My real concern is that there are some of us who, when they think they have the opportunity to lead, start pulling down other contenders. I am still trying to establish the rationale of Dr. Amai Mujuru going on an interview and telling foreigners that Tsvangirai’s strength “resonates with you outsiders”. What was she really trying to say? Have the outsiders voted for Morgan Tsvangirai in all the years? Did the outsiders vote for Morgan Tsvangirai when he officially defeated Mugabe in 2008?
Mai Mujuru is also reported as having said her liberation war credentials placed her better than Morgan Tsvangirai, a position repeated by her ally Dzikamai Mavahire recently. The truth is that those who participated in the liberation struggle did so to free the people, not necessarily for them to be Presidents. I am not saying here that people who participated in the liberation war should not be given the opportunity if they have the qualities to lead, but that anyone – whether they participated in the liberation struggle or not should be accorded an equal opportunity to lead. When those who went to the liberation struggle start saying we should be the leaders because we fought the war, then they are turning themselves into another Mugabe, and Zimbabwe doesn’t want another Mugabe at all
This mantra of saying vote us because we fought the war is a Mugabe creation which should never be repeated by anyone who is sane, and as a peace loving Zimbabwean, I will begin to question whoever thinks only political parties linked to the liberation struggle are the ones that need to provide presidential candidates. The ordinary Zimbabweans accept whoever they want to be their leader, like they did in 2008, like they have always tried to do since 2000, but have always been denied by Zanu PF rigging. After all, taking up arms against the Rhodesia army was not the only way to contribute to the struggle, most people who were born by the time of the liberation struggle participated one way or the other.
The trouble with people who are too lazy to think is whatever position they happen to find themselves in reason nor a mountain of evidence proving the folly of that initial position they will not change.
As far as some people are concerned the choice as to who should replace Mugabe is now limited to either Tsvangirai or Mujuru – the nomination is closed. There is mountain of evidence proving beyond all doubt that both Tsvangirai and Mujuru are corrupt and incompetent but since these voters cannot consider anyone else the race is then who is the less of the two devil. But instead of facing up to that reality of the lesser of the two devils they rephrase as “better candidate”!
Is it any wonder then that the country is in this hell-hole; instead of looking for competent leaders we accept whatever the rotten political system throws at us because we are too lazy to think outside the box.
What good is it being a creature of reason as all humans are supposed to be is reason cannot move us.
Well Wilbert we are still waiting for your solution, you have time and time again pointed to the obvious but offered no alternative to the MDC T. Yes I will agree we have as a nation been maybe not “lazy” as you suggest but more I would say politically unsophisticated. I wouldn’t judge us too hard, just look at the US, they are struggling with “better candidate”. Both Trump and Clinton are the most unpopular candidates to ever run for president in that country. I would go with Trump if I was American because he offers change from the status quo.
We are being asked to choose Tsvangirai or Mujuru because the present system will not allow competent leaders to come forward. What we need is to implement the reforms and end the dictatorship. A democratic system will allow good leaders and good governance!
Patrick we going in circles. Stating the obvious is not a solution. We all know the reforms are needed to make the system work fairly, that’s a given. Simply saying we need to implement the reforms will not implement them.
If we all know the reforms are needed to make the sysytem work then why did MDC leader fail to implement even one reform in five years of the GNU?
We went through this discussion a few months ago. The MDC-T was hamstrung in the GNU. Thanks to Mbeki Zanu pf were rewarded for losing an election and forced into unity with MDC as a senior partner. Zanu pf forced their way to get the portfolios with real power, security and the like, while MDC was given the difficult portfolios to keep them busy and distracted. The GNU was doomed to failure from its inception. We also had Zanu pf surrogates planted in the opposition to cause confusion, the likes of Arthur Mutambara. Those electoral reforms were never going to see the light of day because MDC was a lone entity that did not have the backing of the GNU guarantor, sadc. Sadc is weak and is not concerned about democracy because it is a club of ruling elite that want to keep the status quo. Expecting Tsvangirai to have implemented those reforms on his own is unreasonable and politically naïve to say the least. Mugabe is an expert strategist and created a patronage system that will take decades to dismantle.
Both Tsvangirai and Mujuru are corrupt and incompetent and have proven this already and therefore choosing one over the other is like being asked to choose to have one’s leg or hand cut-off!