PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa is set to begin his “thank you rallies” this weekend in Mashonaland West province, ostensibly to express his gratitude to the thousands who voted for him and Zanu PF in the July 30 elections.
Editorial Comment
This is something that the opposition MDC leader Nelson Chamisa has also been doing.
These are two key political leaders fronting key institutions in this country.
However, while these two protagonists have every right to thank their supporters in any way they deem fit, we believe it is wiser to be more attuned to the needs and challenges of the citizenry who are struggling to survive on a day-to-day basis.
Such gatherings require thousands of dollars and to waste large amounts of money into useless and even meaningless rallies that do not put bread on the table at a time when the citizens are struggling to purchase medication for various ailments, paints a picture of leaders that are disconnected from the everyday struggles of their supporters.
In fact, it’s all a game of power, it’s all hubris.
Such extravagance in light of the economic hardships in the country shows fickleness of mind. We can understand the opposition when they do that because they are not in government, but Zanu PF is the ruling party and Mnangagwa has a duty to deliver on behalf of his nascent regime.
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In fact, it appears this is a perpetuation of his predecessor Robert Mugabe’s way of doing things — forcing millions to abandon their gainful work to make the numbers at meaningless ventures. Zimbabwe open for business? It is still business as usual.
These are some of the simple things that our political leaders should do away with as a sign of their sincerity to change and show of appreciation of the difficulties that ordinary people are going through.
Instead of holding such pointless rallies, Mnangagwa should instead, thank those who voted for him by doing things and implementing policies that will transform ordinary people’s lives. What’s the point of going to a “thank you” rally only to come back home to face hungry children, huge bills and a whole lot of other problems that the country’s leadership should be dealing with?
We believe that Mnangagwa needs people around him that can tell him the truth rather than praise singers who are helping organise these events.
The President needs people that can tell him of the sufferings of the people who could really benefit from the money that is pumped into these rallies, which after-all are not profitable in any way. All they will do is to pamper the political leadership’s egos.
Any transformation agenda should be inclusive of the way we do our politics and rid ourselves of traits of the Mugabe’s era.
Gathering people for rallies long after elections will only keep the nation in election mode at a time people are supposed to be working and contributing to the development of the economy.
