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Gibson Mhaka, Senior Features Reporter
MDC Alliance presidential candidate in the forthcoming harmonised elections Advocate Nelson Chamisa has perfected the art of political deception.

In a bid to harvest votes, he has made a number of fanciful claims during rallies and for a young politician like him; those promises are unethical and will likely prove suicidal for his long term career prospects.

To be precise he is an unrepentant compulsive liar. This is because the lies he tells aren’t like the usual lies that are told in politics.

His, appear to have taken what German-born American philosopher and political theorist Hannah Arendt once called “The conflict between truth and politics” to an entirely new level.

Arendt, said lies have always been regarded as necessary and justifiable tools not only of the politician’s or the demagogue’s but also of the statesman’s trade.

Adv Chamisa’s lying is indeed legendary.

At one of his rallies in Chinhoyi, he promised the electorate bullet trains that travel at 600 km per hour saying they will be among his government’s priorities. At other times, he claimed the bizarre and the miraculous—from solving Zimbabwe’s liquidity crisis within two weeks of coming into office, to building airports in every village, and turning the resort town of Victoria Falls into Africa’s Las Vegas.

Adv Chamisa continued with his childish and fantasy promises when he promised people in Buhera that he would upgrade Murambinda Growth Point into a city as big as Harare in July, if voted into power.

Further, he said he would transform Murambinda Mission Hospital into a general hospital over and above tarring the 122km road from Murambinda to Birchenough Bridge.

“Murambinda should not remain as a growth point. It should develop to be a town or a city. I want to tell you that once I get into office, Murambinda should be renamed from Murambinda Growth Point to Murambinda City. We want to develop Buhera into a city not a town. Why should we develop Buhera? We should not go to Harare to withdraw our money. We should not go to Harare to sell our products.

“We also want to refurbish roads. We want this road from Murambinda to Birchenough Bridge to be tarred,” said Adv Chamisa.

All his famous promises have nothing to do with the poor, which has led some to suggest that he needs to go deep into the rural areas and consult with the villagers about their needs.

From his promises it is clear that Adv Chamisa cares less about the plight of the poor, the young and old. He is only committed to the gospel of lies to lure the voters.

During his rallies he often fails to acknowledge that it is the mandate and responsibility for government to deliver those promises accordingly.

Contrary to Adv Chamisa’s childish dreams that have attracted criticism from various centres and individuals, President Mnangagwa’s thrust has been re-engagement and economic revival which is an indication that he knows the root cause of Zimbabwe’s economic challenges.

Economic revival is President Mnangagwa’s trump card and he set the tone for the party’s new thrust with the “Zimbabwe is open for business” mantra which is a cry out to investors that the market is ready to foster an environment that favours economic and business growth.

President Mnangagwa has also been emphasising the need to mend bridges with countries which were at one time hostile to Zimbabwe.

There is no doubt that the ruling Zanu-PF has already put itself in good stead to cruise to yet another electoral victory with its economic revival strategies as well as a culture of political tolerance as being championed by President Mnangagwa.

Adv Chamisa needs to learn from great leaders, like President Mnangagwa that leadership requires not only the ability to take bold action, but the willingness of citizens to allow them to try to win without having to make wild and unrealistic promises.

He should also be reminded that making promises to the electorate is not like writing a secondary school composition on the things that one wants to do when he or she grows up.

Any politician worth his salt would know that what Zimbabweans want now is not bullet trains but addressing basic issues such as the availability of basic services, the revival of the economy and the creation of jobs in order to improve livelihoods.

One critic once questioned Chamisa’s credentials to be president saying since he failed to develop his small constituency (Kuwadzana) as its parliamentary representative, how can he develop the more cumbersome Zimbabwe? If he failed to provide a panacea to the problems his constituency faced, how can he be the answer to the Zimbabwean problems?

If integrity, honesty and trust are tough values to keep, at least Adv Chamisa should try to keep his dignity in check.

Unlike in religious circles where promises are perceived to be achieved by faith, in modern politics, promises are not led by faith, and leaders need to promise what they can deliver.

And do people want to elect a person who knowingly and deliberately lies to them? What kind of example does that set? It’s simple, if you want to get elected; you’re expected not to lie about your promises.

For the past decade the public has only wanted to hear the truth about the economy not lies about it. The public not only doesn’t believe his promises, they also don’t want to hear them.

Truthfulness is apparently not being counted among Adv Chamisa’s political virtues, because it has little indeed to contribute to the change that Zimbabwe needs.

Adv Chamisa’s lies are so unsatisfactory and he needs to stick to the basics that will allow him to connect with the people. He should be reminded that the public doesn’t want to be lied to.

He once sensationally claimed the government of the United States, through President Donald Trump, promised to give Zimbabwe US$15 billion if his party is voted into power.

Adv Chamisa also told an MDC Alliance rally in Beitbridge that he assisted President Kagame Paul in setting up Rwanda’s ICT policy.

President Kagame, using his Twitter handle, dismissed Adv Chamisa saying he has never met him adding that his country’s ICT policies were started way before MDC was formed in 1999. Adv Chamisa was not even known politically then.

In short, it seems Adv Chamisa entered the territory of lies without a passport for return.