Mugabe, Khama; how people make history

Back in time during my high school days I always wondered what one of the history text book's title "People Making History" meant. Questions like, do people really sit around a table and say, "okay guys let us make history?" easily come to mind.

This had to be one of those adolescence thinking. The then Minister of Education, Aeneas Chigwedere got me thinking harder when he announced that the history syllabus now runs until the day before final exams. It is only until then when it began to ring sense that history is sometimes not spontaneously made, but rather is shaped daily by our choices, beliefs and ambitions as a people.

Drawing my submission to more practical terms and life, the handover take-over of the SADC chairmanship between Presidents Robert Mugabe and Ian Khama speak volumes of statesmen making history.

Intriguing are the political dynamics, dimensions and decisions as they pile up, demonstrating simply that we are building upon the foundation of our founding fathers. Each generation is thus accorded a chance to make or witness history being made. Under the stewardship of President Mugabe, the bloc made practical strides towards political and economic integration.

President Mugabe's tenure with his wisdom was pregnant of spirited re-live and cementing of the principles coined by the Pan African fathers such as Kwame Nkrumah.

It is important to note that it is under such guidance of such visionaries that the US and EU hegemonic interests were espoused and still continue to be pursued. Libyan leader, Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, fell out of the US favour for envisioning a united continent. Had the US and allies not thrown spanners in the United States of Africa project, resource integration and African economies could have grown independent of the West, rendering them useless to our sovereignty as Africans. The continent would have been weaned from the colonial and neo-colonial York.

Hopefully, President Khama will continue with the sterling work carried out by his predecessors and uphold the norms and values of unity for prosperity that we hold sacrosanct.

Obviously when one assumes a public office as this one, they certainly would want to leave a mark, and that mark must be in tandem with the founding principles, lest some malcontents take the opportunity to manipulate the regional body for selfish ends.

Assurances by the incoming SADC chairperson, that it is imperative for the region to expedite implementation of the region's industrialization strategy and roadmap, may have brought relief to some sceptics about the incumbent's agenda during his tenure.

The ball is now in President Khama's court with the foundation of transforming African economies already been established. Peace has also been established in most member countries, save for Lesotho. Let us then see the structures go up President Khama Sir.

The Chairman ought to be wary of vultures seeking to capitalise on his perceived alliance with the west. That Morgan Tsvangirai intends to send a delegation ostensibly to lobby for the re-introduction of Zimbabwe as an agenda item smack of futile attempts by losers for political relevance by other means. Beware of such surrogates of despondency who are only capable of stalling progress.

They have been to President Zuma, trying to stir antagonism against their government. SADC cannot afford to have its attention diverted by perennial politicking based on nothing less than complacency on the part of wannabes. The MDC-T needs to be reminded that the region is seized with real issues and not tissues about their illegal quest for power. Gone is the era of position power in the pockets of selfish individuals. Africa deserves better than undue tolerance and entertainment of the whims of opposition parties Chairman President Sir.

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Caitlin Kamba can be contacted at caitlinkamba@gmail.com