Getting involved in politics is scary but so is everything else!

Introduction

I have always been intrigued by how nonpolitical people give advice to those who show interests in politics. At some point, soon after I began to see the sad toxic realities of Zim politics, I actually swore to myself that I will never get involved again but as it turned out, my love and concern for my beautiful country wouldn't allow me to walk away from the things that determine the future of my country.

After my recent arrest and detention, this kind of advice surfaced again from concerned friends and loved ones. It's not that what people will be saying is illogical or false, they actually speak the truth and what they say makes a lot of sense. The problem is that they forget that before joining politics, we first considered everything especially the dangers involved. It is not that we're not afraid nor that we are careless nor stupid. The truth is that we are afraid too, we see the possible consequences of getting involved too but most importantly, we see the consequences of doing nothing and choose to be courageous.

Below is a short article written by a fellow comrade about getting involved in Zimbabwean politics. It contains the answers that I have long known in my heart but have been unable to express.

By Benon B. Ncube

When we chose to be involved in politics, we knew what we were getting ourselves into. If you feel that it's too much for you, just stick to whatever you are doing and don't get into our lane. If you hate politics, hate it alone instead of inviting others to also hate it. The future of our country is largely dependent on our present politics and avoiding participation is suicidal and treasonous.

Do you honestly think that we don't know that people die by getting involved in Zimbabwean politics? Well, we do...but don't doctors die too? Drivers, teachers, musicians, your friends, family and you will die too.

We just chose to die after having done something for ourselves and the people around us.
We chose not to be used and disrespected. We chose not to fold our hands while being ill-treated.

We refused to look the other way while our future is being driven down the drain and chose to do what you are scared to do. We want to have an answer when the next generations ask us what we did to guard their future.

One way or the other, if it kills, it will get to you too. The question is "what are you doing about it?" Before you come to us telling us that we will be arrested, tortured, abducted, lose our lives, etc, keep in mind that we know this, maybe more than you do. You should know that it is you that should be worried by your attitude towards our nation's problems because whatever we are trying to deal with is affecting you or will affect you directly and indirectly in the near future.

When and if we fail to fullfil our mission, some other people will come up and take it from where we left from and one day, at long last, our motherland will be truly free.

We know what we got ourselves into and we know what we are doing, if you don't, just shut up and stay in your lane.

#ZinasuLives

Let's talk about #31July2020.

Prince Gora | The day has been trending since the beginning of the month when Mr. Jacob Ngarivhume declared it as yet another D-Day for the future of our beloved country. The response has been overwhelming, key opposition and civic society figures have endorsed the scheduled demonstration but critics and nay-sayers have dismissed it and expressed worries pointing out to previous "D-Days". They argue that these produced nothing but more suffering for the majority of the citizenry, many of whom were beaten, tortured, abducted or even murdered following such days.

The government, having learnt the hard way about the power of social media from previous cases, has not been slow in responding. Various ZANU PF and government officials have come out guns blazing warning Zimbabweans to not participate in the demonstration and labelling it's own kith and kin as terrorists. We've even started debating on "the real reason for the tightening of the lockdown restrictions". Some of my comrades have even began to cast doubts on the recent surge in Covid-19 cases - Is it just coincidence?

As the day approaches, I feel that it is pertinent to have discussions around the things that will make July 31st a success or failure.

1. Kutenda kusina mabasa kwakafa - action matters!

There has been much tough talk from both ends of the political divide during the month of July. Ultimately, what is going to seperate the boys from men is the action that is going to be implemented on July 31st. We're not new to tough talk, we've heard it all before and many a time, some of us have really believed that "ZANU PF will surely not escape this time around". It's a pity that we've been disappointed time after time, again and again. Hopefully, #31July2020 will be different.

Another thing we need to address is the myth that action doesn't matter. The myth that by taking action we're simply courting more atrocities from the regime. Well, if you believe that action doesn't matter then you haven't been reading between the lines. Let me challenge you to go to Zanu PF's Facebook or twitter page and tell them the truth, the truth they have failed and must leave the government and see what response you get. You can even record a video or write a personal letter to the president. Having done that, and keeping in mind whatever response you would have gotten, I would then challenge you to carry a placard and go to read it (while seating) in front of the ruling/ruining party's headquarters and see what response you will get.

