But why do things like this happen? It is because of dishonesty or corruption. There are too many people who want to take more than they should, who want to get paid for doing nothing, who take what should be going to someone else. So instead of money going to maintain roads, fix a power station, pump and clean water, or sponsor our national sports teams, it ends up in their pockets.
The result is that things stop working properly or even fall apart completely and our flag flies lower and lower, until it just lies in the dust. So it is important for our pride that things are done properly and everyone is honest. Honesty gives us back our flagpole, because when everyone is honest, things do not fail, and our flag rises higher and higher.
Our government can make this happen; they have a plan to stop the people who are bringing the flag down. We want to encourage our government and cheer them on. We want them to know we believe they can do it. So we are asking all young Zimbabweans to help. If you’re aged between 6 & 12 you can draw as many pictures as you can imagine showing how beautiful our homes and neighbourhoods could be if everyone was honest; and remember to include our national flag on a tall pole in all your pictures. You could also write a few words letting our government know you believe they can do it.
If you’re aged between 12 & 18 you can write a paragraph or a poem describing how and why you believe our government can stop these dishonest people and give us back the flagpole of our national pride. Here are the details:
• Ages 6 to 8 write 50 to 100 words or draw as many pictures as you can imagine
• Ages 9 to 12 write 150 to 300 words or draw as many pictures as you can imagine
• Ages 13 to 15 write an essay of 300 to 500 words or a poem of up to 5 stanzas
• Ages 16 to 18 write an essay of 600 to 1000 words or a poem of up to six stanzas
There are many prizes to be won including:
– Amazon Kindles
– Smart phones
– School fees vouchers
– Books
– iPods
But the biggest prize is helping our government know we believe they can fix things. Because, really, with our support and encouragement: our government can. So get thinking, writing and drawing, and mail you entries to tiz@transparency.org.zw or transparencyzimbabwe@gmail.com. You could just win something!
Post published in: Opinions & Analysis