Keeping up Appearances vs Offering Alternative working Solutions

I think the pursuit of popularity in politics can easily make one loose focus of the their ultimate objective which is to serve and bring in new ideas that can improve people's lives. Perhaps the question is why do individuals choose to become politicians? What does it entail to be a politician?

I have on many occasion been told by different individuals that I am not visible and that means my message will not reach every Zimbabwean. If I want to be considered as a national leader i should do more to spread my message on a national scale.

I have however made it clear from the word go that my entry point is Luveve Constituency which is where I am trying to focus my current strategies in terms of working with members of that constituency in various ways, not just to highlight what everyone already knows but to also explore solutions in consultation with various stake holders in the community.  It's a process to leadership not a destination to a position of leadership.

I do appreciate the fact that Freedom Justice Coalition Zimbabwe Political Party is a national institution that I have been elected as it's Interim President and I am trying to balance my efforts with both roles based on the commitment levels of current leaders of the party and the availability of resources to manage a national campaign.

I think it's not secret that most political environments do not have a level playing field in terms of access to campaign resources. The challenge is we do not have any transparency in terms of funding of political parties, anyone irrespective of their background and source of funds can donate campaign funds to any candidate they favour to win the elections. 

Our local media also seems to ride on the popularity brand to sell their papers and do little justice to the new unknown entities whose views are suppressed based on the notion their brands are unknown and therefore will not attract readers to buy their papers and visit their websites. Perhaps they subconsciously promote the recycling of the same names in our politics without realising the impact of their actions, though some argue it's because those names have the resource capacity to spend on endless public events.

There is a different view of politics in Zimbabwe that seems to only see value in aspiring leaders only if they are willing to make great sacrifice like getting arrested for confronting the government, keeping up public appearances through demonstrations and protests demanding answers from government which I do appreciate are all democratic rights. 

How about changing that narrative of demanding answers to offering working alternative examples? Most opposition parties argue there is little they can do to offer alternatives as they do not have the power in terms of authority to do so. So what happens in local government levels where some representatives belong to opposition political parties, is that not the first level to show what one can do before they are government? 

Surely these political parties have a network of affiliated Business who can also channel investment to their target constituencies, should the burden of developing our country only be blamed on a sitting government or should we all seek different ways to offer more competitive alternatives.

I think whilst we demand answers we should also be working towards offering and implementing alternatives that can be good examples of development. The elected MP's should do their jobs of fighting for policy changes that can help make such alternatives become a reality, that includes a more intense legal battle to fight corruption and ensure more transparent policies are put in place to hold officials accountable to the electorate. 

We can't afford to continue with this us and them stance when we are all Zimbabweans who probably have far more in common than that which we differentiate ourselves with...just saying..

They must all retire and be back benchers, we have many young capable leaders.

"Implementing the electoral reforms is tantamount to reforming ourselves out of power”~ Professor Jonathan Moyo Minister of Higher Education

Such public statements of defiance do not help build bridges of understanding that can lead to finding amicable solutions to move the country forwards. It's like seeking dialogue with someone who has already made up their mind that they will never agree to your idea of nation building.

From my position, our party may have brilliant ideas that may take time to be transformed to visible outcomes, but one of our biggest barriers is financial resources to ensure our message and ideas can reach every citizen in every corner of Zimbabwe. A sincere level playing field would make it possible for any aspiring candidate to share their message using all available mediums of communication, but our current environment does not give us that opportunity.

Like Dr Maxwell Shumba highlighted in one of his public posts new political parties are accused of splitting votes and coerced into joining coalition platforms with larger existing political parties to discourage them from winning over support from their membership base. Most of the leaders of current opposition like Mugabe have considered leadership renewal within their party's, even in serious ill health they hoard those positions of authority but we expect aspiring leaders to accept such and join their rank and file. No they must all retire and make way for fresh ideas.

We also have leader's who were expelled from Zanu PF now being presented as saviours coming to rescue the opposition as they are said to know the inside strategies of Zanu better than everyone else. These leader's seem to have unlimited campaign resources as they even have funds to hold rallies in neighbouring countries yet the country's economic situation is in tatters and many ordinary citizens are struggling for the basics because of a very high unemployment rate. So where do they get such funding to run endless campaigns?

We are urged to use silent diplomacy and not publicly criticise them in any manner as we will need them in a coalition against Zanu PF, remarks like who does not have any negative spots on them are used to brush off sentiment that may well enlighten the electorate about their false campaign promises.

GUKURAHUNDI..how desperate are we for political relevance? More than 36 years as part of government but they are still hungry for power and relevance. Is it because they were not courageous enough to defy the leadership or because they were too comfortable and never imagined that one day they may also be victims of the same system that they built?

Zimbabweans 'WAKE UP!'...

I too can keep up public appearances by ensuring I am in the mix where our media has their focus of attention, make video's just like pastor Evans Mawarire and all others demanding answers from this failing government, visit the Gukurahundi graves to try touch the emotions of families of victims of that so called 'moment of madness', but is that the politics that we want in Zimbabwe? Are these sloganeering campaigns and demonstrations improving our socio-economic and political environments?

