How can we effectively contribute to the development of Zimbabwe?

My article today is a follow up assessment on changing our attitudes in order to have a common vision. In the last couple of years, I have found that most Zimbabweans  spend most of their time criticising and discussing the way government is managed by politicians, and few have have actually focused on solutions outside government proposals save for personal family and career achievements. Most have had very limited focus on their own personal development and progression with regards to finding sustainable solutions that can gradually develop their knowledge and abilities in a beneficial way to Zimbabwean socio-economic environment (How their roles,personal achievements, can effectively benefit a broader society). The majority choose to criticise any efforts without even making any suggestions to address some of the problems we face that have been affecting our socio-economic environments. 


I do however sympathise with those who have been victims of past injustice caused by violence and political persecution by those in authoritative positions. Most of these victims of human right violations have had very little therapy if any, in terms of being counselled with regards to their experiences they have been put through. The wounds inflicted on them are so deep and will remain open as very little has been done by society in general to try and address these unjustified actions against innocents. Many probably feel it is the responsibility of government to provide a national healing platform, but why cant we take the first steps in addressing emotional issues that affect us as people from the same region without waiting for these rather stubborn and righteous minded political leaders?   What we really need is political solutions that can demand as part of any progressive condition, a commission of inquiry to bring justice for the victims of political violence. There seems to be a reluctance by global leadership to engage the current political authority, and those that attempt to do so are usually accused of having other hidden agendas and interests in our national matters. I'm not sure if aggressive direct confrontation is the right way around it, nor is amnesty granted without the perpetrators acknowledging their mistakes justified. However what I'm sure about is these matters do need to be addressed sometime soon if peace and stability is to be achieved in Zimbabwe.

All these issues have contributed to the negative behaviours and actions  towards positive development in our country, which in turn has been  exasperated by a blame culture linked to other historical event’s. All these have been used as propaganda tools, to create unnecessary divisions amongst our people, as a result of bad communication by leaders from various sectors of our society. What seems to have been overlooked by many or probably forgotten at times, is that Zimbabwe is a country, and those currently managing it are humans who have a life expectancy just like every other living organism, the main difference being Zimbabwe as a land locked country will always be there and be managed by others, hence the need to stay focused on long term solutions that will provide constant socio-economic growth for future generations. That does not mean we should conclusively dismiss short term objectives, they are also important starting points .

My personal observation is publicity at large, often starts with the media entities, and then gradually the information then spreads through interpersonal communication at various levels. While popular wisdom suggests that “any publicity is good publicity,” research has found only downsides to negative press. Though the economic approach to negative publicity has focused more on the role of critics than the mechanism through which publicity influences opinion, word of mouth acts as signals of quality, which influences members of the public to make particular decisions on national and personal matters affecting their lives. However negative information generally decreases evaluations, attitude changes alone cannot explain why negative publicity would ever be positive. Negative publicity should decrease opinion evaluations, and as a result, decrease the confidence people have on public institutions and governance issues.

So is it possible for us to draw a line on freedom of press and publicity? Shouldn’t there be a standard that is acceptable to the public not just membership associations?

“Nothing should be further from the truth. Great marketing does great things for people and for businesses. We need to stop being so defensive and start celebrating marketing’s role.” ~ Leroy

Perhaps we should be looking at the creation of an independent self-regulatory media body. The majority of the public would want the press regulated by an independent self-regulatory run by those independent of the newspaper industry. Anyway the press is not the problem but just a part of both the problem and solution.

There’s no amount of negative publicity that can enhance the already available knowledge in the world media about the need for progressive change in Zimbabwe, so instead of always focusing on the negatives we have experienced in the past, let’s rather look at also addressing those negatives with positive actions. Positive action is taking ownership of our situations and not waiting for government officials to continuously manipulate our trust, faith and hope nor seek outside assistance that may as well manipulate our disadvantaged positions.

“In matters of truth and justice, there is no difference between large and small problems, for issues concerning the treatment of people are all the same.”

~ Albert Einstein~

So how can one start effectively contributing to the development of Zimbabwe? Well first and foremost one must be passionate about Zimbabwe, it could be you live there, want to live there, want to visit on a regular basis, have family, friends who live there or want to go back and live there or simple interested in Investing in the economy. I think most Zimbabweans have realised that the time for talk and chat is fast becoming a bad habit, a friend of mine said today; 

" My challenge is for Zimbabweans in diaspora to invest and create even a single job in Zimbabwe. Sounds stupid idea, but lets try it"~D R

What ever may be the case it's time to let our actions speak louder than our words. Let's take the time to plan our future, empower ourselves with the necessary knowledge and skills, try to compliment each other in areas where we are weak so that what may seem impossible becomes a possibility and eventually a reality. Let's share information that is capable of strengthening our goals and plans for the future, for time is the most precious product in life. If we do not make it to the final destination at least we would have left a trail of inspiration for generations to come. With hopes and dreams anything is possible.