As the war veterans gather to review what they call the political, social and economic crisis, they should also take stock of their role in post-independent Zimbabwe and see whether they did justice to the liberation struggle.
By Maxwell Mavhunga,Our Reader
It is enlightening to note that the war veterans now realistically appreciate the current situation in the country, something they used to rubbish a while ago.
I, however, feel that as they introspect on their past and present status, they should also be candid with each other on their role in catalysing the current socio-economic decay.
Our memory is not so short to forget that our erstwhile comrades are the ones who pioneered and championed the chaotic land grab which was then legitimised as land reform.
They exerted extreme pressure on the Zanu PF government to the extent that it gave in to the patent illegality, only to retrospectively cover up by promulgating the Land Acquisition Act.
Had the land distribution process been given ample time and due consideration without undue influence from war veterans and other like-minded groups, surely the President Robert Mugabe-led government would have come up with a better and well-thought-out policy that would not have taken the country to the dustbin.
In as much as we really feel the pain and poverty which the war veterans are sharing with the rest of Zimbabweans, we are not so gullible to forget that they are the very people who were awarded an unbudgeted $50 000 each after literally holding the government to ransom.
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Ever since that handsome compensation, our economy has never been able to fully recover yet they are the ones who killed the goose that lay the golden eggs.
Is it every Zimbabwean’s fault that they were not wise with their investment ending up throwing every saving into the now embattled Zexcom Pvt Ltd, a war veterans’ company now under court’s guidance due to mismanagement.
These are the same war veterans who got preferential treatment and were undeservedly posted to lead most of the parastatals in the country when their best qualification was firing a gun or bieng a political prisoner somewhere.
They perfectly, but unwittingly, ran down all the parastatals to the extent that there are no parastatals to talk about now. Forgive them for they did not have the requisite skills for such jobs, and it’s not their fault.
As they sit to reflect, they must ask themselves these hard questions. Honest answers to such questions will surely make them relevant for the future.
They must get rid of the big brother mentality or this bloated ego that they liberated us.
The time is now to humble oneself in front of the truth.
I do not doubt that the war vets are a significant player in the political matrix of a new Zimbabwe, but they cannot come wearing the big brother tag.
