Nkosana Moyo's first shot misfires, ZUNDE

Nkosana Moyo's entry on the political scene can only be good for democracy. ZUNDE respects and encourages people's fundamental rights and freedom to participate in the politics of their motherland. As we have previously said elsewhere, having more political and other organizations that have as their core business challenging the evil undemocratic dominance of ZANU PF means our democratic family is growing.

In a family one child cannot be and will never be exactly like another. We differ in looks, height, perceptions and ideas. At some point in our journey as a family we must identify what we share, such as our parents, values, experiences and traditions. This is what brings us together more than anything else.

From where we stand as ZUNDE, we think that Nkosana Moyo showed himself to be a man of honour and courage by dissociating himself from the ZANU PF corrupt regime. That you cannot take away from him. However, as far as I recall, that is about all we know about Nkosana Moyo. He left the political scene and went underground never to say a word about anything — not even a word of solidarity with the people he now seeks to govern as President.

It almost seems that he had decided to have little or nothing to do with helping his fellow countrymen until a couple of months ago when he was pushed by someone or some force to have a go at it. For that reason, he does not stand out as a genuine fighter for democracy. As commentators are stating in the media, he will need to do a lot of work to let people know who he is, where he is coming from, what he stands for and convince them that he can be trusted. All we can do for now is to welcome him to the fight for a better Zimbabwe and to wish him well.

Of concern to ZUNDE is his dig at how he views the land reform programme and indigenization which he says he supports. He does not want to qualify his statement and so far he has not told us how he will rectify an already bad situation. According to him it is execution that he disagrees with. We would like to hear more about how he intends to correct what has already gone wrong with these policies.

ZUNDE acknowledges that land and industry are the backbones of the economy anchored by good governance and the rule of law. They are the chief source of livelihood of the nation in terms of jobs and production. They cannot be recklessly placed in the hands of people who do not know the value of those means of production. We are not only talking of jobs and livelihoods, we also talk of the revenue base that takes care of the vulnerable and the infirm. Think of thousands of graduates from agricultural colleges like Chivero, Mlezu, Gwebi and the Universities. They are trained to work the land productively. As ZUNDE we believe these are some of the skills to look at as we move forward.

We are also concerned that Nkosana Moyo does not believe in unity of the opposition in this fight for democracy. ZUNDE has spearheaded the calls for a united opposition and we cannot keep quiet when someone starts to preach disunity. The people have asked for unity and we are striving to give it to them. What sort of a leader would you be if you are going to trash the concept of a coalition formed primarily to bring about change as one? If Nkosana Moyo's entry had been characterised by a loud call for unity of the democratic forces, he would have won a lot of hearts.

The nation must listen carefully to these new kids on the block and not be carried away in the wind like feathers. Zimbabwe needs its people to give their mandate to leaders who have the passion to fight the ills that the ZANU PF regime has brought on us. Dr Nkosana Moyo, we wait for your manifesto but so far, the little you have said is not encouraging. Your first shot seems to have misfired. We expect a lot more from you.

Benjamin Paradza
Exiled Judge of the High Court of Zimbabwe
President of ZUNDE
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