Any dialogue should involve citizens
Political tomfoolery has punctuated the young life of the country known as Zimbabwe since independence in 1980. Numerous players have attempted to offer their solutions to help thaw political tensions with the “Zimbabwe We Want” initiative led by prominent church organisations quickly coming to the fore among other interventions.
The reality that intractable political conflict has been endemic to Zimbabwe cannot be ignored, regardless of the level of ignorance one has over pertinent issues. Political conflicts occur right across the world but it is the efficacy of national institutions that always reign supreme over political interests.
In Zimbabwe, political leaders seem to hold sway over national institutions. Politicians in Zimbabwe must appreciate that the country does not belong to them and their interests alone but it is a heritage bestowed upon all of us by our forefathers, which generation transcends generations.
Because of politicians' selfishness, grand corruption escalates with reckless abandon. Systems of deterrence are weak at best and moribund at worst. The majority of politicians in Zimbabwe stay in the most affluent suburbs of the country where they have access to utilities and ever-present amenities. Those whom they lead wallow in abject poverty, residing in some of the most despicable areas known to humanity where access to necessities such as water and ablution facilities is a luxury!
Yet a few politicians are into legitimate business where they derive value to sustain their affluent livelihoods. What is happening?
These politicians rate amongst some of the most sophisticated narcissists one can ever come across. Their narcissism is so entrenched in their philosophical way of life to a point that they believe in the sound of their bigotry.
They hold the country to ransom at each go, enrich themselves and once they feel they are being ostracised from the feeding trough, they start to talk of some concept they have tried and tested over the years called dialogue.
They have mastered the art of knowing that this process gives them the legitimate claim to state resources that they feel, by having some form of borrowed yet seductive consensus, they can dupe the citizenry via showing a face of perceived unity. No. That is wrong.
Communities are reeling from the negative structural impacts of gory episodes of violence in Zimbabwe specifically Gukurahundi and the violence of 2008. In both instances, political players who had escalated political differences into orgies of armed insurrection rewarded each other with political perquisites, appointments, top of the range vehicles and per diems into foreign countries from where they would gallivant with voluptuous beauties much to the chagrin of the voter who happens to be the taxpayer.
Gukurahundi compensation and restoration is yet to be fundamentally addressed behind being made reference to at political podiums. Societies are still broken down. No “dialogue” has been considered for these broken down societies to heal the injured. It's all about politics and political aggrandisement. This habit, slowly metastasising into a culture must stop.
These politicians wage political warfare against each other. They absolutely got no iota of respect for the interests of the citizenry. Just look at how one Fredrick Mabamba turned the Municipality of Chitungwiza upside down or even how disgraced cabinet ministers, Prisca Mupfumira and Dr Obadiah Moyo were exposed and dismissed for being corrupt. Look at the rot within Harare Municipality and the politics of attrition being witnessed there. All these episodes got nothing to do with the interests of the people but everything to do with political warfare. Now, drums of dialogue are being sounded. For what really?
If that call for dialogue is genuine, then it must be led by citizens, for citizens do not vote for dialogue but service delivery!
Any dialogue moving forward that is not inclusive of the key stakeholder, the citizen, is a damp squib whose utility resonates around negative zero if ever that number exists. We have elections coming in 2023. Two years before those elections, politicians are clowning around suggesting dialogue is what we want yet people are being decimated by climate change induced disasters within constituencies where some politicians were last seen during the 2018 campaign period.
Inclusivity is never bad. Dialogue is always good if ever conflict is to be resolved. It is the nature and the agenda of the dialogue that can be nefarious enough to hoodwink the masses into believing that unity by political leaders equates to societal development.
They must stop waging political warfare against each other, instead focus on making sure they compete to deliver efficient service to the people. The people will judge them not based on their eloquence in those funds consuming dialogue sessions but on merit.
What is needed is efficient service leadership and delivery not dialogue!