Struggle credentials no panacea of leadership

Liberation struggle credentials have resulted in bad decisions and bad leadership starting at State house.

I know that our liberation struggle history needs to be re-written. I know that our history has been manipulated and usurped to paint a select few as heroes while those who truly sacrificed much remain destitute and forgotten; that is not right.

However, let us be very clear that, simply because one fought during the struggle does not necessarily mean that they will turn out as good leaders. We have seen claims and counter claims of who did what when during the struggle. My question remains; so what?

Of course I respect and honour those who sacrificed their lives for our freedom but to me, that does not necessarily entitle them to political power nor does it mean that God deposited only in them the monopoly of wisdom. Zimbabwe has been mismanaged because of this claim that "I fought the war therefore…". In fact,  many competent patriotic Zimbabweans have been crowded out of leadership positions for the wrong reasons; no wonder why we are in trouble. Liberation struggle credentials have resulted in bad decisions and bad leadership starting at state house.

For me whether Mujuru shot down a helicopter or not has absolutely nothing to do with us creating the Zimbabwe we want in the future. It has absolutely nothing to do with whether she is a good or bad leader. Our future must be significantly different from the past and it is a shame that now, in the 21st century, we still have people in ZANU (PF), thinking that they are entitled to lead simply because of their purported struggle heroics.

It is only in Africa where liberation struggle credentials continue to be abused as a right to power and privilege. Struggle heroes deserve to be honoured and remembered and that's about all; it is time they move on and let us young progressive Zimbabweans lead and create a better Zimbabwe that can compete with the rest of the world.

The power struggles within ZANU (PF) are totally irrelevant to our times. We need solutions and conversations about the future. For goodness sake, we need a new narrative for our country's future and not who shot what down whom 40 years ago!

As we grapple with the deteriorating economic and social conditions, I would have expected the leadership of this  country to have sleepless nights discussing together how we can get out of this mess. Instead some are busy looking for Baba Jukwa while others are busy plotting and visiting sangomas at night. What a comedy.

Zimbabwe deserves better. It is dis heartening to see our neighbouring economies progress with constant leadership renewal being a common feature. I always say that we can revive Zimbabwe within 100 days given a chance. It will not take much but to just ensure the rule of law, the respect of private property and revival of our agriculture sector.

As all this leadership succession fiasco carries on, I will not at all be surprised if after all, Mugabe decides to stay on. Actually, sadly, it's most likely that he will and give the usual excuse that ZANU (PF) will collapse without him. (Something that is highly likely by the way). So all this bickering is really not going to add an iota to our economic recovery. The amount of lost opportunities and waste of potential for Zimbabwe because Mugabe has simply failed to nurture new leaders is unimaginable. He must take full responsibility for the quarrels happening now, it is his fault.

The majority of Zimbabweans I have net are just surviving from day to day as the economy tanks. Not many are creating wealth as should happen in a normal economy and it will take some time before we can compete with our neighbours. The amazing fact is that nobody within ZANU (PF) seems concerned. Leadership failure has become endemic.

We have so many talented Zimbabweans out there and struggle credentials have nothing to do with what we want to achieve in the future. In fact they have led to us electing bad leaders. We must broaden the country's leadership base and make use of all our potential in every field. At the rate things are going, Zimbabwe will never reach its full potential.

To all those who truly liberated us I say thank you. To the pretenders who continue to claim entitlement to power I say Zimbabwe does not need you anymore. I pray that God is hearing our fervent prayers.

We need to see new leaders emerging sooner rather than later and that is something all of us must fight for.

Vince Musewe is an economist and author based in Harare. You may contact him on vtmusewe@gmail.com