There's a reason, comrades and friends, why many people talk tough and even insult the president and get away with it while anyone who dares to take any form of action, no matter how small or petty, is dealt with in a matter of minutes. Haven't you come across the qoute that says "Sticks and stones can break my bones but words will never harm me"? Action matters my fellow countrymen and women. Each time we've tried to take decisive action, the state has responded devastingly, that should tell you something...maybe we just need to be a little bit braver, a little bit more resilent and a little bit more determined.

2. Will the masses show up?

This is a question that is, by all accounts, being avoided by many. It is easy and understandable for someone to be overwhelmingly confident that the masses will show up given the response the scheduled demo has received on social media but I am still sceptical.

Lessons from the past.

I learnt this lesson the hard way. In November last year seven of my collegemates were served with suspension letters on a late Friday afternoon. Exams were scheduled to begin the following Monday. To say the least, I was outraged and immediately halted all last minute examination preps I was undertaking to stand up for my brothers. Among other things that I did in an endeavour to have the suspensions reversed was organising a demo in solidarity with these guys. After talking to a few comrades about the idea we decided to open a Whatsapp group. 20 minutes later, the group was full and we had to open another. I delegated this responsibility to other comrades and was told that a few more groups were created. Solidarity messages poured in their thousands and I had so much confidence that our demo was perhaps going to be the greatest college demo of all time.

Fast forward to midday Saturday, when the demonstration was scheduled to start. Our fellow students did stop their exam preps, came out of their hostels, hallrooms and classrooms but only less than 50 arrived at the actual venue. The rest took nice spots nearby and became spectators. Phones were out and people gossiped around.

I had another dance with this sad reality recently but because of legal complexities and for the sake of my comrades, I will not talk about it today.

 Masses failing to show up isn't new on the national scale, various D-Days have either flopped or turned violent because of this very fact so I will ask again, will the masses show up?

3. Expectations

A major talking point in the lead up to #31July2020 has been why not now? Why should we wait for that long? The arrest of Hopewell and Ngarivhume, if anything, should have been the signal and the perfect excuse to bring forward the revolution. The idea has been tossed around but I will wait for it's implementation.

The idea of waiting a whole month to stage a peaceful protest raises questions of goals and expectations. What exactly should happen for revolution to kickstart? Is it just the date? What are we expecting to achieve? And when are we going, if ever, to stop?

We need clear goals because only then can we truly rise as a people and pursue the goal until it is achieved!

©2020 P. Gora

16 JUNE; IT’S ABOUT THE AFRICAN CHILD, IT’S ABOUT THE STUDENT & IT’S ABOUT US

By Brighton Taruberekera

If black lives really matter, then 16 June should mean a lot for us as Africans. It is a day to commemorate and reminiscent the sad memories of June 16, 1976 whilst at the same time focusing on making the future brighter and better for all Africans especially its tender ones. 

Today is 16 June. Some forty years ago in the township of Soweto in South Africa, nearly ten thousand black students marched in the streets to protest over the poor quality of their education. They marched as a way to demonstrate their disapproval of the Black Education Act which segregated students based on their race.

The Soweto protest has come and gone but we have a couple of lessons to learn from that incident. Firstly, that black lives matter and that education should be accessible to all.

The Day of the African Child is an opportunity to raise awareness for the ongoing need to improve the education of children living across Africa. It’s a need that still very much exists today.  As I write this, thousands of African children are being denied the right to education. Across the continent, the Covid-19 induced lockdown measures have seen countries adopting e-learning as an alternative to conventional teaching methods. Education, once again has become a monopoly of the privileged few. It is no longer about burning candles and putting ink on paper. It is now about paperless browsing, streaming, downloading and uploading. The world is going paperless and who cares about those that still cannot afford even the paper itself?

Surely something need to be done to ensure that education is accessible to all. The future of Africa depends on its young ones. As we commemorate the Day of the African Child, let’s remember to make education accessible and affordable to all, especially to the African Child.



