I laughed out loud but on second thoughts, I think that I should not have – because I might be accused of being like President Zuma of South Africa, who has a terrible habit of laughing at very serious issues as if they don’t matter at all.
When these Zanu (PF) apologists are stuck, or when they see that they cannot argue further, all they can then say is that some of us represent foreign interests. That is utter rubbish. It is actually an admission that a black Zimbabwean cannot think for him/herself – especially when they oppose the moribund policies of the party.
To Mugabe we are all simple minds. Only he knows everything. I reject that notion. When we display some unexpected knowledge better than him on economic issues, the only way his underlings can protect his self-esteem is by accusing us of being agents of the West. This always diverts attention from the truth.
I have realised that those who support Zanu (PF) have been conditioned to protect it, even when it is obvious they are wrong. They hope someone important is listening so that they can personally gain. They actually all sing for their supper because invariably, when I finish a debate, the guys come and tell me they wish they could really speak truth to power, but given their position, they cannot say particular things in public.
Our country is poised for a fantastic rebound as soon as Mugabe decides to retire or passes away. I think we all know that even those within the party know this. Their problem is that they must pretend that Mugabe is the best thing that ever happened to Zimbabwe. What a shame. It is indeed a terrible life for a man to be a bootlicker and we have plenty of those masquerading as politicians, analysts, activists, ministers, parliamentarians and revolutionaries.
Clear examples are Didymus Mutasa and Rugare Gumbo, who can now, at last, really say what they think. This applies to almost 90% of Zanu (PF) leaders who know what has to change and yet they are stuck. We should do all we can to cure them from the Mugabe worship bug.
I meet a lot of people and I can’t help but be inspired by the good spirits I talk to; from the vendor selling air time to the CEO who can’t sleep because he/she can’t pay wages and remains hamstrung by inconsistent and uninformed policies that continue to stifle our development.
We are a country with great talent and patience. If you want to appreciate our work ethic just go into Harare downtown from 5pm to about 11 pm and you will see entrepreneurship and creativity in action. It is booming with entrepreneurs who will do anything to attract your attention.
We were never like that before. We were all trained to aspire for office jobs or to be technicians, never entrepreneurs. If we can capture this new spirit of entrepreneurship and formulate policies to allow it to develop, this country will generate plenty of jobs and wealth for all its people.
When I see the city council busy chasing vendors it really gets to me. Our approach should be to embrace this new spirit of entrepreneurship. Imagine if Bill Gates had been banned for starting Microsoft in his garage because “it’s against council bylaws”. That is exactly what we are doing as a country.
Of course we want clean streets and a healthy environment around us. But the council is throwing the baby out with the bathwater. We can have clean streets and healthy environment and street vendors too!
Zimbabwe is poised for greatness once we empower people to the full extent so that they can live up to their full potential. The era of politics of control and fear is over and that is the hard pill that most in Zanu (PF) and even the President himself are finding difficult to swallow. The reason is that they grew up in an environment where they were controlled by the white man, so they cannot escape that paradigm. The issue of our new leadership is very important. Clearly Mugabe is no longer the person to create the future we want. If whoever aspires to replace him thinks that they can adopt that same attitude they are going to be in for a rude awakening.
I do not think that progressive and informed Zimbabweans will ever accept a selfish or dictatorial leader. Zimbabwe is poised for greatness but that will surely be determined by who we allow to be our president next. . – Vince Musewe is an economist, author and President of Zimbabwe First! You can contact him directly on vtmusewe@gnail.com
Post published in: Analysis