A very special signature

For me that was a special signature with more meaning that all the others and the recognition and trust that they represented. If I had the choice I would not waste that signature on ZEC and the Court but frame it and put in on the wall of my office with a note that said “Never forget me and what I represent, respect me for who I am and all that I have done, never forget, you hold my future in your hands and by this signature I put my trust and my future, and the future of my family in your hands”.

Doing the primaries for our Party around the country, from Binga to Buhera, I have seen some 250,000 people attend the meetings, having travelled by foot and by donkey cart or mini buss, sometimes for over a 100km, to get to a polling point and then wait hours in the sun to vote for the candidate of their choice. 95 per cent of those attending were just ordinary Zimbabweans, many peasant farmers or low income workers and people who make their living in the informal sector.

“Very few understand grassroots commitment”

On Thursday last week one of our national leaders came over to me in Parliament and said that he wanted me to go our Headquarters to talk to some villagers. I found the room full of very tired people. They came from three Wards in a Constituency on the Mozambique border some 350 km from Harare. They said they had been unable to get to the selected location of the primary election in their area because of bad roads and were distressed that they had missed out.

I assured them that the party would make provision for them to vote and that this would take place over the weekend and with that they packed up and returned to their homes – an arduous and expensive trip for anyone. This kind of commitment by people with very little is typical of the MDC structures around the country. So few people see this and understand what it means, the diplomats do not see this and few journalists take the time and the trouble to recognise the determination of these people to take part and influence the outcome of decisions that will affect their lives.

Among the wealthy and the sophisticated I often find total apathy when it comes to such issues – elections are a great big yawn for them and they make no effort to participate or even vote in the main elections. Total cynicism seems to rule the day in these communities and this contrasts sharply with the dedication that I see every day in the lives of the absolute poor.

My mind goes back to 1980 when Zimbabweans put their faith in a team of leaders who had fought to bring freedom and human dignity to their lives. They held in their hands the same mandate that will soon be ours and we need to remember what they did with that trust and how they failed. In the early stages it was very exciting – we built a primary school every two days, we brought peace after a decade of war, we restored our international relations and restored the dignity and standing of the country; only to destroy all of that with bad policy and corrupt self-seeking government.

I want to promise Julia that while I do not know about all my colleagues in the MDC, I personally will treasure her trust in me and our leadership and will work hard to make sure that her dreams come true. She and I may not be around to see the full form of the new Zimbabwe, but her grandchildren will.