Thokozani Khupe must be called to order

"(There is) only one MP, there is only one councillor, and we cannot all be president. You cannot all be members of parliament. Neither can you be councillors. So we are all here because you want to use politics, as stepping stone, so that we create a conducive environment, where those who want to do business will do business and make money. I personally, I love a better life. You know, life is good man. But life can only be good when you have money in your pocket, because money speaks. We are all here because we want money. Without money we cannot anywhere guys, let's be honest with each other. We are in politics because we want money. Once we have money we are able to send our children to school." Part of a speech given by MDC-T Vice President T. Khupe in the UK.

The above speech has elicited wide ranging debate amongst citizens. Some have said there is nothing wrong with this statement while others have said this is wrong for our democracy. It is indeed a very conflicting statement and I shall try to look at it objectively here.

First, lets us begin by defining politics. Politika is a Greek word that means affairs of the cities, notably and by extension, cities were inhabited by people. Thus the correct meaning is affairs of the people in a locale. So politics is the organisation and or management of affairs of people in a country or community. ‘Affairs' cover all aspects of human interaction.

Politics is practised by public servants. The common view is that one is a public servant when in government, but it is not so. A public servant is any person who is appointed or elected to a public office, regardless of whether they serve in government or not. So yes, that Burial Society Chairman you elected to office in your neighbourhood is a public servant. He is there acting for the good of the public. In essence, he holds your money and affairs in trust, trust that he will act in your interest according to set guidelines.

Indeed from the very beginning, politics has conflicted people. One area of conflict has been that public servants as gatekeepers of set resources, must not use their positions to enrich themselves. In many instances, public servants are already rewarded in the form of a salary or retainer and other benefits when they take up office. So they should not use their position of influence to further create avenues to benefit for themselves. This has led to worldwide calls for politicians to declare their wealth before stepping into office especially Presidents.

With these crude observations, I arrive at the above speech by VP Khupe. The speech was given to party members in the UK. I am not aware of the exact definition of party members here. Does this mean ordinary members or leaders of MDC-T structures in the UK? The tone seems to suggest leaders of structures were the main focus of the address.

The first thing that must be said immediately is that there is nothing right about the statement, whether in context, general or particular. VP Khupe and any other public servant is remunerated by party for services rendered. The services are rendered in the form of creating a better Zimbabwe for all, whether they be MDC-T, MKD, Zanu PF and or independents. Notably, the money used to remunerate her and other apparatchiks comes from the hard sweat of card holding members and other sources such as donations to the party.

As and when they get into government, the money to remunerate them will come from taxes. It will be very improper to tax citizens for politicians' welfare and then hog avenues for citizens to be productive at the same time. This effectively means citizens will be funding their oppression and disenfranchisement.

When public servants use politics as a stepping stone to starting businesses and making money, it opens them up to various ills that we are fighting currently in Zimbabwe. They become susceptible to corruption, to bending rules to suit their interests, to closing investment until they have received a personal share, to ignoring public business and spend the day chasing their personal interests… the list is endless. All this happens to the detriment of the people they are supposed to be serving. Notably, Strive Masiyiwa was a victim of this very mentality.

In a country like Zimbabwe, one would think we have first-hand experience of these ills and therefore want no more as citizens, but alas. We are suffering the curse of the oppressed and we will even help our oppressor to oppress us, even if the oppressor no longer wanted to oppress. Most worrying, we will create the next oppressor because life without an oppressor is simply inconceivable. So, many supporters see nothing wrong with the statement and spend the day doing summersaults to defend such a wrong statement.

The protracted fight against Zanu PF stems from the love of money. There is nothing wrong with loving money in business, which is where those who love money must be. Public servants must work for the good of all citizens, using their passion to build infrastructure, create investment and craft laws that make equal distribution of wealth, relative to work, a reality. When they gather in a room and talk of using politics as a stepping stone to make money, it simply is stinky.

Certain questions arise. What is the difference between them and Zanu PF? So when they come into power, the traffic police will be worse than they are today? Is the corruption case in Chitungwiza a harbinger of things to come? Since they have little now, will they steal more than Zanu PF? Will they grab property from citizens arbitrarily since they will have the police on their side? How worse is this going to get? More murders, abductions and beatings by police when we protest?

Citizens who are defending the above are growing a snake in the house and it will grow to bite us all in future. We must refuse and correct these perceptions even in our parties. It would have been great had someone stood up in that meeting and said, "Madam VP, this does not sound well, please explain." We have had 37 years of politics of self-enrichment. Surely by now we should say enough is enough.

Lastly, a rising tide lifts all boats. So it is not enough for politicians alone to be wealthy in a sea of poverty. You will never enjoy that wealth because potholes do not discriminate. Drinking or bathing with contaminated water does not discriminate. But when politicians act for the good of everyone, incomes increase across the board and everyone enjoys a better quality of life. And that is the nascent definition of politics; to improve the quality of life of all people.

Fungai Chiposi, Mr.

A citizen and community development activist. You can shout at me on 0772867300. It's on WhatsApp.