Clean break from the past needed, current path just a joke

ZIMBABWE is burning, which itself must be motivation enough for the leadership to seek a clean break from the past including a holistic change of culture.

That the current government has inherited the political culture, which characterised former President Robert Mugabe’s era is quite worrisome: The use of force, selective application of the law, celebrated mediocrity and most concerning the idea of Presidentialism.

One of the biggest challenges faced, not only by Zimbabwe, but Africa as a whole, was that of political demigods, usually founding Presidents, who took over at independence or despots, who emerged after a coup.

These individuals become larger than the State, they are idolised and seem to resist constructive criticism.

Such has been the traits of the late Mugabe, who apparently was on the verge of converting the State into private property of the Gushungos and their associates.

Sadly, the path that Zimbabwe is taking depicts a President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who sells a different narrative, but acts the same way that Mugabe did, including the “big man with little to show for approach”.

Since his inauguration in November 2017, every radio station in Zimbabwe starts every bulletin with a “President Mnangagwa”, including in cases where nothing significant would have been done on the reported subject and sometimes bulletins are anchored on speculation.

As if that is not enough, an influx of fake news has been created just to paint the President as a saint, reformer and leader par excellence.

Every blunder he has made has been ignored, comments from the opposition and civic society have been played down with shrills around “give him a chance”, we find this trend worrying; it is exactly what created Mugabeism.