Possibly a corrective and certainly not blame: Mthwakazi party should do more!

As a teacher: my second profession I always look at Zimbabwe politics through the prism of pedagogy or an educationist. I cannot help it; it comes automatically when one has taught in schools and colleges for decades. The today's methods of facilitating knowledge or indeed if you want to relay a message to your intended audience is different from the past. The buzz-word today  "eye-level contact. The top down approach or frontal approach is becoming outdated. Change management is not a language only applicable in corporal institutions only but in schools, colleges' hospitals, universities and mostly its effective in public spaces. Effective communication at any given time should be at your fingertips. Its either you have it or you don't.

Without wasting time, I was looking at the arrest of Advocate Fadzai Mahere during one of her campaigns in her future constituency of Mt. Pleasant this last Saturday. She organised a football game and she was one of the players in the team. At the background of the match was loud music: this piece was doing all the talking for her: the talking she could have done frontally; she is sending the very message she wants to relay to the youth through music. (The message in the music was musavotere Zanu PF: voterai Fadzi ….something like that…..) In the mean time she was occupied directly with them youth, arguing with them  who was going to win the football match.  

The police openly feared the power of the message through play: through music combined with football match! Indeed young Zimbabweans never seize to impress me. Fadzai Mahere was arrested on Saturday by the ZRP: her campaign accent sent shockwaves. The police feared the power of this young woman's election- campaign she planned and staged forcefully and effectively last Saturday.   

Almost at the same breath: In Mathebeleland North Mnumzana Mbonisi Gumbo was busy with  his campaign. Sure his messages are powerful and he is consistent. Mbonosi Gumbo is fearless: he talks about the atrocities that were perpetuated in the region eloquently. He talks about the marginalization in both Mathebeleland North and South, the teachers who do not speak the regional language. All those are pertinent issues. The Mthwakazi manifesto is pleading for unity of the people of Mthwakazi and vote en-masse for the party to bring change in the region. It does not matter really if indeed it was plagiarised from the South African EFF. It does happen that political parties steal ideas from other parties. In the UK former Prime Minister Tony Blair stole the policies of the Tories mercilessly and got a landslide victory in 1997. That was not a secret at all; it was more a political astuteness on the part of the labour government back then.

The point I wish to make about Mnumzana Mbonisi Gumbo especially is how different his approach is to Fadzai Mahere. On two occasions I have noticed Mbonisi Gumbo addressing his constituency, campaigning for the coming 2018 elections. In his navy blue suit he was standing near the tree. One could hardly capture the audience he was addressing in the picture. Not very long ago Mr. Gumbo was obviously at a gathering in the rural area. It was indeed a gathering of elderly men who sat on the floor while they respectfully gave the youthful Gumbo a seat, a chair to sit on. Evidently he felt very honoured: it is also an honour while everybody is sitting on the floor. U Mkhokeli must sit on the chair is the tradition, he is the political leader and a very important one.

 I come back to my critique: I wish Mbonisi Gumbo should have declined to sit on the chair while the elders all sat on the floor. At best he should have done the same as all other elders, to sit on the floor to make sure that when he starts to speak, he speaks at eye-level contact with his audience. His sitting on the chair elevated him to be more, or better than his audience. His dress code was different from the very audience he was about to address. That approach was worrying and it could have been better. When Fadzai Mahere plays football in her track-suit with those young people, she put herself at the same level as them. There is eye-level contact: the future MP and her constituents. As a result they develop trust in her. Ndi Fadzai weVanhu!  Ngu Fadzai wa Bantu! They do not fear her at all.  

It is not said that Mbonisi Gumbo should have played football with the elders to even up Fadzai Mahere's campaigns approach to politics. Marginalized regions of Mathebeleland are different from Mt. Pleasant. There are different ways of approaching politics in marginalized regions of Mathebeleland North, South and Midlands. It is one big step to talk about Gugurahundi atrocities: we keep the fire burning until we get justice. But the truth is those elders know that evil genocide era better. Mbonisi Gumbo, as one of the political leaders in the region who genuinely wants change in that region: was better to talk about how to bring about sustainable development than to talk about elections of 2018. To ask the villagers what they want is the entry point. What change do they want to see in their life time? How do we get to organise ourselves and step by step and bring change in to the region? Politics in that region should be development-based, must be to bring people to talk about community development starting now. Sustainable development should never be pushed to the future. Forfeit the 2018 elections altogether and develop a sustainable relationship with the peoples of this region.

