Opinion / Columnist
African politicians thrive on deceiving electorate
12 Mar 2022 at 07:41hrs | Views
AN interesting feature of liberation movements in Africa is their public denunciation of colonialism, imperialism and the injustices that are generally associated with these practices while they themselves have little regard for justice and observance of human rights.
People engage in politics for different reasons and mostly for selfish and malevolent interests.
You can only hear them talking about loving the electorate during campaign times to win the hearts of the poor electorate, whom they will not hearken to when they are in need.
Thus typical of African politics, liars, heartless, clueless and unapologetic comrades have besieged the political arena.
Political parties need to be serious about the nature and calibre of candidates they field in different communities.
It is sad that many of our honourable legislators are not even conversant with subjects that they should debate in the National Assembly or Senate, how sad.
This could be the reason why the Zimbabwean government should be applauded for proposing to amend laws so as to put in place minimum qualifications for MPs and councillors.
You cannot expect them to debate and contribute to the development of the constituencies they represent when the are not conversant with issues at hand.
It is true that quality of decisions made is dependent on the quality of people involved.
COVID-19 has come and it is high time governments, which claim to be responsible, went beyond rhetoric. It is a fact that Zimbabwe has more than 90% unemployed graduates and/or professionals. They are looked down upon and have no clue of what the future holds for them.
People are struggling to make ends meet. Poverty is wreaking havoc in many homes, worsened by the COVID-19-induced lockdown measures. The unfortunate part is that government is just watching.
Instead of feeding citizens, government officials are busy politicking, ring-fencing their positions and hunting down perceived enemies.
It is sad that African politicians have misplaced and misdirected priorities.
What one observes in many African countries is an artificial government, a government by deception.
They are not only out of touch with the people, but perennially locked in combat with them. They prey on the rural population to line their pockets.
They divert humanitarian aid and tax them to the bone.
People engage in politics for different reasons and mostly for selfish and malevolent interests.
You can only hear them talking about loving the electorate during campaign times to win the hearts of the poor electorate, whom they will not hearken to when they are in need.
Thus typical of African politics, liars, heartless, clueless and unapologetic comrades have besieged the political arena.
Political parties need to be serious about the nature and calibre of candidates they field in different communities.
It is sad that many of our honourable legislators are not even conversant with subjects that they should debate in the National Assembly or Senate, how sad.
This could be the reason why the Zimbabwean government should be applauded for proposing to amend laws so as to put in place minimum qualifications for MPs and councillors.
You cannot expect them to debate and contribute to the development of the constituencies they represent when the are not conversant with issues at hand.
COVID-19 has come and it is high time governments, which claim to be responsible, went beyond rhetoric. It is a fact that Zimbabwe has more than 90% unemployed graduates and/or professionals. They are looked down upon and have no clue of what the future holds for them.
People are struggling to make ends meet. Poverty is wreaking havoc in many homes, worsened by the COVID-19-induced lockdown measures. The unfortunate part is that government is just watching.
Instead of feeding citizens, government officials are busy politicking, ring-fencing their positions and hunting down perceived enemies.
It is sad that African politicians have misplaced and misdirected priorities.
What one observes in many African countries is an artificial government, a government by deception.
They are not only out of touch with the people, but perennially locked in combat with them. They prey on the rural population to line their pockets.
They divert humanitarian aid and tax them to the bone.
Source - NewsDay Zimbabwe
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