People concerned at calibre of politicians

The late Eddison Zvobgo once told Parliament: “Mr Speaker Sir, half the people in this August house are stupid.” The speaker told Zvobgo his statement was offensive and asked for a retraction, to which Zvobgo replied: “I would like to withdraw my words and rephrase. Mr Speaker, half the people in this August house are not stupid.”

Citizens told The Zimbabwean this week it was disappointing that senators failed to conduct any meaningful debate when there were so many vital issues that needed to be discussed. The prime role of the Senate is to check, scrutinise and amend Bills passed by the lower house and hold the executive to account.

The Projects Coordinator for Youth Forum, Wellington Zindove, said Zimbabwe was faced with a crisis in the calibre of politicians. “The majority of the politicians are clueless on what is expected of them and how they should contribute to the development of the nation. They lack the knowledge that they are servants of the people who should champion developmental issues at all levels,” he said.

Zindove said it did not make sense that a person would travel from Hwange, Masvingo, Mutare or Beitbridge yet fail to contribute meaningful debate – “it is a waste of tax payers’ money.”

NANGO spokesperson Michael Mabwe said the current crop of parliamentarians short-changed the electorate and were only motivated to enter political office because of financial gains.

“They are good at sloganeering and propaganda yet presented with the opportunity to represent the electorate in parliament, they cannot tabulate anything meaningful,” he said, and called for citizens’ active participation in the political processes.

“The electorate should take an active interest in the political processes. There is need for awareness raising on the importance of having a culture of political participation among the electorate. It does not end with voting,” he said.

Anne Bhaulen from Makaha village under Chief Mutoko in Mudzi district blamed political parties for endorsing incompetent candidates for election. “This is what we get after the imposition of candidates. The electorate might protest like we tried to do on July 31, but we are powerless to reverse the decisions of the party’s leadership. We end up with no choice but to vote for political parties even if we know that the person representing that party is incompetent.”

Catherine Zisheche from Mbare said those in political leadership positions need to be accountable to the electorate. “We need a mechanism to ensure that those who fail to deliver in Parliament are kicked out,” she said.