Opinion / Columnist
'Democracy is govt by the people for the people' after 35 yrs Zimbos are still not ready for such a govt!
06 Jul 2015 at 19:06hrs | Views
In this life, we all have our own yoke to carry be it as an individual, family or nation. And life itself is like a game of snakes and ladders with a definite beginning, the day we are born, and a definite end, the day we die; and in between we will be rewarded with breaks and uplifting moments or dragged down and punished depending on how we are preforming.
Zimbabwe is a very rich country with rich lands and wonderful weather; we should be growing enough food to meet all our people's needs and yet for the last fifteen years the nation has relied on important food aid. The country has a great abundance of minerals and other resources; our nation should be one of the wealthiest nations on earth and yet 76% of our people now live in abject poverty and prospects are things are set to get even worse.
Each generation has its own trials and tribulations to deal with, its yoke to bear. For the post-independence Zimbabwe generation our task was to deliver the freedom, justice, human rights and economic prosperity the nation had risked life and limb to attain. The task was simple enough to state but, as the facts on the ground now show, clearly not so easy to accomplish.
Zimbabwe is in a political and economic mess, the facts on the ground speak for themselves. Mugabe and Zanu PF will give you an earful of excuses why this has happened. But to rephrase the set challenge of the post-independence generation; it was to ensure the nation delivered freedom, justice, etc. to all and no excuses.
After 35 years of relentless match deeper and deeper into this political and economic hell whatever Mugabe has to say to explain why the country is in such a mess is both pathetic and irrelevant. His usual excuse that it the sanctions imposed by the West that have cause the country's economic woes, for example, are just noise. Because if Mugabe has failed to come up with ways round these sanctions, after 35 years with the country is such a mess it is self-evident that he has indeed failed; then the people reserve the democratic right to find someone else able to find a way out.
It is deeply regrettable that the people themselves have allowed the nation to be dragged into such depths of hopelessness and despair for all these 35 years.
When the country attained her independences all those 35 years ago the people were given the greatest gift, which used wisely would have guaranteed all their other desires, freedom, justice, etc., the right to vote. Sadly the people have allowed Mugabe and Zanu PF to cheat them and deny them a meaningful democratic vote.
At the very heart of Zimbabwe's political and economic mess is the Mugabe mantra of "no regime change". The country has held regular elections but Mugabe has done everything; undermined democratic institutions, disregarded the law, rigged elections, intimidated and beat the voters and even murdered thousands to ensure there was no regime change.
The mistake the people of Zimbabwe have made is to make it easy for Mugabe to deny them their right to a meaningful vote. In the last 35 years the people have had many opportunities to reclaim their right to a meaningful vote, the best chance being during the GNU, but they have wasted all the chances.
During the GNU the people made fundamental mistake of electing the corrupt and incompetent MDC to implement the democratic reforms; not even one reform was ever implemented. The people themselves did not understand what the required reforms were and, not surprisingly, they elected politicians who too did not know what the reforms were.
It was US President Abraham Lincoln who said "democracy is government by the people for the people."
It is clearly that the people of Zimbabwe are not ready for democratic rule and thus per se elect to have the corrupt and oppressive Zanu PF dictatorship. After 35 years one would have thought that the people had suffered enough to want change but clearly they have not.
In this world we are rewarded for making the right decision and punished for making the wrong ones. For the last 35 years Zimbabweans has done nothing to ensure the country had good government and have paid dearly for and we will continue to pay dearly for this until we take the challenge of good governance with the seriousness it deserves!
It last month's by-elections the voter turnout was as low as 5% showing that the 1985 to 1999 days of voter apathy are back again. Voter apathy changed nothing then it will not change anything now. When the voters have suffered enough they will re-engage, hopefully, this time they will hopefully pay full attention on the democratic reforms and whatever else the country needs for a healthy and functional democracy.
Zimbabwe is independent and it is up to us and no one else to make sure the country is properly governed!
Zimbabwe is a very rich country with rich lands and wonderful weather; we should be growing enough food to meet all our people's needs and yet for the last fifteen years the nation has relied on important food aid. The country has a great abundance of minerals and other resources; our nation should be one of the wealthiest nations on earth and yet 76% of our people now live in abject poverty and prospects are things are set to get even worse.
Each generation has its own trials and tribulations to deal with, its yoke to bear. For the post-independence Zimbabwe generation our task was to deliver the freedom, justice, human rights and economic prosperity the nation had risked life and limb to attain. The task was simple enough to state but, as the facts on the ground now show, clearly not so easy to accomplish.
Zimbabwe is in a political and economic mess, the facts on the ground speak for themselves. Mugabe and Zanu PF will give you an earful of excuses why this has happened. But to rephrase the set challenge of the post-independence generation; it was to ensure the nation delivered freedom, justice, etc. to all and no excuses.
After 35 years of relentless match deeper and deeper into this political and economic hell whatever Mugabe has to say to explain why the country is in such a mess is both pathetic and irrelevant. His usual excuse that it the sanctions imposed by the West that have cause the country's economic woes, for example, are just noise. Because if Mugabe has failed to come up with ways round these sanctions, after 35 years with the country is such a mess it is self-evident that he has indeed failed; then the people reserve the democratic right to find someone else able to find a way out.
It is deeply regrettable that the people themselves have allowed the nation to be dragged into such depths of hopelessness and despair for all these 35 years.
When the country attained her independences all those 35 years ago the people were given the greatest gift, which used wisely would have guaranteed all their other desires, freedom, justice, etc., the right to vote. Sadly the people have allowed Mugabe and Zanu PF to cheat them and deny them a meaningful democratic vote.
At the very heart of Zimbabwe's political and economic mess is the Mugabe mantra of "no regime change". The country has held regular elections but Mugabe has done everything; undermined democratic institutions, disregarded the law, rigged elections, intimidated and beat the voters and even murdered thousands to ensure there was no regime change.
The mistake the people of Zimbabwe have made is to make it easy for Mugabe to deny them their right to a meaningful vote. In the last 35 years the people have had many opportunities to reclaim their right to a meaningful vote, the best chance being during the GNU, but they have wasted all the chances.
During the GNU the people made fundamental mistake of electing the corrupt and incompetent MDC to implement the democratic reforms; not even one reform was ever implemented. The people themselves did not understand what the required reforms were and, not surprisingly, they elected politicians who too did not know what the reforms were.
It was US President Abraham Lincoln who said "democracy is government by the people for the people."
It is clearly that the people of Zimbabwe are not ready for democratic rule and thus per se elect to have the corrupt and oppressive Zanu PF dictatorship. After 35 years one would have thought that the people had suffered enough to want change but clearly they have not.
In this world we are rewarded for making the right decision and punished for making the wrong ones. For the last 35 years Zimbabweans has done nothing to ensure the country had good government and have paid dearly for and we will continue to pay dearly for this until we take the challenge of good governance with the seriousness it deserves!
It last month's by-elections the voter turnout was as low as 5% showing that the 1985 to 1999 days of voter apathy are back again. Voter apathy changed nothing then it will not change anything now. When the voters have suffered enough they will re-engage, hopefully, this time they will hopefully pay full attention on the democratic reforms and whatever else the country needs for a healthy and functional democracy.
Zimbabwe is independent and it is up to us and no one else to make sure the country is properly governed!
Source - Wilbert Mukori
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