MTHWAKAZI INDEPENDENT

How Mthwakazi has been dealing with the problems of being subservient to the Zimbabwean system and institutions is the major problem. Problems do not cease because we choose to ignore their presence, but by people facing up to them, standing up together and taking responsible action to find solutions.

We are certainly not oblivious to political realities; we are seeing what is happening and can no longer hide behind ignorance and blame the world on why we find ourselves powerless, caged and locked up in disenfranchising political cabins of Zimbabwe.

Pacifying the enslaver makes you a good slave, and will not set you free. The Zimbabwe state continues to brutalise Mthwakazi, there is no longer any possibility of reconciling ourselves to a system that enthuses in alienating us.

Take note though, our experience of the Zimbabwean system in Mthwakazi is that it is in fact a secondary problem, the primary problem being the amount of garbage that is at work in our internal politics. We are too divided and self-centred to mount an effective challenge against a united and committed bully in Mashonaland.

The ZANU PF/ MDC political regimen has simply taken advantage of our disorganisation to create a home in Mthwakazi. A complete solution will not come unless both the Zimbabwean systemic problems and Mthwakazi’s internal political garbage are dealt with.  Dealing with our garbage seems to be the sensible thing to do if we are to get rid of the ‘rats’ that make their home in that garbage.

We have experienced the effects of political disenfranchisement, poor institutions and bad policies, and through misplaced silence, allowed the Mashonaland leaning government to dodge accountability, scrutiny and any kind of proper debate. We have employed tolerance when a direct confrontation of injustice was required, in doing so we have become complicit in normalising despotism, hate, and lies.

Changing how we do politics will be a meaningful start. We have kept following people because they were ahead of us, which, as proven over the years, can never be a safe way of doing politics. Following someone simply because they are out in front, especially when you have no idea where they are heading is never a wise idea.

A lesson from the fight against white colonialism is that emotionally driven policies are a threat to objectivity. The building of strong institutions for governance was treated as secondary to our freedom yet it was primary. When ‘independence’ was achieved, a systematic obliteration of Mthwakazi commenced, there were no legal institutions to restrict government power and protect innocent civilians from State abuse.    

Pro-Mthwakazi is not ‘Mthwakazi nationals as victims’ but Mthwakazi nationals refusing to be victims. Successful implementation of our desired political changes will begin with leadership that has a clear vision of the desired outcomes and the potential policy pathways for achievement.

Specialising on trivia is not to our political benefit; our focus must be at the right place. Right now we have political leaders who want Mthwakazi to take back control but who have spent a huge chunk of their political time responding to ZANU PF behaviour than Mthwakazi needs.

While challenging bad practice is critical political business and we will always support advocates of justice, we argue that central to our political activity should be the building of good, strong institutions that protect us from ourselves. Checks and balance are essential to ensure no one is allowed unrestricted power.

The major weakness of black governments is weak institutions and the related lack of accountability. When, as society, we fail to set boundaries and hold our leaders accountable, we leave ourselves vulnerable to abuse and mistreatment. Our politics protects the interests of the few while the majority are expected to quietly bear the brunt of bad decisions.

A copy of Zimbabwean politics is not our desire. We do not want to create a Mthwakazi that works for hypocrisy, but one that works for humanity. To avoid heading discordant goals, our foundation should be based on our in-depth understanding of society as informed by the people not based on the personal use of politicians’ time and experience.

Concentrating on governance issues will play a significant role in Mthwakazi’s progress towards taking control of its political and economic destiny. There cannot be any denying that effective implementation of policies for achieving our goals requires the appropriate governance structures as well as the overall application of good governance principles.

A departure from the ZANU PF/ MDC political psyching of ethnic and tribal stratification must be the central theme of Mthwakazi politics. The focus of Zimbabwe’s political activity has been the active marketing of the subjective belief of the superiority of ethnic Shona language, culture, norms and values into unshakable truth through the power of institutions and the passage of time.

Principle and not tribal allegiance must be the pinnacle of our politics. Our politics must be a free battle of the minds; people must be free to question, free to choose between objective ideas and not between races or tribes.

Justice is more important than sentimental loyalty. We have a duty to create and market a good political product that Mthwakazi will identify with. Our biggest target is to tackle internal division that is the political garbage which has continued to provide a home (in Mthwakazi) to the political ‘rats’ (ZANU PF/ MDC). We may not agree on everything, but our primary task is to put aside party interest for the sake of national interest, fight together for the benefit of all.