Opinion / Columnist
2018 Zimbabwe's most expensive vote
03 Sep 2017 at 10:50hrs | Views
If in 2018 I decide, as I should, to exercise my right and responsibility to cast my vote in the watershed Zimbabwean elections, it is going to cost me an arm and a leg.
Fadzai Mahere wants to be a Member of Parliament for Mount Pleasant constituency
This will be the most expensive investment I make since paying dowry for my wife, or a highest cost I incur, depending on how one looks at it. Will it be worth it? I muse to myself.
A ticket from Australia to South Africa, and then a long ride from across the Limpopo to the land of my fathers are not exactly cheap.
It doesn't help that I have to multiply whatever that cost is by two and a half. I am a husband of one and a father of one (at least by the time elections are held.
It's August 2018, latest, right? I will most likely have to return to my adopted home and that ups the figures by another factor of two. No small amounts!
In a perfect world, my vote is the meagre means by which I ensure that the future of the country is in the hands of the best person to lead.
But well, the world is not perfect and Zimbabwe is something else.
Again, in a perfect world, I would have to satisfy myself that the character that gets my vote, their proposed policies and past conduct make for a safe bet to be entrusted with the corporate future of the country.
I would want my choice of leader to be such as I will be able and proud to defend to my child (most likely children, several) someday in future.
Because the Zimbabwean Titanic is sinking, the stakes are greater and the choice all the more difficult.
Of course, I do not want to believe that the results of next year's plebiscite are already in some bottom drawer in one of Zimbabwe's strongman's office. These fellows are powerful, mind you.
All things being fair, there is so much to lose or gain that none of the aspiring public office-bearers should feel entitled to my vote or anyone's for that matter.
In my case, I wouldn't travel that far to merely donate my vote to a fool, so to speak. As election fever rises a notch by the day, I am evermore disgusted and offended by attitudes displayed by those in the opposition, and some of their supporters.
Having considered the costs involved for me to cast my vote (there being no vote for dispersed Zimbabweans), their sense of entitlement to my vote and that of millions of disgruntled Zimbabweans, is disgusting, to say the least.
They have been in opposition for so long they are now monopolising the very being of opposition, and are now no different from the ruling bullies.
The saving grace now is perhaps that they do not wield those bloody instruments of coercion to have their way.
In any case, why would I be wasting my vote on those who seem so set and happy to be the opposition they would not want to see any one take up that position?
This stinking mentality has not been displayed more clearly than in the past months in the wake of Nkosana Moyo and Fadzai Mahere announcing their desire to court the electorate in the upcoming elections.
Their mere pronouncements torched a silly storm in the opposition rank and file, with the common refrain being that "they will divide the opposition vote!" Outrageous!
It was even asked where they were in the 2000s when the ruling party did a bloody job on the population, literally. Is this not a different version of that all too familiar nauseating song, "we died for you in the liberation struggle"?
The fear of those who hold the opposition patent, I deduce, is that some of the electorate will indeed vote for the unwelcome new comers and that this misguided number will come from those who, deprived of alternative choices, would otherwise vote for the opposition.
This raises serious questions about the opposition; opposition as defined by the "custodians" of that term; firstly, is it not a possibility to them that the new comers will shed off numbers from the ruling party thereby making their task of beating Zanu-PF easier?
Secondly, do the people of Zimbabwe belong to either them or Zanu-PF to the extent that courting Zimbabwean voters by anybody else is the proverbial courting of a married woman?
How different is this sense of entitlement from the ruling party's notion of their divine right to rule us till kingdom come?
How different is this from the Zanu-PF affiliated war veterans' nonsensical "we are stockholders" belief? What Zimbabwean isn't a "stockholder" in his/her country?
The more perverse ones among the liberators go as far as to call the country "our thing", "chinhu chedu". Goodness!
The MDCs had an opportunity at power during the inclusive government [government of national unity], including some ministries and to this day they run most urban councils.
Is it not time to take stock of what they have made of that power and influence before we blindly oblige and give them another fresh mandate?
The rich man in the Bible parable is said to have required the same level of accountability from the man with one talent as from the servant with five.
What has the MDC made of the power and mandate we have given them to date?
Have they not squandered our trust in similar fashion to the people they sought to replace?
No sooner were they in power than the MDC mandarins were driving the same flashy cars and living lavishly as the old parasitic Zanu-PF functionaries.
The accountability we demand of Zanu-PF (and we will never have) we must require of the MDC, unless of course our goal is to replace one archaic irredeemable political party with another useless and arthritic one.
How dare the MDC sound like the people have to account to them and not them to the people?
Some proponents say Morgan Tsvangirai is the only man capable of beating President Robert Mugabe. If true, is that what we want for our country?
A place where one man is greater than the collective good of everyone, where systems are built to serve one man? The bankrupt idea of a one party state has been rightly catalogued under the lunacy category. The same contempt should meet the idea of a "one opposition party" state.
