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| Grassroots Campaign Cowdray Park |
“Success is likened to a deep pit, you have to jump in to get it, then you'll need a ladder of grace to climb out to enjoy it. However mediocrity is a pit that swallows people who have rested on seats of complacency for long.”
As we enter the Zimbabwe Economic Revolution
Introduction
My decision to return to the African continent, more specifically Zimbabwe was driven by my passion to want to give back to a society where I grew up and wanted to give back by sharing ideas inspired by my experiences living in different socio-economic and political backgrounds.
I knew from the moment I made the decision on this new journey that it was not going to be easy and I would need to make a lot of sacrifices financially and emotionally too. My journey back would not have been meaningful had it not been for the moral and financial support and encouragement from my wife, brothers, some extended family members and a few close friends and associates.
I must admit that in spite of all the support I received during my political campaign which I know started a bit too late still pushed me over my planned budget as proposals to run with Councillors just cut into my already limited financial resources.
Post Election Road Map
Fast forward..Zanu PF won a two thirds majority in parliament and a closely contested and legally challenged Presidential election.
I guess questions need to be asked to ascertain what went wrong. So what lessons have we learnt as political candidates and citizens from the election experience and outcomes?
On a personal level on reflection I know that I took a risk by entering the arena after having lived outside Zimbabwe for several years, even in spite of having managed to run a few community based initiatives from my Diaspora home targeted at my home constituency.
Naturally people can only relate to someone whom they can see on a day to day basis and would therefore be more comfortable in electing them as their representative. However in spite of the late entry my campaign was also affected by the lack of access to local media platforms, like local radio stations and newspapers which could have helped increase my visibility and also share my campaign message.
On top of the list was entering the race with a very limited campaign budget, which meant movement was restricted and visibility could not be effective without sufficient campaign regalia and funds to hire larger venues like stadiums to run rallies.
Second on the list was the disunity of opposition political parties and candidates, this meant that there was a very long ballot paper that many voters had no time to read and understand, hence results seemed to favour only the popular brand names with many new unknown names failing to garner enough votes to win the campaign.
Third on the list was the economic environment. the election was very ripe for vote buying as the country was facing cash shortages in banks with rising cost of living where many could not afford the basics. Even the largest opposition party was equally affected by the lack of campaign funding and largely benefited from an already large urban voter following that had grown over the years. Their main weakness was their lack of penetration of the rural constituencies that have remained Zanu PF strongholds since independence partly because of their utilisation of government and donor resources to mobiles cell structures during the distribution of those agricultural subsidies.
The strategic privatisation of parastatals and creation of political party aligned businesses meant that those companies given contracts and tenders would be called upon to support the parties campaign chest during elections. Many ask where did Zanu PF get so much money to buy so many cars during their campaign, well they have been in power since independence and have virtually policised the system of government right into the heart of the business community.
What is the way forward?
Opposition politics as we have all know it has been of constantly criticising almost everything government does and boycotting participation on some national programs meant to benefit all citizens is counter productive to national progress. I appreciate that government has been largely run on partisan lines with one needing to produce a Zanu PF membership card with subscription payments to access opportunities. Those in parliament need to expose and fight that injustice so such opportunities are accessible to every ordinary citizen.
There is a need to go on a massive conscientisation campaign to awaken critical consciousness of citizens on the importance of making leadership choices from a more informed position than just following the crowd mentality.
Voters need to understand how vote buying might provide temporal relief but long term hardships after elections. They need to understand that that a small bribe to win their vote is nothing compared to the millions these politicians keep syphoning from our national resources under the guise of serving society. Citizens need to understand their rights and responsibilities as citizens to hold legislators to account for their actions and decisions. The electorate needs to see the value of demanding more transparency in terms of how tax payer money and revenue generated from various sources and how it will be used for the benefit of building a more socially progressive society.
I feel our humble nature as Zimbabweans has left us vulnerable to exploitation by those in positions of power and influence and now more recently also being taken advantage by the business community sometimes conspiring with those in government.
In short collectively as citizens working with political institutions and other nation building entities hungry for real change really need to come up with social re-engineering strategies that will awaken our people and stand up to the increasing and reckless injustices being perpetrated against them. Opposition parties need to unite and work together to demand a much fairer society for all citizens not based on any political labels.
The Economy
We need to give as much focus on economic solutions like we have done over the years with our passion to seek political solutions. In any case there is no opposition political party or candidate that will be able to match the resource power that Zanu PF has managed to pull together over the years unless they have very powerful financial backers who have no ties to the current system of government.
Our politics is no longer just limited to the political arena but has transcended to also dominate the business arena with a few powerful and influential individuals (untouchables) controlling the bulk of our national wealth. So we need to fight to get back our economy which is now controlled by very powerful cartels working with key individuals in the current system of government.
let's demand our fair share of gold for this country is for all of us and future generations must look back and follow footsteps that build great nations rather than those that destroy and suck it dry of all it's natural resources. We need to demand more transparent forms of governance and hold leaders to account for their actions and decisions.
