A grandmother's aspirations and the 2013 election

I have just watched a video which features a grandmother talking about her aspirations for a new Zimbabwe. The video was shot in Gweru over the weekend.  Oh what pain Robert Mugabe has caused the people of Zimbabwe.  
 
If you take a moment to imagine how ecstatic people of her age must have been when the then new Zimbabwe was unveiled in 1980.  She was probably my age at that time and would have had the same aspirations for the new Zimbabwe as I have now.
 Time was on her side, she had hope and energy, she was willing to work for her country, she were placed her trust in a man without a plan.  How disappointed she must be today, the whole country was sold a dummy.

If there are people that Robert Mugabe has failed so terribly it is people of his own age. Imagine all those pensioners who now struggle to survive on their meagre state pensions. Their pensions were wiped out by hyperinflation, their funeral and insurance policies were reduced to rubble. People who had spent their lives trying provide for themselves in their twilight years are no longer able to do so.

The grandmother starts the video by mentioning that she has 12, yes that's it, twelve children. That's her choice I suppose. Her expectation was that her children should have been able to look after her so that she could rest after a life well lived. No such chance unfortunately when Robert Mugabe started dipping his hands into the national treasury and started to focus on himself and not the people of Zimbabwe.
If one looks at the promises being made by the various candidates on the campaign trail who would she most likely vote for?

Would she place her faith in party that constantly talks about indigenisation as the answer to the travails of the country? Would she be looking forward to owing part of Unki Mine in nearby Shurugwi? If she had part ownership of the mine would any of her twelve children go to sleep on full stomachs, content that the resources of their country are now safely in their hands?

Does she even think of owning a company? Does she care who owns the company, except when it's owned by the Chinese who are well known for paying Chinese slave labour wages? Whose responsibility is it that we are in this situation in the first place? 

In all probability her thoughts are always on the next day, focusing on the immediate needs. What do we eat tonight, tomorrow, how do I pay fees for next term? How is my son in South Africa doing and why doesn't he call more often?
The message from the MDC is what her idea of what a future Zimbabwe should look like. Unemployment is one the biggest challenge facing the country and when the President of the party talks about creating jobs she sees her children with opportunities of being employed. She can actually see herself taking a rest as her children look after her.

She will have seen how corruption ravaged her community and how local councillors allocated stands to themselves whilst she was told that it's not yet her turn on the housing waiting list. She will have seen how ZANU PF allocated market stalls to its own based on party affiliation. When she hears the commitment made by President Morgan Tsvangirai to fight corruption and govern the country for all of its citizens she will warm up to the message.

At the end of the day voting is an individual choice, we decide whether to vote or not and who among the candidates we place our faith and trust. The choice in this election is simple. There is only one candidate who has shown that he has the ideas to build a Zimbabwe that we all want to see.

Let us vote for Morgan Richard Tsvangirai otherwise we stand the risk of our children feeling sorry for us when we reach the later years in life. We need to have a clean break with the past. This is time to invest your vote and wisely. 

Kumbirai Muchemwa is the spokesperson of the MDC in South Africa and can be contacted on kmuchemwa@mdcsa.co.za