In any case, irrefutable evidence has shown us that the MDC will not assume power in Zimbabwe whether they win the elections or not, which is perhaps the only reason most people believed they were good for.
Is it not high time then that we give people we really believe in a chance? People who we believe have a use in office whether they win majority or not.
The MDC has become an elections party whose usefulness in-between elections is anyone's guess. Those who defend Tsvangirai posit that he was "beaten" for the cause, in contrast to these Johnny-come-lately who would want to feast on the spoils without sacrifice.
Trust me, I have the utmost respect for Tsvangirai and all who have sacrificed greatly in the quest to build a better and more inclusive Zimbabwe.
However, I have strong reservations, if not indignation, with those who will hold the nation to ransom, whether Zanu-PF, war veterans or the MDC.
If this is an election, and not a sympathy parade, we need to put in power someone that we believe will be useful beyond elections regardless the hour they joined the people's struggle, first hour or 11th hour.
I consider myself, at the very least, to have some learning. Not the type of learning delivered in a classroom from one head into another, but the kind of learning that empowers me to think things through and act as guided by the thought outcome.
I will not spend $5 200 to cast my vote in favour of a man or woman I have no faith in, regardless their party or lack thereof.
The benchmark for me is capacity to deliver on the promise of a new, inclusive and progressive Zimbabwe. Period!
If I am satisfied, I will cast my vote even if I am the only one rooting for a particular candidate.
After doing so, I will go home assured of a good night's sleep, knowing full well that in that small window of opportunity when I had the fate of the nation in my hands, I made the best decision for the country.
By the nature of things, electoral candidates will come and go but Zimbabwe will remain.
Our obligation, in the upcoming elections, is to the country and not individuals or parties. Come 2018, I am voting for Zimbabwe's best chance at a decent future.
As I conclude this piece, I declare my support for Mahere and Nkosana Moyo. Even if I did not believe in them, I would stand for their right to contest in any election in Zimbabwe.
I am particularly impressed by their courage to stand for what they believe in against considerable odds. Street analysts may dismiss them and castigate their decision as divisive.
For the sake of principle, I believe $5 200 travelling to Zimbabwe for next year's election will be a worthwhile investment.
We need, as the people of Zimbabwe, to start building systems and that will begin with a break from the big man syndrome that has plagued Africa and, more devastatingly, our beautiful Zimbabwe.
No man is bigger than Zimbabwe and never again should we allow any man or woman to own all of us regardless of their colour, age or history.
Ronald Ncube is a Zimbabwean based in Australia. He can be contacted on ronaldncube@yahoo.com
Fadzai Mahere wants to be a Member of Parliament for Mount Pleasant constituency
This will be the most expensive investment I make since paying dowry for my wife, or a highest cost I incur, depending on how one looks at it. Will it be worth it? I muse to myself.
A ticket from Australia to South Africa, and then a long ride from across the Limpopo to the land of my fathers are not exactly cheap.
It doesn't help that I have to multiply whatever that cost is by two and a half. I am a husband of one and a father of one (at least by the time elections are held.
It's August 2018, latest, right? I will most likely have to return to my adopted home and that ups the figures by another factor of two. No small amounts!
In a perfect world, my vote is the meagre means by which I ensure that the future of the country is in the hands of the best person to lead.
But well, the world is not perfect and Zimbabwe is something else.
Again, in a perfect world, I would have to satisfy myself that the character that gets my vote, their proposed policies and past conduct make for a safe bet to be entrusted with the corporate future of the country.
I would want my choice of leader to be such as I will be able and proud to defend to my child (most likely children, several) someday in future.
Because the Zimbabwean Titanic is sinking, the stakes are greater and the choice all the more difficult.
Of course, I do not want to believe that the results of next year's plebiscite are already in some bottom drawer in one of Zimbabwe's strongman's office. These fellows are powerful, mind you.
All things being fair, there is so much to lose or gain that none of the aspiring public office-bearers should feel entitled to my vote or anyone's for that matter.
In my case, I wouldn't travel that far to merely donate my vote to a fool, so to speak. As election fever rises a notch by the day, I am evermore disgusted and offended by attitudes displayed by those in the opposition, and some of their supporters.
Having considered the costs involved for me to cast my vote (there being no vote for dispersed Zimbabweans), their sense of entitlement to my vote and that of millions of disgruntled Zimbabweans, is disgusting, to say the least.
They have been in opposition for so long they are now monopolising the very being of opposition, and are now no different from the ruling bullies.
The saving grace now is perhaps that they do not wield those bloody instruments of coercion to have their way.
In any case, why would I be wasting my vote on those who seem so set and happy to be the opposition they would not want to see any one take up that position?
This stinking mentality has not been displayed more clearly than in the past months in the wake of Nkosana Moyo and Fadzai Mahere announcing their desire to court the electorate in the upcoming elections.
