

Until that happens, the digital age will keep moving forward, and Zimbabwe will keep falling behind—one year, one decade, one century at a time.