#Thisflag a nation's pride has been restored

This flag campaign has brought back renewed hope in our country. For many years now our flag was associated with ZANU-PF. However this flag has changed that outlook. We now have the pride of raising the flag high restored back to us. Every nation in the world is proud of their flag ours was becoming an embarrassment to raise as it brought and evoked sad memories.  The saying "United we stand, divided we fall" has come alive in the Zimbabwean communities all over the world and also online. This is what ZANU-PF has no control over as much as they would like to silence the people.

We should join hands and carry our flags regardless of political affiliation. Let's continue to be bold enough to add our own voices as the current situation is affecting all of us. People in the Diaspora are putting their own projects on hold to assist people at home to prevent imminent starvation and to support relative's children to get an education. Should this not be what a government does for its citizens? Zimbabweans we are so caring to an extent of doing what the government should be doing! A responsible government should be concerned about delivering on election promises rather than continuous obsession with next election. First deliver what you promised on the last election before going on to talk about next election. We are tired of the elections as they just bring suffering and hatred amongst us citizens.

Leaving things as they are and waiting for a miracle to happen is not a viable option. The citizens' task forces being set up by #thisflag campaign are commendable as they are encouraging citizens to expect leaders to deliver on what they will have promised at election time. This flag campaign has brought a paradigm shift. If the citizens continue to demand their leaders to behave like civil servants rather than masters the citizens their subjects the country will thrive. The change of attitude by citizens will built a better Zimbabwe even when Mugabe and his cronies go no leader will ever take us for granted ever again. We are setting a precedence of citizen's responsibility and a value system is being born. Sometimes people get leaders they deserve we cannot continue to watch leaders coming into positions with nothing and end up with enough wealth  to buy their health overseas while we continue to wallow in poverty.

The ruling elite are trying to use their usual propaganda to play the man instead of playing the ball by coming up with all sorts of stories to discredit #thisflag campaign. However poverty has pushed people to be ingenious in their quest for political accountability. Like Pastor Evan Mawarire said in the interview with ZiFM that a hungry man is an angry man that rings so true in us Zimbabweans. We are hungry and we are angry, lies will not fill our stomachs we need our country to run again. Good politics will win the day.

We will continue to demand good leadership and accountability because we cannot continue hungry while we watch out leaders eating and travelling overseas for their health care and their children having first class education while ours are living second class lives. The hunger we face has forced us to challenge the status quo; we will continue to ruffle feathers until good prevails over evil.  With bond notes coming, everyone can see in the not so distant bearer notes time is in the horizon. Everyone knows what we went through during that time of bearer cheques and if we don't protest enough against poor decisions made on our behalf we will end up going in circles.

Changing of the situation for the better will benefit every Zimbabwean regardless of where they live and across the political spectrum except those who benefit from other people's misery. It really baffles the mind how a country blessed with so much natural resources can sink so low and the very people who destroyed the economy refuse to allow fresh and young minds to take over the running of the country. It looks like they really mastered the art of divide and rule, violence and intimidation. It is high time that we return to the separation of civil servants from political parties.

#Thisflag campaign will be remembered by generations to come, it is what the nation needed to restore national pride.

Mativenga Mbondiya is a human rights activist who has membership with a number of Human rights groups he writes in his own capacity. The views is this article do not represent the organisations he belongs to or affiliated to