Mthwakazi party approach to the coming election season is worrisome in the sense that by contesting the elections and hoping and think that they will win those council- and parliamentary seats in Math regions is wholly not wise, I beg to differ. Just by going to the elections alone Mthwakazi party is underestimating the evil and ruthlessness of Zanu PF. It is this false hope that Mthwakazi party will make it one or two seats that amazes one. Going to the elections and being part of all those processes  means you have confidence in the electoral processes of the Zanu PF regime! Really! Do you sincerely think you will win election of 2018 free and fairly without electoral reforms?  

Zanu PF does not interrupt Mthwakazi parties in their campaigns most of the time. (I should be corrected if it is so) In retrospect Zanu PF badly wants that Mthwakazi party especially to take part in the elections. Mthwakazi is a big gun for Zanu PF to gloat and say: even Mthwakazi party:  MRP took part in "free and fair" elections.    Mthwakazi party is doing exactly that, giving legitimacy to the whole circus. ZEC will actually welcome as many as 73 political parties to contest in the elections. In doing so, Zanu PF will win by rigging the coming elections outright with a 66,66% parliamentary majority. And when they have won the rigged elections they will quote all those parties that participated in the elections especially Mthwakazi party to the international community and they will tell them that Zanu PF won the election in a democratic electoral process. You are knowingly or unknowingly giving legitimacy to Zanu PF madness  to rule for another 5 years.

Zanu PF will give the rest 33,333% to the opposition parties and interestingly they will make sure parties such as Zapu and Mthwakazi MRP will get nothing from their own territory to humiliate them hard. You are going to feel the pain of humiliation in Mathebeleland North and South and Midlands. Remember too that Jonathan Moyo did not win the Tsholotsho constituency in 2013 because they wanted to reduce his powers: they wanted him as Minister and not together with parliamentary and politburo seat. He won the Tsholotsho by-elections by luck when Tsvangirai MDC-T decided to boycott the elections.  Zanu PF will make sure that those few seats are won by MDC-T and none of the regional parties will smell the parliament of the Republic of Zimbabwe. Watch my words please and prove me wrong!

The development credo by Yen is inspiring! It says the following: "Go to the people Live with them. Learn from them. Work with them. Plan with them. Start with them what they know. Build on what they have. Teach by showing. Learn by doing. Not a showcase, but a pattern. Not odds and ends, but a system. Not relief but release. Of the best leaders, when their task is accomplished and their work is done, the people will remark! We have done it ourselves"

Politics in such marginalized regions of Mathebeleland should be community based development. We must learn to live with them and smell like them if we have to bring change in the region. Verbal communication should be minimal because it means practically Mnumzana Mbonisi Gumbo will be talking and they will be listening.  It literally means Mbonisi Gumbo is higher than the electorate. People before politics means people based politics: Men and women should be at the centre of politics, let them do the politics and the good leader will listen. Let them do the talking and let them bring issues at table and ask them how they should be solved. Are there any resources we can fall on in the region? Speeches should be done in parliament: communication in political outreach approach should be different. Change-Management means abandoning those generic political speeches and engaging people practically: communicating community development together at eye-level.

I have curiously watched Jonathan Moyo in his constituency: his politics in his constituency is project-based. When he visits the region, he will be viewing progress; how the implemented projects progress. I have seen him talking less, he is never instructive, but doing more intensive projects-based approach in his Tsholotsho North. He plays football with the youth in the Tsholotsho Football Stadium. The existence of that Tsholotsho Football Club says a lot about people-based-community- development. A football stadium brings entertainment in that rural set up. It brings people together at week-ends. People have something to look forward to during the working week. Gumbo must go to the village and live with the villagers until he smells like them. Only then, only then can you call yourself a servant of the people.

We should see more women in the Mthwakazi party; women are evidently invisible especially in pictures we see on social media. It's not said that they are absent. We want to see them in picture just as we have seen men in pictures together with Mbonisi Gumbo. Women should never shy away from politics but participate actively in those political parties and also take up political positions without fear. It is scary to have a party dominated with single gender.

I sincerely hope that I did not hurt anybody in Mthwakazi with my scatter shots. I am aware of the fact that the Mthwakazi people, if offended, it's an uphill task to get forgiveness. I dared the Gods by writing this piece.