Letters to the editor

The unity gorvement such as ours needs to take a fresh look not only at the past, but at the future, and to decide strategy accordingly. Rather than to start with the here and now, the challenge is to stand in the future, to be clear of our values, to understand as best as we can the forces shaping change, and to create our own vision of the future. We need clear sense of direction, coupled with realistic strategies which can enable politician and people to hold fast to their values in a rapidly changing world.

The country decline is rooted in failure to come to terms with the economic, social and political revolutions which are transforming the world. That does not mean that our future is determined. The choices we make now as individuals and as a society will continue to resonate in 10,15,20 years time.

For the revival of distressed communities the unity government has to set out principles and objectives that should guide the government over the long term. Throughout we have imagined Zimbabwe as a different sort of a country and then asked how we can bridge the gap between the country we are and the country we would like to be?

Ours is long term strategy, designed not to amend few policies but to set new direction. That is what people want, and that is what the country needs. Ours is a call for urgent action. The longer the neglect of economic opportunity, social security and civic health, the longer it will take to turn things round. The more marginalised the poorest, the more we will pay for their inclusion. The more insecure the labour market, the longer it will take for people to embrace change, the more centralised our political structures, the more difficulty it will be to bring hope of renewal.

What we need now from the government now is the courage to take steps which will bear fruit beyond the electoral cycle. What we need from all our political leaders is a willingness to help develop a political and economic culture in which long term strategies can flourish.

We do not have all the answers. But we have learnt a lot over the past thirty years. Above all we have been impressed by one thing, that this country and communities and individuals that make it up have enormous potential to surmount problems, resolve conflicts and advance the timeless values of social justice. Those values define our purpose, they infuse our ambition, and they fuel our optimism. The future can be better than the past. It is up to us all to make it.

Livingstone Mujokoro.

Chombo must step down

Dear Editor – Following the allegations that were raised against the Minister of Local Government Rural and Urban Development, Ignatius Chombo in the Herald Newspaper on 5 November 2010 in the story headed, “Chombos wife fights over assets” raised the emotions of the residents in Zimbabwe.

The residents have expressed concern on the amount of wealth the minister has accumulated since his coming into office in 2000. Residents across Zimbabwe feel that the minister has betrayed their trust.

A resident in Highfield commented that the minister has deprived the tenants of residential places to live in as his juniors are busy rewarding him with residential stands. These officials are forgetting that there is no local governance without grass root people.

She said: “Uku ndiko kunonzi kudya zveva pfupi nekureba, toitawo ma minister here kuti tigowana pekugara?” (This is clear daylight robber y from the poor, should we all become ministers so that we get houses?)

The residents of Harare have stayed for so many years paying for their lodgers card hoping that one day they would get the promised residential stands by the City of Harare. Today, most residents in Highfield remain on the waiting list, with hopes of ever being allocated a residential stand, fast fading. The accumulation of several stands by the minister in almost every residential area in Zimbabwe shows that there is massive corruption in local government structures due to the widespread misuse of powers at the expense of the ratepayer.

We as Highfield Residents Trust are greatly disturbed with the number of stands that the minister has. To us this is unacceptable. The citizenry cannot have a selfish and heartless minister.

Highfield Residents Trust

Coordinator