Elected Donkeys: A Zimbabwean reality.
I don’t care who is on the ballot box. Even if they had taken a donkey and made it wear party X’s jacket, l would have voted for it.
(Sentiments shared by an associate of mine after the recent By-elections)
Every five years Zimbabweans take the plunge. Yeah, they decide to be hopeful!
We decide who is going to be our ward councilor, our representative in Parliament and ultimately our president. I can’t quite describe the atmosphere that is present at that time, there’s a little bit of hope, some optimism and a general air of a people being alive! But, for the past four decades we haven’t been that lucky. Wait, don't be scared this is not one of those political articles that might get either one or both of us in trouble, so γοu can keep reading. And l promise, it won’t be boring too, l'll tell you about donkeys!
If you live in Bulawayo you’ve probably heard this before. Over the past elections such opinions have only become stronger. We have become a society thať’s so frustrated, that we don't care who we are voting for, all we care about is that we are not voting for a particular party. However, l would not have done justice to this article, if l make this a Bulawayo problem, it certainly isn't. Throughout the country, this opinion and practice is very common, in urban areas citizens largely vote for the biggest opposition party, in rural areas citizens vote for the ruling party. But has this really changed anything?
Zimbabwe is currently suffering its worst-ever economic crisis, with unemployment at a record 60%, inflation at an all time high of 112% and interest rates of 70%.
Does this statement describe the current situation in Zimbabwe? It does. But it shouldn’t because it was extracted from an article written by the BBC, in 2002. So, in essence nothing has really changed in Zimbabwe for the past twenty years, things have only become worse.
African folks say it is only a mad man that will keep on doing the same thing while expecting a different result. Voting for political jackets, has not helped us for the past four decades and as a result we are even more hopeless.
So, what can we do? What we can strive for as a citizenry is to vote for peoples capabilities, people with track records. Generally, we should strive to vote for people and not for political parties because it is people that we live with in our communities. It is people who can see our daily struggles, it is people that can feel our pain and not political parties!
We should go the extra mile and get to know the people behind the jackets and find out their values because it is important. Imagine an independent working class single mother voting for a person who still thinks women belong in the kitchen!
If we don’t start being serious about knowing the people we want to vote for, poverty and corruption will keep being serious about us instead. Because, if we say we are okay with voting for ‘donkeys', why then should we complain when we get donkey service?
This is insightful, the trick about rural areas is that the vote is rigged there...they are even instructed on who to vote according to the experience in Uganda
ReplyDeleteIt is a shame that our culture throughout our African continent is marred with rigging.
DeleteWhoever said it wasn't mad, politics is a dirty game. We also must be ready to get dirty to be players in the game, prayers are not enough.
ReplyDeleteThis article is pregnant with insight and our tik tok generation must gather here to take some few notesm
We have seen it happening in this country and I think the best solution to all these problems is to provide education to rural people, because that's where the huge population is. And the most disappointing thing is that during election time, these political parties give a 10 kg packet of rice so that people vote for them, then after getting what they wanted, you won't see them again. So let's try to provide access to current information to these people
ReplyDeleteGreat thoughts. But who will? Who will educate the rural communities or give them the right information so they make informed decisions when voting?
DeleteI wish there was a better donkey you know
ReplyDeleteThank you for this comment! This is exactly why l wrote this article. Better candidates are often in our midst in the form of our community heroes and heroines. But we often overlook them but these are the people who for years have worked tirelessly in our communities not for their private gain but to better their communities. And sometimes, we are the better donkeys!
DeleteVery true indeed. We must elect leaders based on ideas or visions that can translated into tangible elements. It's a shame that we vote the party to power and expect a positive change. Nevertheless, this is a great article and I really love it big time. Keep it up @U...
ReplyDeleteThis is also experienced when people expect us to Vote for other women because they are females. I think it's high time we as Zimbabweans start voting for people who are already active instead of voting for promises or voting according to gender.
ReplyDeleteThe problem with Zim politics is that supporters of political parties are whipped into line hence there is very littke room to assess the quality of MPs or councellors they are electing. It’s about blind loyalty to a party or, in most cases, fear.
DeleteIt is never wise to follow any idea or movement blindly. Doing so is the reason why our country is here, in overwhelming debt and utterly poor.
ReplyDeleteVery true about and should be avoided. However, the Zim voter has a gun barrel to his head hence he has to vote ‘donkey’ in. If he doesnt the donkey will kick …kick very hard.
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