Building and sustaining our political organisations would require an honest investment in effective, accountable and transparent institutions and responsive, inclusive, participatory and representative decision-making at all levels.
Category: Progressivism
Matabeleland Collective is a by-product of pro-Mthwakazi’s political shortcomings. Our politics is stumbling not because of ignorance but the illusion of knowledge. We have organisations modelled on arrogance who will not consult the public they claim to represent. We expect organisations to work closely with society to identify mutual problems and solutions.
Our problems today are broadly similar to those that undermine most modern African states and that many other past societies also struggled to solve. Zimbabwe’s rocky past offers us a rich database from which we can learn in order that we may build a better political system with equally strong supporting institutions.
Tolerance is a poor substitute for embrace. It is more than political incompetence that Zimbabwean government has progressed to be a narrow sect with shallow goals that protect interests of a particular tribe over all other citizens. Mthwakazi (and all citizens identified as Ndebele or their sympathisers) has been deliberately targeted for discrimination and abuse based solely on their identity.
The greatest challenge for Mthwakazi political groups is to raise the standards of political capital in the region. Political capital will be required to get things done. But that will require a comprehensive investment in building a solid foundation of social capital. Building a large following is important, but it will take greater care to identify the right company or allies – local and international – who share our interests, motivation and commitment to build political capital.
It is disconcerting and disgusting to hear ‘independent’ political analysts trying to apportion blame to Matabeleland people for the tribal disharmony in Zimbabwe. These groups or individuals seek political relevance through a failed attempt to mask actions of a clearly tribalist and offensive political system created by ZANU tribalists and backed by most in Mashonaland.
