Our ideas and aspirations can no longer be shaped by the gun, propaganda or the threat of violence or even death. Guest Column by Vince Musewe
I never cease to be amazed by the tomfoolery we are witnessing! Last week Friday evening, the day before the Zanu PF event, I arrived in Highfield and there were no potholes in the road leading to the Zimbabwe Grounds! There had been there in the morning. The grass on the roadsides had been cut and municipal workers were busy hiding the waste that had been there for a couple of months.
I laughed out loud, but realised that one of our fundamental problems in Zimbabwe is the City Council. Their whole idea here was to create an illusion to the “chefs” that they are doing their job and all is well, which is definitely not the case.
This has happened before, mind you, during the botched township tourism fiasco, where we saw roads being patched up and buildings painted because the “chefs” were coming to visit. The one-day event has resulted in zero results. But that seems normal in Zimbabwe.
We now have a culture of hiding the facts in order to please our politicians. This has been happening for such a long time it has become “normal”. We even describe our economic conditions, not as they really are, but as we think our “chefs” want to hear: that it’s the British and sanctions.
ZBC is very good at that and so is The Herald, including those analysts and columnists who write for it. I actually feel sorry for them because they are caught in a spider’s web of manufactured lies and innuendo in order to make a living. I pray that our forgiving God has mercy on them.
We are a nation of fools who fear the truth, and will do anything to hide it.
Listening at the Zanu PF narrative of what needs to happen in Zimbabwe, it really worries me that there is no realisation or acknowledgement that their ideas on Zimbabwe have not worked and will not work. I liken their problem to that of an alcoholic who knows he or she is one, but continually denies accepting the fact and claims that they are not.
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Pulling out of Sadc does not solve our issues; Sadc is not the problem — we are. Pushing indigenisation does not create new value nor does it grow the economy or create jobs. Touting the black and white racist narrative is old, tired news. Calling some of us sellouts because we want the best for Zimbabwe is sheer stupidity dressed up in designer suits and 4x4s.
Our ideas and aspirations can no longer be shaped by the gun, propaganda or the threat of violence or even death. We are new people and must hurry to create a new system that resonates with our aspirations. We CAN shape our future and must fulfil that responsibility on July 31.
I have found the first Psalm instructive in these times we face: “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away. Therefore, the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.”
Vote-rigging and frustrating new voters from registering might work, but “victory” shall be temporary because it is against the principles of our mighty God.
I, therefore, urge all progressive Zimbabweans to do the right thing so that we can all enjoy a peaceful and prosperous country. More important, we must defend our vote after voting. So don’t relax after you vote, we must be out there in our thousands in the streets waiting for the results.
Asijiki!
Vince Musewe is an economist based in Harare; you may contact him on [email protected]
