Breaking down barriers, building bridges and opening doors of hope!

It has been a while since I penned a communication to you Zapu party members; there is always a fine balance in judging how frequently leadership should send messages of exhortation to the Party faithful; done too often and such communication runs the risk of being considered as trite and even a tedium, less frequently and the charge as levelled by some members: the leadership is remote and out of touch. The travails of human perception!

The judgment call that I made this time has been to address concerns expressed by some members lately. A perception has been created in some quarters that the work which our ZAPU leadership do is not visible or at least not visible enough; an insinuation even that some in the leadership have fallen "asleep on the job".

WIN YOUR TICKET FOR THE BOSSO versus CELTIC Match

In true ZAPU spirit and tradition leadership must be responsive to the needs and concerns of members; I hope my message here goes some way towards doing so.

Let me assure you that despite of the legitimate concerns about the lack of diligence of some portfolio holders, a tremendous amount of work by the Party leadership in all structures is going on, a lot of information about Party processes and protocols is being generated; yes there do appear to be logjams in the dissemination of information along the way but these are being addressed. I do admit also that our own internal Party information systems need oiling and coordinating to ensure the speedy dissemination and updating of ideas and events; but we still have to contend with the challenges of shortages of resources, human and otherwise.

There is a clamour also that we in ZAPU, should behave exactly the same way as other parties do, run for maximum publicity, shout out condemnations of other parties from rooftops as they do at us and each other, make lavish promises about what the ZAPU government will achieve, in short outbid or out grandstand, if such a word exists, all other political players in the field.

That is the way politics is done in Zimbabwe today, rallies, super rallies, innuendo and a lot of finger pointing and some of us would advise ZAPU to join the fray! And this is precisely what some of our members are criticising us for not doing. Remember the saying: if you do things the same way as you have always done, do not be surprised if the outcome is always the same. The politics of hate and division will forever spawn the same.

Some opinion has also been expressed that I, as Secretary General, should carve out a larger than life persona for our President; create a true cult figure of our ZAPU leader. I understand where such sentiments come from. Old habits die hard. A quick answer, our President, Dr. Dabengwa's stature in Zimbabwean politics does not need grooming or inflating. His CV speaks for itself.

I can say with honesty, that I think that I now know the man sufficiently to give this unequivocal and objective assessment of his vision for Zimbabwe, his determination to fight for the true independence of all Zimbabweans can only be doubted by those intent only on diminishing his stature or those who do not understand his resolve; here is a man who has proved his mettle in the rough terrain of battle; which other leader can claim nearly as illustrious a background of a struggle for independence as complete as his?

Only those with no valiant stories to tell about their own prowess on the battlefield need spin doctors to concoct some obscure achievements for them. Exaggerated and ostentatious breast beating is not Dr, Dabengwa style; his is a belief in putting himself, together with those elected to co-serve with him, through punishing schedules of work in order to ensure delivery of ZAPU promises to the people and usher in a new dispensation in our troubled land.

Besides, personality centred politics has shown its really destructive flaws; the citizens, derogatively referred to by the GNU partners as "povo" become mere pawns to serve the insatiable interests of those elevated to the status of demigods! Aspirations to self-fulfilment by anyone else become identifiable only by the fawning and sycophancy around the demigods those party formations created.

Think of all the political players in Zimbabwe today and identify a single one that can stand without association with its leader. To say MDC without T or N is totally meaningless? Is that what Zimbabwe really wants or needs after so many years of senseless devastation aimed at serving just one person?

The problem with the elevated cult type leaders is that they start to believe that they are the chosen ones; the quest for independence then becomes associated only with the liberation of just one person and to hell with the interests of all others. The role of the rest of the citizens becomes to feed their inflated egos; constitutions, judiciary processes are amended to ensure the perpetuation of dominance of the "special one".

I think President Obama showed a great understanding of the situation in our continent when he stated that what Africa needs are not strong and powerful leaders but strong institutions.

The phrase "thinking outside the box" has been quoted much too often; it has now lost its meaning and its flavour.

