Questions and answers
I’ve just had an exchange with one of my colleagues about being petty. She reckons I’m being petty about wanting to blog this issue . . .
A couple of weeks ago we sent out a Kubatana email newsletter asking people to write to Morgan Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutambara to remind them that illegally detained pro-democracy activists needed help, and that they needed to be released, forthwith. We used the email addresses that we receive communications from for the two men. A Zimbabwean who wrote to Mutambara got this reply: don’t write to me pliz.
Again I come back to Leonard Mutsa’s recent blog in which he asks, where and when do our politicians welcome and encourage the views and input of ordinary Zimbabweans? Is it too much to ask that a political party have mechanisms through which members of the general public can ask them questions and get some answers?
Saturday, February 21st 2009 at 7:32 pm
Yes I agree, some way of expressing our views to politicians is not an unreasonable request.
My view on how to kickstart Zim is:
Some won’t want to hear this but the truth of the matter is that Zimbabwe needs its white farmers back – now. Current efforts to borrow money to pay wage bills is nice but it’s a short term response and not a solution to the gripping problems. Zimbabwe needs economic growth (a viable stream of revenue for government) and restoration of confidence (both within and beyond our borders). Policies to encourage mining, industry and foreign investment are good but are likely to yield a slow response, retarded by no infrastructure and a collapsed financial system. Lets face it too, after what we’ve been through many are all numbed out, sceptical and not inspired to leap into anything boots and all. In my view, a failure across Africa has been the consistent priority given to spending the golden egg as opposed to nurturing the goose to lay the golden egg. Education, healthcare, housing are very essential but unfortunately income generation needs to come first. Money best spent would be to humbly appeal to our white farmers to return to their farms (or in some cases be offered alternative land). Let our farmers once again give us employment and feed the hungry nation. Besides the obvious benefits, the return of the white farmers would indicate a commitment to the restoration of the rule of law, justice and would give a huge and instant boost to international confidence (big foreign investment!). I guess the million dollar question is, does the MDC have the courage to do what’s right, both morally and for the sake of the country as a whole, or is a yellow-bellied party more interested in feeding off the nation than feeding the nation?
Tuesday, February 24th 2009 at 1:43 am
Unless politicians are held to account then we are going down the same road that we have been walking along all along of leaders doing anything with impunity. It is high time we demand our right to speak to politicians so they speak to our issues in governement and not anything that comes to their heads. In this respect I think it is the role of civic society to establish such a forum and make sure it remains vibrant and effective because politicians on their own will never do it because they want us to listen to the speeches and all the issues the purport to raise in our interest whilst they have never consulted us.
Wednesday, February 25th 2009 at 1:40 pm
It is not at all petty. Accountability should in fact lie at the core or our politics. This is what gives meaning to the tenet “government of the people, for the people and by the people”. This is the reason why we have elections. It is a mechanism for holding politicians to account. It is perhaps not surprising that this kind of reply would come from Mutambara. In an earlier blog l commented on the supreme arrogance of the man. He has gone on to display his contemptuous attitude on numerous occasions since then. I make the same point l made then, we need a different kind of politics. It is inexcusable for Tsvangirai, Welshman Ncube, Mutambara and the whole lot of them, to be going about “business as usual” while we have people illegally detained. That should have been the first order of business!
So, what to do? I suggest a roll of shame. Every week we come up with a roll of shame, what they did/said/omitted to do/say. And we publicise it. Let’s name and shame and let’s hold them to account. For instance, in your regular newsletter that you send out, let’s have a “politicians watch” section. Even better would be having all the newspapers subscribing to the idea! We can start by counting the days the activists have remained detained after the formation of the inclusive government. Because something tells me that very soon, that number will surpass the days they were detained by the ZANU PF Regime.
Finally let’s keep calling for those elections!