We Want Actions, Not Words

Ladies and gentlemen, boy and girls, election season is (almost) here.  In fact, it hasn't really started yet and I'm already bored of it.  But what is clear at this early stage is that we have one candidate who has taken over his party without any democratic process and makes a lot of noise. And we have another candidate who is too busy trying to run the new dispensation and has not even found a second to campaign.
 
Nelson Chamisa is on full power.  His campaign has begun.  He is making the ludicrous promises we are so used to hearing in campaigns all around the world. A bullet train for a country which can barely feed itself.  15 billion imaginary dollars from the US (which to his credit he has since apologised for).  He is making a lot of noise, a LOT of noise.
 
He is being extremely loose with his tongue.  He has threatened to kick out the Chinese, our all-weather friend who stood by us and ensured our country did not completely collapse when times were toughest. While of course we should never surrender our sovereignty to another nation, spitting in the face of the second largest economy in the world, and the biggest investor in the continent is, well, stupid.
 
Likewise, he turned up to the UK last week and started to slam the UK government.  Just as the current administration is working so hard to mend ties with the West, and in particular Europe, Chamisa is throwing daggers.  I don't get it.  Is this a new little Mugabe in the making? Why when we are moving in the right direction is he trying to take us backwards?  
 
Words have meaning and power.  In the middle of the revolution to get rid of Mugabe, Chamisa ran off to the US Congress to call for more sanctions; yes, more sanctions.  While the nation was taking its fate into its own hands and celebrating newfound freedoms, progress, an opportunity to engage with the world.  Chamisa's irresponsible noise was doing precisely the opposite.
 
Unfortunately for us Zimbabweans, this noise is deafening and drowning out a lot of positive actions which are going on.
 
While ED is not perfect, he has taken the proverbial bull by the horns and is steering us on a new trajectory.  We have real problems. Real problems.  But he took the strong actions required to get rid of the old dispensation and bring us the new one.
 
He has been recognised worldwide – including in TIME magazine, the New York Times, and the Associated Press – as the man in Africa who has the capacity to bring real change, including real freedoms.
 
He is bringing in billions of dollars worth of commitments which, while we are yet to see the trickle down effect, will bring jobs.  Until recently we had a motionless fossilised economy, totally rejected by the world powers.  Today we are the hottest property on the continent.  Where once we were avoided like the plague, today Zimbabwe is a hotbed, a magnet for investors.  This is real.  
 
Wage increases have been announced.  Strikes have been quickly dealt with.  Healthcare has been made readily available.  Corruption is finally being tackled.  Police roadblocks are almost non existent today.
 
We should not be naïve and expect that in a mere 6 months, Zimbabwe would like the United States.  That would be foolish.  As the President has reminded us, Rome was not built in a day; and neither was Harare.  But there is simply no denying that the actions of ED are taking us in the right direction.
 
So as we enter the raucous stages of the campaign I urge you all to cover your ears and be selective with what you choose to internalise.  Beware of rash promises and loud irresponsible statements.  Focus on actions and demand real leadership.
 
We are finally leaving the rut we had found ourselves in for far too long.  We are heading in the right direction and it is thanks to responsible actions, not irresponsible words.