When are we going to have alternative examples to compete with the current government? What's the purpose of our elected MP's in parliament if they can not fight for policy changes that create an environment that allows citizens opportunities for growth.
Let's not force everyone to bow to the 'big tent' mentality where the size of your support decides the relevance of your ideas, we need more inclusivity and flexibility than 'entitlement'.

Does Zimbabwe's political opposition have effective political strategies capable of transformational change?

How do political leaders measure the effectiveness of their strategies?

How do they feedback the perceived success of any strategy back to citizens?

Since I started having an interest in Zimbabwe politics in 2009, I am still to be convinced that 'opposition politics' is contributing to the developed of Zimbabwe besides being credited for having contributed to the writing of the new constitution of Zimbabwe which extended Mugabe's term as Executive President but is yet to play a significant role in redefining Zimbabwean democracy so it truly represent's the will of citizens and their aspirations.

I have seen a lot of 'public petitions' circulated by various individuals and groups seeking to pressurise government to make decisions that favour their requests but are yet to hear of any successful outcomes. I have seen many demonstrations by the largest opposition party and other groups in Zimbabwe representing certain demands from government but are yet to see the fruits of those efforts. It seems like we keep doing the same thing expecting different outcomes.

More recently we saw the social media campaign by now celebrated Pastor Evans Mawarire which had some very sincere and genuine demands from government but nothing positive was achieved in terms of government response to address those issues. Some argue that the campaign managed to inspire citizens to face their worst fears and stand together as a collective, but the crust of the matter is the demands were not achieved but rather further repressive tools were created and applied to stifle democratic process by government

Are we using the right strategies to find answers to our current situation? I mean even if we go back a few years where the opposition with the help of international sympathisers successfully imposed the so called 'targeted sanctions' on the Zanu PF Government, leaders and affiliated companies. If truth be told those so called targeted sanctions did not affect Zanu and it's leadership alone as the intended consequences were simple cushioned by being transferred to citizens in various forms and has now became more of a burden for the majority disenfranchised citizenry.

As I see it the only time confrontational methods work is when one knows they have fair chance to overcome their opponent as they would be more prepared in terms of resources and tools to face their enemy which in all honesty Zimbabwe opposition are not equipped to do at this particular moment.

The alternative and most utilised strategy since independence from the Lancaster House, the 1987 Unity Agreement right up to the 2009 GPA agreement is negotiation. Ultimately in the words of the late President of South Africa Nelson Mandela "Negotiation and discussion are the greatest weapons we have for promoting peace & development".
You can not have peaceful protest in an arena where your opponent is willing to use any means necessary including State instruments and violence to suppress citizen discontent. This is why in the end the Rhodesian government had to try and repel a more fierce liberation war that led to the loss of lives of thousands in search of freedom.

Surely we have far more in common than our differences? We are all Zimbabweans belonging and why can we not seek ways to bridge our differences through respectable dialogue? This culture of self importance, entitlement and self righteousness does not build but tear us apart.

We simple can no longer continue promoting divisive sentiment like them and us when we are all mortal human beings of one global village merely defined by international rules that recognise us as Zimbabweans.

How long can we sustain the current strategies that are becoming more and more like a merry-go-round? Ultimately compromises will need to be made on all sides if ever we are to find an amicable way forward as citizens of the same nation.

Transformational Leadership

One empowering thing I have learnt about leadership is it's not about giving instructions but showing good example.

I have been working as part of a diverse team of individuals from diverse backgrounds on a new political project for Zimbabwe called Freedom justice Coalition Zimbabwe since 2010 volunteering  in various aspects of the projects development during my free time.

Apart from that I have also tried to maintain consistent focus on my personal growth and that of my immediate family, which includes pursuing part-time study as academic qualification is used as a barometer for success and apportioning respect in most African societies. I have also started several small business initiatives in both the U.K and South Africa and more recently setting up in Zimbabwe as I prepare for a more permanent return to my country of birth.

I do sometimes get the urge to pursue further academic study to Phd level just to prove a point that when one puts their mind to something they can accomplish their goals but another voice tells me that I need to first try apply what ever knowledge I have gained so far from both experience and learned knowledge to practical outcomes that have a positive impact on humanity. Whilst on the other hand I worry about the time i will need to spend on study rather than practically getting involved in activities that in some way may also offer me an opportunity to learn from experience.

I have had many of my fellow 'freedom fighters' in this journey dropping off or side stepping to rather focus on their academic pursuits which I totally understand and respect as that is what they feel is most important to them in their life pursuits. Perhaps in my retirement age I may consider returning to study just as a matter of principle and satisfying my ego in terms of meeting those high academic achievements.

Most of us generally put too much trust in others when it comes to collective responsibilities in terms of working towards common objectives. We expect them to have the same standards and put the same amount of effort in our quest to attain our collective objectives forgetting that we all have our unique strengths and weaknesses and come from different socio-economic environments which do not necessary give us the same opportunities and space to meet the demands of team work.

Experience has also taught me difficult lessons about working remotely and away from any activity, have lost money on a lot of potential investments deals from different partnerships because of working away from the action, lost a lot of opportunities because of not being at the right place at the right time because of my physical location at the time.

All this for me means there are some things that one needs to be physically present if they want to see the fruits of their efforts, otherwise one ends up in a cycle of doing the same thing over and over again hoping they may one day find a working combination that synthesises with their aspirations in a manner that leads to visible outcomes.

The journey continues....