I AM assisting Bishop Sebastian Bakare in trying to get Zimbabwean citizens to come together and talk about how they can begin to shape their future, a different future from the past, without reliance on any specific political party to create the circumstances we want.
BY VINCE MUSEWE
I don’t understand the myriad of political parties that are emerging, as I think we all want the same things. We are a copycat society, unable to fathom that the issue is not about establishing new political formations, we have enough of those, but to come together without vested personal interests and do something about our country together as a united people.
The National Convergence Convention will be held before the year’s out and the idea is to establish an inclusive platform that does not discriminate based on political affiliation, race or gender. It is about time we realise that the divisions we have are unnecessary and have strengthened the oppressor.
We must articulate the Zimbabwe we want and get on with creating it despite our limitations. It is also important to note that Zanu PF is not excluded from a dialogue about the future, as long as they do not come with their redundant arrogance and denial that theirs has been a monumental failure.
We need to begin to look at coalition politics as the way forward, where all our political parties come together and nominate specific leaders for the transition struggle from tyranny to democracy.
I continue to have many discussions on what would be best for Zimbabwe to move forward. I will repeat it here. A coalition movement led by former Vice-President Joice Mujuru and former Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai will work to get us out of a dictatorship.
In my opinion, this will bring Mujuru’s political capital and Tsvangirai’s mass appeal together and I think this would be a formidable formula to get rid of Zanu PF.
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Of course, none of them may be the perfect choice for some, but, unfortunately, we cannot change the past and must look only to the future.
I am tired of criticisms of these two that do not come up with other viable solutions.
The only conversation we must have now as a country is how to cross the river, regardless of who is driving until we cross over to freedom and democracy.
If we do not do that, we will continue pointing fingers at each other and time is moving and most Zimbabweans are sick and tired of the status quo.
If there is any time we as a country must change course, it is now. We have businessmen who are struggling to make any profits or pay employees, vendors who are tired of working hard for nothing, thousands of employees who have suddenly been told that they will only get three months’ pay after a lifetime of working.
We have doctors, nurses and teachers who are tired of working for peanuts including kombi drivers who are extorted daily by the police. All of them want change now.
The failure of President Robert Mugabe to address these critical issues head-on in his State of the Nation Address has added salt to the wounds.
He keeps promising that things will get better, and soon, it will be 2018, where I understand he intends to run again.
That is surely a preposterous proposition. He is buying time. Even those within Zanu PF know that unless something drastic is done, chaos is coming.
We cannot all wait for 2018 or expect Zanu PF to change their management style and even if they did, nothing will change because the system which they have created is rotten and unproductive.
It is clear that Mugabe will never step down voluntarily, so we must create conditions for change ourselves and this we can do by coming together and saying: “It’s enough”.
There is no doubt we need a totally new political formula. My message to Mugabe is that he has been hugely misinformed on what needs to be done.
Added to that, nobody has the right to continue denying the rights of the people to freely determine their future or to choose new leaders if necessary.
Zimbabwe must go to the next chapter of development and it must be inclusive and cannot be led by Zanu PF. Dictatorial tendencies may have worked in the past, but are no longer a viable proposition of running successful countries or economies.
Our economy has spoken, it is crying for a new vision, new impetus, new energy and new leaders who put the people first.
- Vince Musewe is an economist and author based in Harare. You may contact him on [email protected]
