Why I will vote for MDC

We must unashamedly let ZANU (PF) know that they have failed us and do not deserve to preside over our great nation

I dislike it when I see elderly women struggling to make ends meet and having to travel to and fro South Africa in order to make a living. I don't like it when I see kombi drivers being harassed by the police who they must try to dodge each and every day, so that they may make a reasonable profit.

I am disgusted when I have to listen to ZANU (PF) ministers, prescribing to us as if they alone have the solutions for our future. I detest it when I see them hidden in their gas guzzling  4x4's, pretending that everything is alright and  that they are entitled to our taxes without  them doing any work of value for us. The audacity of it all is that, they now want golden handshakes, for the damage they have done to the country. That is truly outrageous.

When I see old pensioners going into town, to collect a paltry USD60 a month, or when I see educated youth wondering about town with nothing to do; it reminds me of my responsibility to change our circumstances. I loathe it when people pretend that all is well, and things are okay because they can be much better.

When I have to continually avoid potholes in our roads which we now take as normal, or when power goes off without notice and yet the bills keep coming. When I smell the toxic fumes of paraffin as mothers in the townships try to feed their families; I know that something is awfully amiss.

When a family of five must live in one room as lodgers and are continually harassed by the landlord for rent. When taps run dry with unsafe drinking water and I see lines of young girls carrying buckets of water on their heads, I know that things must change.

I cannot stand looking at the queues at our banks on payday as people  try to get out the little that they earn, nor can I stand the endless queues of commuters as they struggle to get home after a hard day's work. They must labour for wages under the poverty datum line; and that is if they get paid on time at all. Packed in kombis like sardines, they risk their lives each and every day; I know they deserve better.

I am tired of seeing rag tag young girls with malnourished kids on their backs, wondering where the next meal will come from. When I hear that so many mothers are dying of cervical cancer, TB and treatable diseases, I know who is killing them; it is the incompetence, arrogance and dishonesty of ZANU (PF). When people die at home because they can't afford an ambulance or a doctor, it pains me. When clinics have no medicines, power or running water and yet we spend millions to fund frivolous projects and functions including beauty pageants, it infuriates me.

I do not accept that we have deployed our best brains into politics and government yet. I know that Zimbabwe can be much more than what ZANU (PF) can ever imagine and yet, they do not even have any shame on what they have done to our country. The unimaginable theft of our resources and public funds by our politicians cannot be forgiven. We shall remember them not for their sacrifices or talents, but for their selfishness, greed, cruelty, vanity and utter foolishness.

I hate it when I see vast tracts of arable land lying idle and yet we cannot even feed ourselves. I know that Zimbabwe has serious dormant talent in agriculture that needs to be applied to the benefit of all and yet, because of political egos, we must all suffer.

Regardless of what you may think, we owe Morgan Tsvangirai and all activists who dared to challenge the status quo much respect. They have faced serious personal torment and pain for our sake. This also applies to our honorable war veterans, who sit forgotten and despised despite risking their lives for our freedom. The difference between us and them is that; they took personal responsibility and risk to change our circumstances. It is very easy I guess, to criticize and point out what's wrong with everything. We have many "experts" out there, who sit down each day and comment on the problems and then sit back and do nothing about it. We must ignore them.

The fundamental difference MDC and our activists have made is that, they have been architects in creating a new momentum towards democracy and justice in Zimbabwe. It will be up to you and me to participate and make that democracy a reality. Zimbabwe must never be the same again because some good men and women decided to do what most of us were scared to even consider. In fact some of us even left the country.

Yes, I will vote for the MDC so that we may start a new chapter of rebuilding our country. We must give hope to the millions of my brothers and sisters out there who surely deserve a better shot at life. At the same time we must unashamedly let ZANU (PF) know they have failed us and do not deserve to preside over our great nation.

That is the least that we can do.              

Vince Musewe is an economic analyst based in Harare. You may contact him on [email protected]

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