Brighton Taruberekera is a Zimbabwean citizen, politically active and socially interactive.

 tbmunyori@gmail.com | www.facebook.com/tbmunyori | taruberekera.blogspot.com

#Balance4Better - Agreed, but should we keep on sending non-performing MPs for the sake of balancing genders only? Or should we do more? Here is my take on the PR system beyond 2023.

By Prince Gora

 In October 2019, the government gazetted Zimbabwe’s Constitutional Amendment Bill Number 2, which seeks to introduce several amendments to the 2013 Constitution. Parliamentary Consultations on this Second Amendment are set to start shortly which has opened pertinent conversations about the proposed ammendments.

Today, I want to specially focus on the women's quota (PR system). According to the 2013 constitution, the PR system was set to end after 10 years but if the Constitutional Ammendment Bill No.2 is to be adopted, then the PR system will continue beyond 2023.

...but do we really need it? Has it achieved enough thus far to merit a continuation? Has it politically empowered women in such a way that come next election, women who were previously in parly based on the quota system can not only directly contest, but contest and win?

Personally  I have a number of issues concerning the current qouta system and as women and youth go out for parliamentary public consultation beginning this week, I would like them to voice out these issues.  I suggest that the qouta system be continued but with these reforms:

1) A ballot be available for the selection of women for PR in each province.

Let's get women electing other women in their provinces with the top 6 going to parliament. In this way candidates will have an opportunity to either contest as independent or under a political party. The party list system is exclusionary and subject to abuse by party bigwigs which is why the media is awash with claims and counter claims that PR MP y and x got in parly through the bedroom. Let's do away with PR women who serve party political masters.

By being directly elected by other women, they will also have direct constituencies which the current quota system does not provide. They will have a people to which they can report back to.

2) Let's put limits to women who participate in PR. 

The major purpose of a PR system is to mentor young women, isn't it?  If so, I think we need an age limit,  is it not possible to say anyone above 35 or 50 isn't eligible to contest under PR? I say this because many women in parliament through the PR system right now are just old women sleeping day in, day out without any serious political future.


Secondly, I think people who have previously saved as MPs before (both as PR and/ constituent MP) should not be allowed to go back in parliament through the PR system, they need to leave that space for others. We've people like Priscilla Misihairambwi-Mushonga who has been in parliament twice before but is now back in parliament as a PR MP. Isn't that defeating the whole purpose of PR? Are we not recycling "dead wood" in the name of political empowerment for women?

3) Let's make the political environment more friendly and safe for women.

While the PR system is trying to balance the numbers in parliament, it's failure to achieve a 50-50 gender balance can be attributed to a political environment that is not friendly for women. This needs to be tackled to ensure equal participation of males and females in politics and parliament. The ongoing brutality being perpetuated at Netsai, Cecilia and Joana, for example, will only serve to scare young women away from politics.

Most women fear for their lives and dignity because of what they see happening to other women in politics. There is need to level the playing field in such a way that we can have more women participating in politics.



To conclude,  I think we need to continue with the PR system and even introduce it to youths  (but not with the paltry 10 seats that were proposed by the government) but we need to reform it!

P. Gora

What role should the church play in Zimbabwean politics?

By Prince Gora

Ever wondered what role should churches play in the political process of our nation? What – if anything – should 'men and women of God'  say about politics from the pulpit? What about voting? Should the clergy try to influence the results of an election or encourage people to go out and vote? What about a more direct involvement in politics,  should churches ever call for the removal of a leader? Can they demonstrate when faced with incompetent leaders and systemic injustices? Or should they remain silent and docile instead?

Is support for candidates or discussion of issues from the pulpit activism? Is encouraging everyone to get out and vote activism? I ask these questions because the Christian  community is largely divided on these issues.

