Zimbabweans in the Diaspora must unite
Since the liberation struggle days, Zimbabweans have found it difficult to unite against a common purpose. The Frontline States and the Then Organization of African Unity (OAU) did their utmost to try to get Zimbabweans to establish a common front against the colonialist. However nothing ever worked or lasted because sooner or later, the political parties involved would split around personalities. To this day, we still suffer from the same problem; we are unable to unite and follow others.
I have been in contact with a myriad of Zimbabwean organizations out there; some with political objectives and others humanitarian. The common factor is that all want to see the emergence of a democratic and modern state in Zimbabwe that is underpinned by freedom and liberty. That is what every Zimbabwean wants, whether they are abroad or here at home.
What surprises me is that some of these organizations are not talking to each other and yet they want the same results. I suspect it's the old age Zimbabwean problem where everyone thinks they know better and are unwilling to submit themselves to others. That will remain our major problem; we are too proud for nothing and will always want to be in the limelight. Unfortunately this is not only a waste of energy and resources but strengthens the enemy.
They are two fundamental issues that are preventing us moving forward in Zimbabwe and these are; the fact that almost 3 million Zimbabweans out there cannot vote and second; the control of ZANU (PF) of state resources and their tendency to manipulate the voting process and the results using state institutions.
For me, these two issues are what we must focus on and ensure that they never happen again. I can't wait till 2018 to only go through a sham vote again and I am sure that is the case with most of us out there.
Between now and then, these are the only two things that really matter because without them being in place, no amount of advocacy will change any thing.
Zimbabweans in the Diaspora must therefore focus now and ensuring that a constitutional case is brought up, where they must challenge their exclusion from voting. They must also put adequate pressure out there so that the voting systems and technology used in the future is never controlled by ZANU (PF) again.
A third and very important issue is that of investments. Other African countries are receiving significant investments from their folk in the Diaspora. They are building and equipping hospitals, new age schools and establishing technology business parks and investing in infrastructure development at home and also in housing. In the case of Zimbabwe, most funds remitted home are for consumption.
Zimbabweans in the Diaspora ought to seriously look at themselves and consider whether they are really committed to a future developed Zimbabwe. If that is the case, don't expect ZANU (PF) to develop this country, they have dismally failed even in cases where they had adequate resources. The vision and passion are just not there.
In my opinion our country is in the wrong hands. We must fight both on the political and economic front to by investing directly into our communities and on the political front, we can also start now but realize that it will take a while to change mindsets.
If we are all united we are bound to achieve better results in a shorter period than if we remain separate as is the case now. We have some awesome people out there who can accelerate development at home. The only problem is that there is no united platform that thy can use, but more important, there is the issue of attitude amongst Zimbabweans that prevents us from collaborating.
I think that we must stop pointing fingers at the MDC and participate to see the changes we want. We need to see the MDC brand being revived with new fresh ideas and we must purge this mentality of entitlement to position. Simply because you may be a founder of an organization does not mean you have the best ideas in achieving its objectives. This applies to other organizations out there too. It's a matter of self esteem I guess.
Let us for once focus on what we want to achieve; ZANU (PF) must never have the monopoly of political power again in Zimbabwe; that is a good cause for us to unite work towards together.
Vince Musewe is an economist based in Harare. You can contact him on [email protected]
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