Politics will not work without the people playing an active part in the decision making process in terms of development in their Communities.There is no doubting that Zimbabwe needs a injection of ambitious leadership to inspire local communities and create a better future for the people and localities they intend representing.
The challenges that have been faced by local government since Zimbabwe's independence is to empower communities and individuals so that they feel a sense of ownership and pride of belonging to a nation where everyone is given a fair opportunity to unleash their full potential in life.
There is a serious need to encourage councillors to take the lead in devolving power back to the people and communities. This can be done by working closely with political parties that have the interest of the communities needs at heart, to create a culture of shared responsibility, developing and sharing their thinking on agreed agendas within both party traditions and values and within the communities moral and ethical boundaries.
Ubuntu or Hunhu has traditionally been one of the core beliefs of Zimbabwean society, however the centralised system of governance promoted by the ZANU PF led government since independence we have seen how the marginalisation of the periphery has grown at pace over the last 34 years, too often local communities have found themselves being dictated to from the centre. Power has remained largely in the grasp of the national politicians, and not in the hands of the people who elect them to those positions of authority.
The difference now is that there is exist an opportunity to reclaim that right by people committed to reversing that. Zimbabwe needs a people party that does not go around holding rallies and promising people unrealistic outcomes based on unverified and sources of investment, we need a party that is willing to have conversations with members of society, a party prepared to listen to what people have to say about the difficult situations they continually find themselves in.
The era of presenting lucrative looking economic policy proposals that are disconnected from the reality on the ground are fast loosing their relevance in a society where individualism, greed and intollerance have become the centre of attraction. Zimbabwe now has an unparalleled opportunity to deliver on the changes that have been planned but not fully implimented for decades. The people together ralling behind an untainted political platform can now reverse creeping state centralisation, and put power back in the hands of local communities.
It's time people realised that they have the power and will to turn government upside down – ‘power from bottom up, not top down’ – just like was espoused by those who fought for the independence from colonial rule before us.It's high time people had freedom to innovate. To experiment. To deliver their own ideas, not those imposed on them by technocrats consipiring with politicians to retain economic power and control of our national resources.
It would be naive of me or anyone else to think such an under-taking will all be plain sailing, because it won't. It's public knowledge that due to the levels of corrupt practice across almost every sector of our social fabric, the nation’s finances have been left in a naked state by a ZANU PF government that was spending money from national resources as if it was their God given right to use it as they saw fit for their own personal and partisan needs.
There is no question that difficult decisions will need to be made, but that fact only makes a people's agenda even more crucial. Our Councils have been dis-empowered and therefore won’t be able to provide effective solutions to the problems that they face whilst wearing a centrally-imposed straight
jacket. ‘Business as usual’ just isn’t an option any more. Many Councils will have to innovate and come up with new ideas and new solutions, ready or not.
I am currently helping build a new political party called Freedom Justice Coalition Zimbabwe Party, and getting stuck in grass-roots engagement, across three chapters (UK, South Africa and Zimbabwe), to a once in a life-time transformation of ‘them and us’ into ‘citizens of Zimbabwe’.We’ve got an immense opportunity ahead of us to really change the way we see politics and they way we make politics work for us.
It's not what can my country or party do for me but what can I do to change what I want to see improved in my country.
How to Contact Freedom Justice Coalition Zimbabwe Party
Public Enquiries : info@fjcz.org
Membership Enquiries : join-us@fjcz.org
Student Volunteering : fjcz-student@fjcz.org
Website : https://www.fjcz.org
Facebook Page : Freedom Justice Coalition Zimbabwe Party
Twitter Page : https://twitter.com/FJCZIM
