Zimpapers Logo

Perspective, Stephen Mpofu
Once a lion tastes human blood, it is said, the beast will stop at nothing in its bid to continually satiate its appetite for the crimson-red life giver.

In post-colonial Africa, contemporary imperialism can be said with equanimity to represent the beast in point.

In the heydays of colonialism, Europeans descended on the African continent and literally held indigenous people captive as foreigners stripped Africa’s rich natural resource endowments which they then carted off back to their native countries to build palaces until the winds of change swept across the continent, freeing its people from subjugation.

But as what a lion that has tasted the sweetness of human blood is always wont to do, imperialists would return, camouflaged as Trojan horses.

[Those who studied Latin, as did this communicologist, will recall the calamities that befell the city of Troy, an ancient metropolis in what is now north-western Turkey, when enemy killers were smuggled into the city hidden in wooden horses.]

Today non-governmental organisations have been used as Trojan horses to smuggle in the enemies of Zimbabwe  with the collaboration of civil societies after illegal Western sanctions imposed in 2002 to try to topple the Zanu-PF Government as a reprisal for its fast-track land reform programme, failed to achieve the intended goal.

Now, as Zimbabwe prepares to hold harmonised elections next year, Western governments, which never accept defeat or failure, are making frantic efforts to influence the conduct of the elections against Zanu-PF by funding dubious projects and fomenting instability in the country using civil society organisations.

This comes in the wake of a surprise donation of $5 million to the civil society by the European Union ostensibly to strengthen democratic participation and accountable monitoring by non-governmental organisations in Zimbabwe.

Since civil society or non-governmental organisations do not contest elections themselves as they are not political parties, it will be obvious and correct to every right thinking Zimbabwean to conclude that the money is intended to strengthen fractious opposition political parties in this country, or to encourage them to form a strong coalition against Zanu-PF which the West regards as its arch enemy.

On their part, the opposition groups are likely to grab at the carrot dangled by the Western governments and obviously intended for them to make good their desperate need for both external financial and moral support to brighten their chances of a better performance this time around in an election that all Zimbabweans should take seriously as the polls will determine a way forward for this nation.

The stability and security of the motherland will be at stake both before and after the polls. This suggests that those opposition elements that appear disposed to the use of violence as a means to achieving power at any cost, should reframe their mindset by ceasing any and all dirty and dangerous flirtations with imperialists; otherwise they will remain stuck in a loop fashioned by the enemies of this country and be used as human substitutes for the failed sanctions to try to remove the present government from power by all means possible.

It should be realised that a political system anywhere in the world is not meant to swell the bellies of leaders only but that it is meant to make a country suitable in all aspects for inheritance by future generations.

In this regard, Zimbabweans should work together and peacefully for the maturation of the country’s political system to benefit future generations. After a political revolution that secured this country from a foreign ruling culture, there is now an imperative need for a mind revolution to unite all Zimbabweans across the political isle against corruption, factionalism, tribalism, violence and all concomitant -isms in order to make the motherland truly habitable by all as well as becoming a magnate for investors to help the government successfully push social and economic development that will as much as possible turn Zimbabwe into a jewel of Africa or its equivalent.

Of course, this also means that leaders for whom patriotism, unflinching loyalty and service to the motherland comes first before self are elected to parliament to turn the dream of a better Zimbabwe into reality with those tainted with corruption, sleeping on the job and political indiscipline being buried in political graveyards.

In run-ups to elections, youths play a particularly significant role in campaigns for their particular political party and this role fitfully makes them the engines of their political organisations. Unfortunately, however, their active participation also exposes them to exploitation by unscrupulous leaders who turn the young people into cats’ paws for them by even trying to win support through violent campaigning.

The bottom line here is that the youth should refuse to be bought by crooked leaders to indulge in acts of violence as they, not the leaders who use them will end up facing the wrath of the law.

A free, fair and credible election is a sign to the rest of the world of the maturation of a political system in the country in question, and Zimbabweans should demonstrate their maturity with a clean record in next year’s polls.

Above all, the Church in Zimbabwe should pray for, speak with one voice and forcefully come out in the open and help in every way possible in creating an atmosphere conducive to successful elections next year.

That way, God’s blessings cannot fail to manifest themselves in making Zimbabwe a great country with all of our people living in harmony to become the envy and an example for our neighbours and others beyond to follow.