We have people like the famed Pastor Evan Mawarire who openly called for the removal of Robert Mugabe and led demonstrations in pursuit of that goal. More recently, we've had Pastor Shingi Munyeza who, just a few weeks ago, was defending the ZANU PF government but has since become a vocal and leading critic of it. Of course we also have Apostle Talent Chiwenga, whose relentless activism at the pulpit has now landed him in trouble. The Catholic church is no newcomer to Zimbabwean politics and the Catholic Commission for Peace and Justice (CCJP) has never hesitated to call a Rhodesian or Zimbabwean government to order whenever one has strayed.

But we also have many church leaders who urge their followers to only pray and disengage from political activities arguing that leaders come from God. This group of church leaders say that the church shoud simply be the church with its priority being only to pray for the government  the day no matter how it came into being.

One of the main reasons for this is undoubtedly fear and indeed many church leaders tell their followers to stay away from politics for fear of the unknown. History is awash with church leaders and their followers who got themselves in hot soup by being political, Archbishop Pius Ncube being the most high profile of those.

There's also a group of church leaders who rarely comment about politics but are then seen in the company of political leaders. This has of course always raised eyebrows like when President Mnangagwa met with Baba Guti last year.

Talking about issues is even more polarising. It is hard to ignore the poverty around us at the moment nor the corruption and the injustices that the Zimbabwean citizenry is facing, yet the moment one starts talking about these issues they are quickly labelled as regime change agents. But aren't they talking about real issues?

Those of us who keenly follow Zimbabwean politics will remember that not long ago church leaders tried to kickstart a dialogue between Nelson Chamisa and Emerson Mnangagwa. Isn't this another role which the churches must regularly play?

 The church, I believe, should be a place where unity can be achieved but is that going to happen?  When some of our church leaders either shun away from politics or choose to pretend to be blind to the challenges affecting the country? Will it happen when they can't speak openly about political issues and even discourage their followers from speaking openly about politics?

Then of course should the church pray so the economy gets better or so that our lives are happier or easier as we are about to witness on June 15, 2020?

If God does have authority over the ones who are elected, then doesn't his will need to be known as a part of the process. As Christians, if we disagree with something, shouldn't we vote to make our voices heard?

My opiniom is that Christians should play a role in the political process. Whether or not one is involved in the political process, they will be affected by political outcomes and will soon start crying ‘sour grapes’ when things go wrong like they are currently doing.

I strongly feel that the church should advocate for the oppressed. It should call out injustices that are perpetuated within our political systems. If you were to ask me, I would say it is the church's duty to keep watch, listen, and to respond where there is injustice.

The church should provide a foundation for people in  communities. When people feel helpless in the face of a turbulent political climate and in the presence of systemic injustice, the church should be the place where they reclaim hope.

Conclusion
Churches command a huge following and thus have an important role to play in politics. They need to give credit when credit is due and criticism when criticism is due, being silent will only harm the very people they purport to serve.

As long as they are silent, systemic injustices will be perpetuated because as they say, silent means contentment.

#Covid_19 pandemic in Zim - The future looks scary!

By Prince Gora.

On March 26, 2020 at 07:51am, I posted on my twitter page, "So I am in a kombi and people are debating about #Covid19. A number of people are arguing that #Zimbabwe doesn't have #COVID2019 . Hanzi Zororo didn't die of coronavirus. Honestly ndapererwa, i couldn't respond.  The ignorance in this country will kill us all sure. @tudzaa @GlenDhliwayo." [ https://twitter.com/goraprince15/status/1243052891184795649?s=08 ]

I got interesting replies, the "intellectuals" on twitter began by rightly criticising me. "Ko iwe urikuendepi? Ivavo vakaoma musoro ndovachakurwarisa urimo mukombi imomo". That was one twitter user. Another one hit me ever harder, "koiwewe ukuitei mucombie imomo😂😂😂 haaa iwewe nevanhu ivavo makafanana. infact iwewe uri danger because you know. but combie ukungoikwira chete" (what are you doing in that kombi? You and those guys are just the same. In fact, you are even more dangerous because you know but you are still in that kombi). I was going to work, I told them truthfully , and the boss needed me there. A number of people advised me to fake sickness, pretend that I had flue and having breathing difficulties.  I considered the option but in the end there was no need because President Mnangagwa was soon to declare a 21 days national  lockdown. The position shared by these twitter enthusiasts was clear, the lockdown was not only necessary  but long overdue.

