Emotions got us into trouble in the first place
Zimbabweans are being wooed with unromantic messages. This one says I fought the war and was imprisoned for it so vote for me. The other says, I was beaten up by my liberators and I have also been arrested repeatedly so vote for me. If this is the criteria to elect our leaders then surely all the people who fought the war and all the activists and politicians who have been arrested must stand for President? Why do African leaders like to do the “I died for this country” bit as the reason why they should be elected?
In 1980, emotionally we voted for an avowed Marxist-Leninist who straight away proceeded to do his best to create a one party state. The consequences are evident in every household right across the country today. From 2000 onward, we emotionally voted for a former trade unionist who failed us miserably in strategy, acumen and more importantly democracy within his own party.
Here we are again on the threshold of another crucial vote. After all that we have been through, it is time to drop the emotional rationale and revert to the logical rationale we have been applying in our day to day lives in post independence Zimbabwe. This is not the time to be voting for people who think you owe them because they were imprisoned or beaten up for participating in the fight against oppression. That comes with the territory! A soldier cannot go to war and then complain that the others were shooting back!
This is a common sense election. What the country needs is a good manager with the right credentials to attract the right investors, to manage the right negotiations for the right deals that are in the best interests of the country. Chiluba came in to power in Zambia and sold the country off to the highest bidder who went on to plunder the natural resources of the country and leave the Zambian behind! Mugabe has done the same with his Libyan and Chinese deals. Tsvangirai does not have the wherewithall to manage a decent deal and that is why Ben Menashe nearly took him to the cleaners.
That leaves Simba Makoni as the most suitable common sense manager for this country backed by the likes of Nkosana Moyo who are seasoned administrators. It is time for common sense to prevail and for Zimbabwe to reclaim a respectable place in the league of nations.