Shaping the national vision and agenda
TECHNOLOGY continues to change the world, from how it works, to how people engage and interact with each other and with their environment.
At one stage of human existence, the wheel was a revolutionary piece of equipment that altered life as people knew it then.
Today, some of the leading inventors of our time are talking about space travel and transporting across the globe by rocket.
South African-born SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has plans to fly two private citizens to the moon as early as 2018, land humans on Mars by 2024 and use a rocket to take people from New York City to London in 29 minutes.
To quote Musk directly, he wants to get people “anywhere on earth in under an hour” for roughly the cost of an economy airline ticket.
Some consider Elon Musk to be a visionary, while others think him to be a little bit eccentric.
This is a man, who at one point invested all the money he had, upwards of $150 million, into Tesla and SpaceX and survived by borrowing from other billionaires.
What one has to admire though is the tenacity and faith in one’s own ability, but also the possibilities of the future to go all in on an investment which at the time was a high risk.
When SpaceX was founded in 2002, one might have thought it impossible for a private citizen to send themselves or anyone else to space; today, some 15 years later, that dream is fast becoming a reality.
There are two things to note from Musk’s story: the first are the increasing changes in the space in which we live and the need to advance with it.
For Zimbabwe, the idea of space travel is certainly a world away and definitely an impractical one to pursue, at least for the Government, particularly where there are a myriad other issues that need to be resolved.
But that doesn’t mean the country should not continue to develop or look to having these grand ideas and or aspirations.
The question though is what are these grand ideas that Zimbabwe has? What is the national vision that is understood by the people and one under which they rally around?
At one stage in its history, Zimbabwe was known as the breadbasket of Africa, is this a status to which the country seeks to return or do we harbour higher ambitions?
These are some of the questions that both the citizens and public officials need to ask themselves.
It is important for a country and a people to have a vision of the kind of place they wish to inhabit because it will create an understanding of what is expected of both the citizens and the government.
One thing that is central to bringing about a vision is sacrifice. Elon Musk had to sacrifice his personal fortune, and incur debt as he invested in his vision.
For an example at state level, following the Asian financial crisis in 1997, South Korean citizens literally gave up their personal gold, donating it to the state in an effort to bail their country out of debt.
Some 3,5 million people voluntarily contributed to this effort and in two months, 226 tonnes of gold worth $2,2 billion had been collected and sent to the IMF to pay off the country’s debt.
As Zimbabwe approaches the 2018 election, political parties and candidates are going to be releasing their manifestos on what they intend to do should they be elected to a five-year term.
These manifestos should carry, clearly and succinctly, what they believe the national vision and agenda should be.
They should articulate without ambiguity what they think Zimbabweans should invest in and be prepared to sacrifice for.
Politicians should assume the responsibility of crafting the grand idea of the Zimbabwean state and appeal to the masses to buy into this vision.
Once there is consensual support for this vision, there should be a collective effort at Government and civilian level to attain it. This calls for Government to practice what it preaches and also be particularly fiscally responsible.
Where transformation is concerned, there is going to be a great economic cost to the state and by extension to the taxpayers who are the citizens.
As such the government must act responsibly with the national purse and refrain from consumption, but focus on spending that is productive and ultimately goes towards growing the economy.
The other thing to take away from the story of Elon Musk is the need for individuals to prepare for the future.
Gone are the days when a basic university degree was enough for one to get a job and build a career.
This is not just the case in Zimbabwe, but the world over, where a number of jobs have been rendered obsolete with technological advancements, but also a number of new jobs and industries have sprouted in a short space of time.
Some 10 years ago, the role of a social media manager was unheard of, but given the manner in which this new medium has revolutionised how people consume information, it has become a critical component of any communications team worth its salt in the 21st Century.
It is therefore essential for people to keep up with the developing trends in their industries.
At state level, education policies should be reflective of the changing environment and students should be equipped with a range of skills to navigate these changes as well as anticipate some of them.
Businesses should also invest in educating their employees for the jobs of the future, particularly if those businesses are looking to advance their models and modes of operation.
This is perhaps an area where public-private partnerships can thrive as both sectors stand to benefit from a developing society.
All of these things should be reflected in the national vision and agenda of political parties, especially now as the nation prepares for polls next year.
Now is the perfect time to highlight this key issue and work towards mapping what Zimbabwe needs to do in the next five years.