Coltart wants Zimbabwean political parties to organise like businesses

As Zimbabwe seeks to shift its politics from slogans and personality cults to a focus on ideas and issues, Bulawayo Mayor David Coltart advocates for political parties to be organized and managed efficiently like businesses. This approach, he believes, will ensure that parties are capable of governing effectively when in power.

Coltart wrote on social media: "It is time for Zimbabwean political parties to wean themselves off slogans, clothing with pictures of leaders’ faces worn on women’s bottoms, and a fixation on individuals over parties as institutions. If Zimbabwe is to progress, political parties need to be run like efficient businesses. All political parties need to concentrate on policy formulation and their own efficient, democratic organisation. Only in this way can parties demonstrate that they are fit to run the complex government of Zimbabwe."

Coltart emphasized that the world's most efficient countries are led by well-organized parties focused on clear policies. Zimbabwe, he argues, must follow this model to transform successfully. He criticized the current dominance of personality cults in Zimbabwean politics, where leaders are often portrayed as infallible and superhuman through propaganda, preventing any criticism or questioning of their policies.

He highlighted Zimbabwe's leadership crisis, noting that true leaders inspire and empower people to envision and pursue a better future. Effective leadership, according to Coltart, involves inspiring people rather than controlling or coercing them, and guiding them towards achieving a common goal.