Their mere pronouncements torched a silly storm in the opposition rank and file, with the common refrain being that "they will divide the opposition vote!" Outrageous!
It was even asked where they were in the 2000s when the ruling party did a bloody job on the population, literally. Is this not a different version of that all too familiar nauseating song, "we died for you in the liberation struggle"?
The fear of those who hold the opposition patent, I deduce, is that some of the electorate will indeed vote for the unwelcome new comers and that this misguided number will come from those who, deprived of alternative choices, would otherwise vote for the opposition.
This raises serious questions about the opposition; opposition as defined by the "custodians" of that term; firstly, is it not a possibility to them that the new comers will shed off numbers from the ruling party thereby making their task of beating Zanu-PF easier?
Secondly, do the people of Zimbabwe belong to either them or Zanu-PF to the extent that courting Zimbabwean voters by anybody else is the proverbial courting of a married woman?
How different is this sense of entitlement from the ruling party's notion of their divine right to rule us till kingdom come?
How different is this from the Zanu-PF affiliated war veterans' nonsensical "we are stockholders" belief? What Zimbabwean isn't a "stockholder" in his/her country?
The more perverse ones among the liberators go as far as to call the country "our thing", "chinhu chedu". Goodness!
The MDCs had an opportunity at power during the inclusive government [government of national unity], including some ministries and to this day they run most urban councils.
The rich man in the Bible parable is said to have required the same level of accountability from the man with one talent as from the servant with five.
What has the MDC made of the power and mandate we have given them to date?
Have they not squandered our trust in similar fashion to the people they sought to replace?
No sooner were they in power than the MDC mandarins were driving the same flashy cars and living lavishly as the old parasitic Zanu-PF functionaries.
The accountability we demand of Zanu-PF (and we will never have) we must require of the MDC, unless of course our goal is to replace one archaic irredeemable political party with another useless and arthritic one.
How dare the MDC sound like the people have to account to them and not them to the people?
Some proponents say Morgan Tsvangirai is the only man capable of beating President Robert Mugabe. If true, is that what we want for our country?
A place where one man is greater than the collective good of everyone, where systems are built to serve one man? The bankrupt idea of a one party state has been rightly catalogued under the lunacy category. The same contempt should meet the idea of a "one opposition party" state.
In any case, irrefutable evidence has shown us that the MDC will not assume power in Zimbabwe whether they win the elections or not, which is perhaps the only reason most people believed they were good for.
Is it not high time then that we give people we really believe in a chance? People who we believe have a use in office whether they win majority or not.
The MDC has become an elections party whose usefulness in-between elections is anyone's guess. Those who defend Tsvangirai posit that he was "beaten" for the cause, in contrast to these Johnny-come-lately who would want to feast on the spoils without sacrifice.
Trust me, I have the utmost respect for Tsvangirai and all who have sacrificed greatly in the quest to build a better and more inclusive Zimbabwe.
However, I have strong reservations, if not indignation, with those who will hold the nation to ransom, whether Zanu-PF, war veterans or the MDC.
If this is an election, and not a sympathy parade, we need to put in power someone that we believe will be useful beyond elections regardless the hour they joined the people's struggle, first hour or 11th hour.
I consider myself, at the very least, to have some learning. Not the type of learning delivered in a classroom from one head into another, but the kind of learning that empowers me to think things through and act as guided by the thought outcome.
I will not spend $5 200 to cast my vote in favour of a man or woman I have no faith in, regardless their party or lack thereof.
The benchmark for me is capacity to deliver on the promise of a new, inclusive and progressive Zimbabwe. Period!
If I am satisfied, I will cast my vote even if I am the only one rooting for a particular candidate.
After doing so, I will go home assured of a good night's sleep, knowing full well that in that small window of opportunity when I had the fate of the nation in my hands, I made the best decision for the country.
By the nature of things, electoral candidates will come and go but Zimbabwe will remain.
Our obligation, in the upcoming elections, is to the country and not individuals or parties. Come 2018, I am voting for Zimbabwe's best chance at a decent future.
As I conclude this piece, I declare my support for Mahere and Nkosana Moyo. Even if I did not believe in them, I would stand for their right to contest in any election in Zimbabwe.
I am particularly impressed by their courage to stand for what they believe in against considerable odds. Street analysts may dismiss them and castigate their decision as divisive.
For the sake of principle, I believe $5 200 travelling to Zimbabwe for next year's election will be a worthwhile investment.
We need, as the people of Zimbabwe, to start building systems and that will begin with a break from the big man syndrome that has plagued Africa and, more devastatingly, our beautiful Zimbabwe.
No man is bigger than Zimbabwe and never again should we allow any man or woman to own all of us regardless of their colour, age or history.
Ronald Ncube is a Zimbabwean based in Australia. He can be contacted on ronaldncube@yahoo.com
Source - the standard
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