×
NewsDay

AMH is an independent media house free from political ties or outside influence. We have four newspapers: The Zimbabwe Independent, a business weekly published every Friday, The Standard, a weekly published every Sunday, and Southern and NewsDay, our daily newspapers. Each has an online edition.

Bon voyage, Ambassador Ray!

Opinion & Analysis
“The fault lies not in the stars, but in ourselves.” Why must we submit ourselves to fate when our destiny is in our hands? Outgoing United States Ambassador to Zimbabwe Charles Ray last week said Zimbabweans were too preoccupied with politics and artificial cultural divisions which he described as harmful to peaceful co-existence and development. […]

“The fault lies not in the stars, but in ourselves.” Why must we submit ourselves to fate when our destiny is in our hands?

Outgoing United States Ambassador to Zimbabwe Charles Ray last week said Zimbabweans were too preoccupied with politics and artificial cultural divisions which he described as harmful to peaceful co-existence and development.

It’s not as if he was making a parting shot or stirring the pot to leave Zimbabweans at each other’s throats, but a nuanced summary of his tour of duty, because, the ultimate diplomat that he is, he wouldn’t use inflammatory or unsettling language, but that of a rattling and ruffling nature, that which makes people think rather than confirm them in their not-so-comfortable comfort zones. He proved to be a great communicator, networking across all communities and age groups.

Ray said during his three-year tour of duty, he had discovered that Zimbabweans were “too preoccupied” with political discourse at the expense of development issues. For him to ascertain that, it means he listened as much as he spoke.

He had this to say: “I have noticed over the past three years that politics dominates every conversation. It’s as if nothing else matters. I know that political decisions can affect our lives — bad economic decisions can raise prices, drive away investment and cost jobs — but it’s really the day-to-day personal decisions we all make that truly determine our lives. I’m not saying you should ignore politics, but put it in its proper place — somewhere out there — and use more of your energy in building a better local environment.” People need contemplation and introspection to get to the bottom of issues rather than rush to blame others for what may turn out to be their own failures and/or inadequacies. Could It be that we give politicians too much respect? By constantly begging and making endless demands, we give politicians too much power over our lives. That’s the paradox of it. Not to mention that politicians induce in us a sense of helplessness without them. Maybe this can be traced to the one-party State psychosis of the 1980s which hasn’t disappeared altogether as seen in the statements from the State security top brass that it’s Zanu PF or none, but you can’t reduce the country to just one image. Former Industry minister Nkosana Moyo last week pointed out largely the same tendency when he said: “There is no use crying that companies are closing or relocating and waiting for an individual to come and rescue you. The people of Matabeleland should instead be joining together and forming consortiums to revive these industries. You can mobilise resources as groups and say that you will jointly work at reviving a certain industry, take responsibility for yourselves and stop depending on an individual. So don’t start looking at Harare for the solution to your problems, start looking at yourselves because that is where the problem is.”

Back to Ray, he said he was further concerned over artificial divisions that have been created among the people, which, he said, bordered on tribal lines.

Elucidated Ray: “. . . it’s these meaningless divisions that have been created that keep people apart, that have built automatic intolerance, that make it difficult for people to reach out to people they don’t know or to trust them.” As Ray has pointed out, this can be scrutinised, contested, objected to — and debunked for the falseness and hollowness of it.

To buttress Ray’s point, I particularly like this observation made on the NewsDay website by “Sabelo” submitted a few months ago against magnifying tribal differences or seeing tribal shadows everywhere: “Our politics should not be tainted by unchangeable ethnic dynamics. The Zim tribal question should be, in my opinion, treated as an immaterial demographic reality that does not define or diminish our humanity. Ability and talent should be the foundational parameter that defines us as individuals . . .” Could it be put any better? Methinks not.

If people utilise their clout, first, as individuals and, second, as groups, they will surprise themselves at how much they will achieve. Referring to Matabeleland where both issues of politics and ethnicity have been at their most acute, Moyo said: “You have the bargaining power, which is your vote . . . If you say you do not care and will only give your vote to those that meet your demands — be it Zanu PF, MDC-T or Welshman Ncube’s MDC — that is when things will start happening here.”

Indeed, people should rise above polarised politics and seize the initiative — it is well within their power to do so. They must not concentrate on petty issues so that they miss the bigger picture. If they become too focused on the small issues surrounding them, they won’t see the bigger picture in life. People should step back and observe the whole situation.

Ray, who I never met, has neither been a no-gooder, criticising the government at every turn; nor a do-gooder, telling his hosts what they wanted to hear. That’s why he admitted last week: “For 10 years, we were just yelling and hurling insults at each other, and we never really had a substantive conversation about anything. We were complaining about some misbehaviour, and they were calling us regime change neo-imperialists. Reflecting on my nearly three years in Zimbabwe, I remain cautiously optimistic. The long-term future of this country is bright.”

We must never close the door to dialogue. We need to address out past without bias and take Zimbabwe forward together. This is a principle which must be safeguarded to the end. Zimbabweans must turn a page from these crises and divisions.

Bon voyage, Ray! [email protected]