Opinion / Columnist
Chamisa is a dangerous smiling tribalist.
09 Sep 2018 at 07:36hrs | Views
The 2018 local council elections produced an outcome which was very complicated in Bulawayo. The underlying factor is the disrespect which the MDC Alliance propagated by fielding the majority of Shona candidates in Bulawayo. What makes matters worse is the utterances from Mr Nelson Chamisa the sore loser. He accuses the people of Bulawayo of tribalism because they do not want to be led by a Shona in Bulawayo.
He advocates for this discriminatory concept of merit. What am I saying? Am I saying meritocracy is bad? The simple answer is yes and no. Under normal and equal political environments the concept of merit is a good concept for it is blind to race, blind to tribe, blind to any differential. However, in a society like Zimbabwe the implementation of the concept of merit is undesirable, because it perpetuates discrimination, perpetuates the status quo and leaves the disadvantaged reeling in the doldrums.
Chamisa feels that the Mayoral election in Bulawayo should have been on merit, however, this saves to expose his core beliefs. Do you know what his core belief is? It is that the Shona should rule everywhere.If this is not tribalism then I do not know what tribalism is. It is my considered view that the MDC Alliance and its leaders are the most dangerous to the aspirations of the people of Matabeleland. The MDC Alliance leaders who hail from Matabeleland are just unwittingly pushing the agenda they don't understand or they are just there for the money prospects. The MDC Alliance is worse than ZANU PF and Chamisa is worse than Mugabe and Mnangagwa combined. The audacity his Alliance had of fielding so many Shona leaders in Bulawayo Parliamentary and Local council elections is an insult which our people should never forget in 2023.
Let me revert back to the concept of merit and unpack it as to why it could be undesirable. The concept of merit only works where there is equality and fairness. In Zimbabwe we all know that the Matabeleland region has been on the receiving end since 1980. The region has been denied opportunities of development including developing its human capital. Any place without robust leadership slowly dies and this has been happening in Matabeleland. This did not happen by chance, but it has been a deliberate and well calculated move by the Shona governments against the Matabele. The people of Matabeleland have been denied economic power, cultural base, exposure and experience, and denied many other things. Asking them to compete against the Shona on merit at this juncture is the worst insult that one can throw at them. What is needed right now, is positive discrimination, where Ndebeles will be deliberately given opportunities over the Shona people for the next 38 years, then after that they can compete on merit. If there is no programme aimed at uplifting the Matabele, the truth is they will never catch up, except if they seek separate pathways to development.
This now becomes clear where Chamisa is going and what he is seeking to do, he is seeking to perpetuate tribalism against the Ndebele people. Do not tell me that he does not know what he is doing, he knows very well. He is worse than Mugabe and Mnangagwa put together, these two at least fielded Ndebeles in Matabeleland. Next time people should learn to vote tactfully. One wonders why anybody would vote for the MDC Alliance or ZANU when there is a party like MRP.
He advocates for this discriminatory concept of merit. What am I saying? Am I saying meritocracy is bad? The simple answer is yes and no. Under normal and equal political environments the concept of merit is a good concept for it is blind to race, blind to tribe, blind to any differential. However, in a society like Zimbabwe the implementation of the concept of merit is undesirable, because it perpetuates discrimination, perpetuates the status quo and leaves the disadvantaged reeling in the doldrums.
Let me revert back to the concept of merit and unpack it as to why it could be undesirable. The concept of merit only works where there is equality and fairness. In Zimbabwe we all know that the Matabeleland region has been on the receiving end since 1980. The region has been denied opportunities of development including developing its human capital. Any place without robust leadership slowly dies and this has been happening in Matabeleland. This did not happen by chance, but it has been a deliberate and well calculated move by the Shona governments against the Matabele. The people of Matabeleland have been denied economic power, cultural base, exposure and experience, and denied many other things. Asking them to compete against the Shona on merit at this juncture is the worst insult that one can throw at them. What is needed right now, is positive discrimination, where Ndebeles will be deliberately given opportunities over the Shona people for the next 38 years, then after that they can compete on merit. If there is no programme aimed at uplifting the Matabele, the truth is they will never catch up, except if they seek separate pathways to development.
This now becomes clear where Chamisa is going and what he is seeking to do, he is seeking to perpetuate tribalism against the Ndebele people. Do not tell me that he does not know what he is doing, he knows very well. He is worse than Mugabe and Mnangagwa put together, these two at least fielded Ndebeles in Matabeleland. Next time people should learn to vote tactfully. One wonders why anybody would vote for the MDC Alliance or ZANU when there is a party like MRP.
Source - Thulani Nkala
All articles and letters published on Bulawayo24 have been independently written by members of Bulawayo24's community. The views of users published on Bulawayo24 are therefore their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Bulawayo24. Bulawayo24 editors also reserve the right to edit or delete any and all comments received.