...but I didn't only engage the intellectuals, throughout that day and afterwards I continued to engage the men and women  on the streets of Harare so later that evening I was compelled to post again, "After engaging many people in real life and on social media about #covid19zimbabwe  I've come to discover that the intellectuals need the government to do more to enforce a #Zimloc , the men on the street however feels threatened.  Hanzi tikagara kumba todyei, and kusiri kufa ndekupi." [ https://twitter.com/goraprince15/status/1243294514757939201?s=08 ]

A few days later,  the lockdown was imposed and I  posted again replying to a tweet from one Violet Gonda in which she said, "Vendors vow to resit govt’s 21days lockdown directive. Vendors say: ‘It’s better to die from the #coronavirus than poverty. Our reality is the 21days will be like spending a year without food. Authorities failed to provide measures for the underprivileged." The tweet had an accompanying video [ @NewZimbabweCom https://t.co/8yMrsSGlQ2 ]" My reply was a summary  of what I had feared all along "#Zimbabwe is at loggerheads.  More than half of our population survive from hand to mouth. If they don't go to work in the morning, they won't eat in the evening.  We sure need to do our best to be each other's keeper. Practice caution& above all pray to God. Only He, can save us"   [ https://twitter.com/goraprince15/status/1244284239564148741?s=08 ]


Fast forward to day 10 of the lockdown, Zimbabwe has since recorded 11 positive cases of the deadly coronavirus, 3 of our citizens have succumbed to it but the people are still in denial and a lot of theories about corona are being tossed around.

One widely accepted theory on the streets is that the government stands to benefit monetarily from WHO if it claims to have local cases. It originated from a joke that made the rounds on social media around the days when the first case of #Covid19 was confirmed in Zimbabwe. "3 hours after the World Health Organisation announces that all countries with confirmed cases of Covid 19 will get assistance of 500 million US$ from it, Zimbabwe announces its first case of #Covid19." A workmate tried to drive home the point that there was no corona between the rivers of Limpoo and Zambezi using this argument which forced me to ask  "uncle google" if WHO was indeed giving that money. The answer was no but the bigger chunk of our populace don't know that up to date so the theory is still out there on the streets and it is being believed by many people than I would like to admit or imagine. We need to set the record straight ASAP.

To quell this theory,  I have tried to point out the  fact that the lockdown is not only supported from across the political divide but has adverse economic effects than whatever money the government may stand to benefit. But alone I can only do so much which is partly one of the reasons that pushed me to pen this article. Together we need to do much more. I believe that the way coronavirus is perceived especially in the ghetto is a cause for concern. Maybe it is only the area I live in or the people I interact with but still it is a cause for concern. I believe that people need to be educated and information need to be easily accessible thus it is sad that calls for the lowering of data tariffs have largely fell on deaf ears. With the lack of information on the streets,  I think the voices need to be louder once again and network operators need to pay attention this time around.

Another theory that is making the rounds but is no longer widely accepted is that blacks are immune to the virus.  Following the outbreak in South Africa however, the theory has largely been altered  to suggest that the virus cannot survive in hot climates. They claim the virus is mostly prevalent in the Cape where temperatures are supposedly low (nevermind the fact that the claims are false, many people are believing them). The claims are usually backed up by the number of cases and deaths being recorded there. One guy I engaged recently told me that if corona was really in this country we would be hearing about deaths in the neighbourhoods everyday like what is happening  in Italy, Spain and the United States. Generally, these people didn't follow the spread of the virus in these countries from the outset, they just jumped at it when the deaths had reached those staggering and scary numbers so they have no clue that they are currently doing what the people in Italy once did.

