ED's show of accountability

During all election campaigns, I keep in mind the famous and eternal line from Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev, who said, "Politicians are the same all over. They promise to build bridges even when there are no rivers."

I thought of it when Robert Mugabe promised to create 2.2 million jobs, and I have been thinking of it when listening to Nelson Chamisa's equally unrealistic promises – building railways twice as fast as any ever made, bringing the World Cup and Olympics to Zimbabwe in the next five years, and introducing WIFI for goats and airports in every village!

These are campaign promises, designed to win over the hearts of voters, with no intention of ever being implemented. Politicians who make promises such as these, simply hope that they have the desired effect in the short term, and that the electorate conveniently forgets about them in five years' time.

I was pleasantly surprised therefore, to hear of Emmerson Mnangagwa's different approach to campaign commitments. Instead of dozens of 'pie in the sky' promises, he yesterday released a campaign 'pledge card' with five concrete, grounded pledges to the people of Zimbabwe.

The main benefit of this approach is its accountability. Voters have been given a list of five clear pledges, each one measurable, practical and concrete. They also are encouraged to keep these cards and 'tick off' the pledges as they are achieved, with the bottom line of the card reading, "Keep this pledge card and make sure that we keep our promises".

As ED explained on his Facebook page, "The promises we make as part of the campaign should be measurable and concrete. As part of my commitment to accountable and responsible leadership, we have made a 'pledge card', containing five direct and personal pledges to be realised over the next five years. Each card has my signature and should be considered a coupon for progress and a certificate of trust between me and you, the people of Zimbabwe. I invite everyone to keep hold of these cards and hold me accountable for these pledges."

This is a bold and brave move from the President, and a sign of his commitment to accountable and responsive leadership. He is knows that by making clear and concrete promises, and by asking the public to judge him on them, he is taking a risk, but he is prepared to do so. He knows that if he fails to deliver on these pledges, it will be clear for all to see and he will not be re-elected, but he is unfazed.

There are those that will question why he hasn't delivered on these pledges already. This is based on the unrealistic timelines of campaign promises (cash crisis solved in under two weeks, anyone?), and not the reality of economics.

Others will claim that as someone involved in the previous government, ED's promises should not be believed. The logic here is also flawed. ED was subject to Robert Mugabe in the past election, and as we all know by now, Mugabe was not open to criticism or alternative viewpoints. Let's be realistic, the promises in 2013 were Mugabe's and his alone.

With this move, ED is showing himself to be a different type of leader - different to both Mugabe and Chamisa. A leader for whom promises are not designed to get cheers from crowds of supporters, but are personal commitments to be judged on.

The concrete and well-reasoned nature of his pledges gives me confidence they will be fulfilled, and the straightforward and honest way in which they are presented makes me sure that if he fails, it will be clear, and we will judge him on that.

For this at least, ED has my vote!