Zanu-PF is not indispensable

The meeting held this week [04/06/2013] by Morgan Tsvangirai, Edwin Mushoriwa who stood in for Professor Ncube, Mavambo Kusile Dawn (MKD) leader Dr Simba Makoni, ZAPU leader Dumiso Dabengwa and ZANU Ndonga's Reketai Semwayo in Harare shows the maturity of Zimbabwe opposition politics. We now call upon our political leaders to put aside their personal differences and work together for the good of Zimbabwe. Cause is greater than personality.

Since 1980, we have been made to believe that President Robert Mugabe is the "the chosen one" - a sanctified individual who is the only person capable of leading the country.  For many years, we ignored the shenanigans that were taking place in the political affairs of our state.

We remained quiet and kept a blind eye to the corruption, politics of patronage, cronyism and chicanery within Zanu-PF. Because of our silence, Zanu-PF developed a dictatorial will to perpetuate in power to the point where it looks impossible to have Zimbabwe run without Zanu-PF or President Mugabe.

Once in power, the Zanu-PF hierarchy forgot about the people who helped them get to the top, especially the poor rural folk. The so much purported indigenisation programme is not benefiting the rural poor, the jobless youth, women and non Zanu-PF members. The Zanu-PF elite are getting richer and the poor poorer.

Many in Zanu-PF feel indispensable to the nation they think we will all perish without them.  Zanu-PF is wrong to believe that power belongs only to them because they liberated us from the colonial regime. We all cannot be a nation of liberation fighters. We must also remember that most of us, our kith and keen were involved in that struggle as well.

We have been politically passive for too long, and because of that docility we are now naïve and susceptible to Zanu-PF lies, blackmail, overt and subtle threats. Some of us, who do not agree or listen to Zanu-PF rhetoric are labelled sell-outs, stooges of the west, zvimbwasungata, and are denied any opportunities borne out of the so called indigenisation programme.

Our individual liberties have been gradually exterminated. Fear is the order of the day.

The meeting of the opposition party leaders prompts us to ask the following questions. Are we waking up as a nation? Will we be able to find promising new leadership with honesty and talent, or will the division among the opposition foster a divided, confused and fearful people who only worry about finding solutions to their daily problems?  Are we able to comprehend the fact that we are the people who choose and change our leaders? Are we capable of working together as opposition political parties? If so, this is the time.

We must accept opinions and political views of other people. Regardless of our political party affiliations, we remain brothers and sister, we are all Zimbabweans. Zimbabwe does not belong to Zanu-PF.