Where next for Zimbabwe?

After all the excitement from the #ThisFlag campaign of Pastor Evans Mawarire I guess everyone's mind is now on over-drive wondering what's the next move as many people's hopes have been raised in anticipation for the long awaited news that the Zanu PF government would finally admit that they have failed and the President calls for an All Stakeholder National Conference to urgently discuss a way to try and rescue the country from it's worsening socio- economic crisis.

There is no doubt that the Zanu PF led government has been shaken by recent citizen's flag protest. They are also probably relieved that they managed to somehow derail the momentum of the campaign partly because they have probably the best repressive system in the world which has never hesitated to use violence to intimidate people and the 'carrot stick' strategy to mobilise the large population of unemployed youth to counter the citizens protest action. The shutting down of social media platforms like WhatsApp also helped disrupt one of the most successful online campaigns Zimbabwe has ever experienced since gaining independence in 1980.

The campaign has been seen by some citizens as not just a campaign against government corruption and lack of transparency and accountability but also as a 'vote of no confidence' on Zimbabwe's opposition political party's role in being the voice of citizen's in terms of demanding answers from government against the wave of decisions they have been making that have created very complex issues affecting people's way of life. The opposition political parties are seen as too divided, lacking new leadership with new ideas that can unite Zimbabweans and offer working alternatives capable of addressing the current issues that the Zanu PF government has created.

So what choices do we have as a country to bridge our differences? Can a citizens campaign that has largely been focussed on seeking answers from government now be solutions focused and start seeking answers to address the countries problems? Can this  citizen's campaign that has been inspired by an individual citizen be transformed to a movement that has structures that can offer an alternative to the current government without making any effort to engage political actors in a non-confrontational manner? I personally think that the 'idea' of citizen power to demand accountability and transparency is a brilliant idea, however it is not the sole solution to our problems. the next step for the campaign would be to transform and become a registered civic body that will act as a checks and balance system for public institutions as a tool for citizens to use to hold public officials accountable for their decisions and actions.

Some are suggesting that Pastor Mawarire should form a new political party and put his name down as a Presidential candidate for 2018. I do not think it should progress to become another political party as it's strength is no derived from political activity but citizen rights and duties. Secondly the leader's of the campaign should make an effort to engage political actors preferable starting with those who appreciate the need for this new democratic framework that gives citizens a voice beyond just the legislative framework of elected representatives to directly and collectively present their views to public officials.

What should opposition political parties do in light of the revelations of the citizen's campaign? Well they now have a chance to reform their internal structures and align their policies with the expectations of the citizen's campaign. The reasons they have been so disconnected from the real issues affecting people is partly because a political culture where holding rallies has been a one way communication channel with leaders standing on podiums addressing members of the public without giving them an opportunity to equally share their own concerns. Perhaps the era of holding mass rallies is fast loosing it's place in modern democracy, with the advances in technological communications there are new tools that can be utilised to get feedback from citizens, it's time leaders learnt to listen more and talk less for it is the people's voice that should matter the most not some ideological framework that fails to address the real issues affecting citizens. There is need for opposition parties to push government on those issues highlighted by the citizens campaign and if necessary use regional bodies like SADC and AU to bring government to engage on those critical issues.

The government of Zimbabwe can not afford to continue ignoring the concerns of citizens and refusing to engage opposition political parties on these important issues. Its just not sustainable anymore and is as good as playing dice with millions of people's lives, the sooner they swallow they pride the quicker we can start working towards resolving the current issues.

The 'ultimate solution' after the proposed All stake Holder Conference would be to agree on the setting up of a National Transitional Authority run my experienced apolitical individuals which many have suggested in the past to resuscitate the economy, align laws to the new constitution, carry out electoral reforms, begin de-politicising the security sector (police, army, airforce, prisons and justice system) and prepare the ground for free and fair elections. Political actors can be part of an Advisory Council coordinated with the assistance of SADC and AU.

Our current socio-economic and political environment is not conducive for a free and fair election, it is ripe for vote buying and would only serve to hand-over the election to those with a financial advantage, we all know that our democracy is based on politics of the belly which takes advantage of people's suffering. People do not vote for leadership ability by leadership willing to give them a bag of mealie meal or that temporal gratification.

If only we can put being Zimbabwean above all other associations we can begin to bridge our differences and appreciate that we can actually compliment each other based on our diverse experiences.

Yithi abantu bakhona! Tisu vanhu vacho! We are the people!