Then there is an even bigger fraction of the population that doesn't care about whether coronavirus is there or not there. Their biggest concern is what they call the hungervirus. This joke has been making the rounds on social media lately  "Breaking News!!! A new virus has been found in Zimbabwe, discovered on Monday, 30th of March, 2020, it is called Hunger Virus (HUVID-20 ), it is causing untold pain in Zimbabwe. Symptoms: kupera simba , hasha , dzungu, kunzwa kuda kuba etc 🙆🙆🙆🙆." Most are laughing it off but the truth is that our hand to mouth populace is now beginning to feel the pinch. For many people, it's becoming a reality daily that they may indeed die of hunger if they don't return to work soon. They couldn't stock because they didn't afford to which  is one reason why the people are so afraid of a possible extension of the lockdown. It will be the final nail on the coffin. Somewhere in these streets on social media, I met a statement that touched me, it said  'I’m not supposed to go out, but my government is not worried about how I’m surviving.'

Another thing is the police. The way they have helped to implement this lockdown doesn't seem right. There has been several reports of the police beating people, confiscating goods and taking bribes etc. I think they should have and can handle things in a much better way.

My biggest fear however is about the economy. "We know how to bring the economy back to life. What we don't know is how to bring people back to life." That was Ghana's president,  Nana Akufo-Addo encouraging his country's citizens to stay at home. The statement got me thinking, my country's economy is already on it's knees, can the government bring it back to life after the end of the pandemic? The future sure looks scary!

Governments across the world are helping their citizens  and companies to ease the economic burden caused by this virus. Can ours afford to?  Pressure to ease the lockdown (It was never fully implemented to begin with) is already mounting from vulnerable groups and the government is beginning to wield as shown by the gesture to open up Mbare Musika and other fresh food markets this week. But is the pandemic already under control within our borders. Do we have an honest and accurate answer when we're testing 21 people in a day and confirming positive cases three days after a patient's death? My fear is that we will assume that the virus is under control and go back to work at the end of these 21 days and then the worst will happen. With the current state of our health care facilities,  I don't think all will end well.

When Covid19 finally ends (if it ever will ), what will become of us? Of our country? We will obviously need bailouts and help but who will help us? Everyone will be battling with their own economies and hopefully those who usually give us humanitarian aid will not remember those infamous words from a cabinet minister I will not name.

All we can do now is practice caution and pray to God, only he can save us.

#PrayforZimbabwe

P. Gora.

#WhatsAppWisdom Part 2 - Planning for the 21st century's 3rd decade.

The third decade of the 21st century is around the corner. Between 2020 and 2030 great things can take place in your life if you plan properly for 10 years is a long enough time to transform one's life.

There is a lot one can do in a decade, sadly, many of us do very little. If you look back and review your past decade (2010 - 2020) you might discover that you probably wasted your life. You surely could have done far much better than what you have settled for.

LET THE NEXT DECADE BE DIFFERENT...

You must resolve and decide that the next decade of your life will be different, better, and more successful. This resolution should lead you to do things differently and to do different things.

You might start with a resolve to strategize and plan for the next decade of your life IN ADVANCE!!! Come up with a clear vision of the kind of future you desire to see unfold in the next 10 years of your life.

Come up with a list of 100 things you desire to do in the next decade. It could be big things as completing a degree course to small things like getting a passport. You might want to visit at least five countries or raise goats in your village.

Lets start there: What 100 things would you like to do / have or  accomplish in the next 10 years of your life?

You don't have to think too hard, just a little careful analysis. Here are 10 of some of the things you can do in the next decade:

1) Start a degree course, finish it and do a masters degree on top of the first degree.

2) You can start a relationship, get married and have 2 or 3 children.

3) You can buy a piece of land and build a house.

4) You can write a book and sell at least 10,000 copies!

5) You can start a business and see it established and become profitable.

6) You can plan for an early retirement and willingly quit the job you don't enjoy any more.

7) You can start saving and investing with as little as USD500 and have an investment portfolio in millions by 2030.

8) You can start buying cattles 1 by 1 and start a butchery at the end of the 10 years.

9) You can start a farming project like,
-Mushroom Farming
-Fish farming
- Poultry project
- Vegetable garden
- Detergents
-Goat project.
And have it established.

10. You can simply choose to dedicate 21st century's 3rd decade to learning and personal development and emerge on the other side of the decade completely transformed.

#Copied
#Wisdom

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