Matabeleland will never let memories of the past determine the scope of the potential of its future; we certainly are not going to concern ourselves about that which has not worked out but with what is still possible, and there is a lot. We will never be afraid of what the future holds because we intend to create it, and we will not impose limits to what our communities can achieve. We will need to find funding options to enable projects that are designed and implemented by small, local civil society organisations who understand local needs and priorities and are best placed to respond to them.
We believe empowering a nation starts with strengthening local communities. Together we must work so that communities that have long gone to sleep rise from their slumber and those that have lost hope start to dream again, and all routes to access to opportunity are opened for every dream to turn into reality.
Initial focus will be on addressing the elephant in the room – mainstream Zimbabwe politics. We will not beat by the bush, there is no social and political compatibility between mainstream Zimbabwe politics and Matabeleland’s interests thus, entrusting Matabeleland’s socio-political space to ethnic Shona supremacist mainstream politics is a hindrance to the development of our communities. Systemic tribalism is a control tool that does not support the implementation of projects that reflect and empower the diverse community of Matabeleland.
Having said that, we are not prepared to sink into the victim mindset and sow doubt of our community’s potential to empower itself; rather, we will accept responsibility for our circumstances and change them.
The reconfiguration of the political space is a strategic necessity for the desired long-term changes, and we must continue to pursue the devolution of power, promote local leaders, improve standards and strengthen local leadership.
We make no excuses for demanding that people with local connections or who share local culture or linguistic skills be prioritised for jobs within the public service – local schools and local authority administrative roles. And calling for positive discrimination that would see locals occupy essential decision-making positions in the community is not tribalism but common sense. Leadership must be reflective of the community not political party interests.
Reference to individual responsibility will be our slogan. Talent and capacity have never been in short supply in Matabeleland, but it is the lack of funding that has failed the optimisation of local talent and capacity, and that threatens local growth. Together, we need to design, fund and implement local programmes that will support small, grass roots organisations who are embedded in the community, working within the most deprived areas of the nation.
Ethical funding options for local initiatives must be explored so that in the process of strengthening our communities we do not compromise our values. This raises stake for ensuring that local leaders are local people.
We have learned our lessons from the experience of being citizens of Zimbabwe and from being witnesses of many African states that without accountability, there is no point trying. Throwing money to causes, no matter how well-meaning they may sound, is not investment but an assured failing approach and must be archived as that part of our unwanted history never to be revisited. Through various local initiatives, we need to improve accountability to make sure that funding reaches organisations that provide services which are widely accessible to the whole community and respond to and address the needs of the people living in it.
Stringent standards must be applied to ensure that funding targets organisations that specifically deliver services directly to beneficiaries, and bias must be toward funding work that enables:
- Spread of information on health and wellbeing
- Promotion of local culture and values
- People in our communities to participate in activities which improve connectedness, opportunities and wellbeing
- Marginalised, vulnerable population groups who face difficulty in accessing community-based services that support positive lasting change
- A stronger, active, more engaged community
Decentralisation and localism remain the best political and economic option and hope for Matabeleland not just to survive, but to thrive. When all is said and done, our community’s will to win, the desire to succeed, and the urge to reach its full potential will be key for the community to achieve excellence.
Challenging times need creative and committed men and women willing to turn dreams into concrete reality. With a good design, lack of funding will never be reason for our communities to lag. Young men and women who have left their spiritual home in search of opportunity in foreign lands must be sought, re-energised to reconnect, and help fund programmes to rebuild their homeland. Including everyone in the design, funding, and implementation of the programmes will increase the overall impact of projects and strengthen engagement in issues that are important to the prosperity and well-being of local communities.
MTHWAKAZI INDEPENDENT 