BY NIZBERT MOYO/MOSES MATENGA/LORRAINE MUROMO ZIMBABWEANS are not enthused about the New Year, 2021, and see no improvement in the social, economic and political problems that bedevilled the country throughout 2020. Most people entered January 2020 with the fresh hope that usually accompanies a new year, and resolutions that were left to the gods. Little did they knew that a new virus was percolating across the other side of the globe that would have a tremendous impact on so many aspects of lives. Since those early days, attitudes have changed, with many individuals reporting that 2020 has been the worst year of their lives and with the COVID-19 pandemic showing no signs of abating slightly more than a year after the first case was detected in the Chinese city of Wuhan, most people see no light at the end of a dark tunnel. From captains of industry to ordinary people, Zimbabweans interviewed by NewsDay yesterday said they were entering 2021 with trepidation because of the terrifying prospects in the offing. While New Year celebrations may be socially-distanced this year, workers, civil servants, vendors and several other Zimbabweans said they were bracing for an even tougher year, pleading with authorities to come up with a solid plan particularly in the health and economic sectors. The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU), the country’s biggest labour movement, predicted a bleak year for workers saying nothing new was expected from either the government or employers. Government has for the past two years been embroiled in endless disputes with civil servants demanding better salaries and employment conditions while companies were reeling from viability challenges which were exacerbated by COVID-19. Teachers have long declared incapacitation signifying another looming battle before schools, which have been indefinitely closed because of the pandemic, were allowed to open. “We do not expect anything from a neoliberal government that has closed ranks  with businesses to enslave workers,” ZCTU secretary general Japhet Moyo said in an interview yesterday. “Businesses have been profiteering in the sense that they are allowed to trade in forex and peg their prices according to the dictates of the parallel market rates, yet wages have remained very low and lagging behind the cost of goods and services,” he said, adding: “In most shops consumers are forced to buy sweets or products that they had not budgeted for, because 0,80 cents in US dollars cannot be paid back as change or in any currency.”: Most government workers spent the better part of 2019 at home after declaring incapacitation. Teachers have long declared incapacitation and said they will not be forced into workstations before their issues were addressed. Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe president Takavafira Zhou said: “In 2021, I think the major issue is government addressing the issue of salaries of teachers which have been drastically reduced from US$520 to US$140. Government must address the issue of the purchasing power. Most important is the issue