Yet that is what all ZAPU members whether or not in elective office, are called upon to do. The diet of yah-boo politics as we have become accustomed to will lead to a Zimbabwe forever mired in the politics of division, hatred and stagnation. Yes, outrageous ranting does capture headlines, it might even attract votes but those who engage in such politics need to awaken to the steady but sure dawning of a new chapter in African politicking, a more mature and discerning electorate.

The politics of loud mouth, legless empty headed sloganeering has had its day.

The people of Zimbabwe have seen too many promises made only to be broken. How many times have promises of "vote for me and I will set you free" simply evaporated into nothingness? The people of Matabeleland and Midlands were not merely burnt but also scorched when promises of restorative justice for Gukurahundi and better development for the regions made before the formation of the current GNU were only to be exposed as mere valueless election talk soon after.

Comrades, friends, colleagues or whatever term of address you prefer, the landscape of politics in Zimbabwe is complex; a rush to judgment by any person or institution inevitably leads to a very hasty and undignified retraction and shameful retracing of one's steps. The position I am advocating is the eradication of barriers and labels as the first step towards bringing a new order to our troubled country. There are no parties wholly populated by the goodies arraigned against the baddies on the other side. Only by tapping into the goodwill everywhere can we usher in a new dispensation in Zimbabwe.

I will share with you a finding by a group of European friends of Zimbabwe who recently visited Zimbabwe at the invitation, I am informed by members of the self-styled opposition parties within GNU. Parties in the same government but in opposition to each other is a feat which does defies gravity.

The invited guests left Zimbabwe completely perplexed at who really were the bad guys in Zimbabwe, MDC (T), MDC (N) or ZANU? Before you shout "rubbish", please remember that I am only reporting what conclusion was reached by a group from central Europe, whose whole purpose was to establish the "real" facts behind the sorry and perilous state prevalent in Zimbabwe. In fact, if anything, one would have expected the observers to reach a conclusion with a bias against the party of "madness" as the only source of problems in Zimbabwe.

ZAPU is ready and waiting; anyone embracing the ZAPU vision of a willingness to stand up for the right of all Zimbabweans to live a life of their own choice is welcome back into the fold. The choice of the term "welcome back" is deliberate. The fight for freedom was hatched in the heart of ZAPU, it was nurtured in its organs; it is true that along the way, the vision was lost or stolen, soiled and tarnished by some but even for these, I am certain it was never completely lost. The time therefore has arrived for all to "come back home!" Your places have been kept for you, just walk back in.

I take this point to remind all that it is our Golden Jubilee Year; do not forget to prepare for your celebrations following the schedule previously sent to you.

What Zimbabwe needs at this time is the vision resonant with that of ZAPU; one of a true and meaningful transfer of independence and power from the few to the many, to all of us. We all need to be true masters of our destinies; each citizen ought to take a moment of reflection, make the solemn promise to self: With these hands of mine, I will carve out my own destiny; I will be the instrument of fashioning a different Zimbabwe. No one can claim to be free when virtually all life choices are rendered out of reach.

Sadly, however, there are some even in our Party who are currently traversing the same pathway as the rest of us but harbour quite different ambitions about where our political journey should lead. Even now there is ample evidence of individuals seeking to "milk" their positions of influence to enrich themselves. They will con, defraud and even pilfer from vulnerable individuals to satisfy their insatiable lust for power, money. They do tarnish the image of ZAPU indeed. A word of warning to these unscrupulous con artists, they may be able to fool some people some of the time but they will not succeed in fooling all people all the time. The people will find them and excise them from our midst.

In conclusion let me restate that ZAPU is not about one man or woman; members own the Party. What ZAPU achieves or fails to achieve cannot be placed at the doorstep of any one person, leader or not. We are all in this together.

A suggestion for the future conduct of members: before any of us decides to complain about progress, would it not be an idea to ask oneself: "What am I doing to advance the affairs of my Party? It is a truism to state that the more one does for ZAPU, the more one learns to love and cherish it. This Party is a true treasure, let us share in the splendid vision it holds for Zimbabwe.