Public Debates, a political innovation- (I)

We've heard and seen them; high profile meetings of government officials sitting in for special deliberations about issues pertaining to national security, national financial well being and even national morality. The issues that are discussed and voted for in parliaments, congress or any other building that houses such important men and women of any sovereign nation. Concerns such as the debt ceiling, immigration, sanctions, war declaration etc are all kept away from the public (the real material). Only bits and pieces, biased are let out to the press and embargoed before they are consumed by avid masses.

Long time ago, when Africa was still not called that, and perhaps Europe was called that, long before America was even invaded by the Europeans, chiefs and kings led kingdoms that prevailed in the numerous wars fought over territories on the plains of what we now know as Africa. These chiefs led armies of well trained men who were dedicated to fight for their honor. Affairs of their states were discussed during times of crises as as well as during resting hours, mostly in the evenings after dinner. Most villages had diners where all men congregated and their wives brought them their food and they ate as they shared ideas and made plans. What these men agreed on were things they all saw as beneficial for the entire population and everyone mattered; because they were a tribe. Most texts will point out that democracy was pioneered by the Greeks but these are just suggestions of a few while the rest of us know and believe that democracy began or was prevalent in Africa by the time it was also being practiced in Athens and even before.

Today, democracy has been beaten badly out of shape. Many countries claim to subscribe to the ideals of democracy where the voice of every member of the society matters. Practically, it is not the case; they are dictators, plutocracies, autocracies you name them that are running on a lie that they are democracies. Wars have been fought due to disagreements between nations or factions in a nation eg, WW1 and 2, unrest in Syria, Congo, Central African Republic, Afghanistani. The Cuban crisis, had it gone on to be a war was going to change the face of the earth, however, it was diffused and books have been written from this events. In all wars, something terrible has always happened, innocent civilians and children have died. Children have been handed the gun and told to shoot and kill, however, the reasons remain under the carpet. With the loss of people involvement in the affairs concerning their national well being, more and more dogma has been spewed their way and there has been an increase in senseless following by people and terrible loss of life due to clashes. If a solution could be fathomed at all to stop this madness, it wouldn't come no better in a form to minimize the effects.

Today's political fronts, politicians and players in the industry have created a multi-billion dollar money spinning scam out of politics. Large corporations align themselves with governments and government officials in order to exploit people and other natural resources. We talk about multinationals such as Coca-Cola, mining entities such as Marikana, Zimplats, Mbada Diamonds. What happens is, in a truly democratic country, where resources are left to be used by by people for their benefit. The president of the United States of America, acting in accordance to the wishes of a company that has fed millions of people across the country and the world experimental and unhealthy genetically modified foods, signed a bill to protect it from Federal courts just in case it was dragged there and hence the signing of the Monsanto Protection Act.

What is actually happening is, in a truly democratic country, people's voices are heard. Perhaps we wouldn't be having all these wars, all this looting by government officials across the world. We certainly wouldn't be having a concentration of power on a few individuals who then go on to abuse it. A result of this has been anguish and suffering for innocent people who practising their democratic right  vote individuals into power. If we look at things properly, every and one of all presidents in the world have lied to people for election. They have promised high heavens and yet have turned out to deliver hades once installed. For how many more years shall ordinary people keep on to be lied to and abused all in the name of democracy? This lie, perpetuated for hundreds of years now has to be crushed by people. The Egyptians have lately been known to be intolerant of rascals as such. A year into Muhammad Morsi's reign, they dethroned him for his incompetency.

With elections merely a week away in Zimbabwe, people are excited and have been fed contesting parties manifestos. Some of what was said makes sense but the rest of it is mumbo jumbo, ancient promises from 1900 that have never been fulfilled before. What makes me wonder is, how will they be effected if they have never been in the past thirty something years. There has always been talk about development of indigenisation that so far has been heavily partisan although every one in the country who deserves it has not been served. In their manifestos, major parties have scantily outlined that they are going to create more job opportunities, something they have failed to prove while working for the Government of National Unity. One may come to their defenses and say, they sabotaging  each other, but that is no valid excuse because if that is the case, none of them deserve to be in the government if they put their feelings and importance before the people of Zimbabwe's. In writing, I still have to see an elaborate plan, budgets and cash flows showing how they intend to generate all their fancy promises, otherwise it is all but just talk. Unfortunately, tired and expectant, the people were quick to buy these promises and are on their way to yet another disappointment on July 31. How can rampant corruption and blatant disrespect of nationally valued resources suddenly disappear in a newly elected government. Given more time, by the ballot, they will wring the nation of its last diamond, gold and anything of value while people continue to languish in dire poverty.

We need to stop and think before empowering yet another bunch of no- gooders to happily stuff themselves at the expense of millions who are gullible. I of course have no regrets for my words for I have seen this happen and efforts to stop this have been met with snide commentary and nothing done to resort the issue. I love Zimbabwe and every other country. It's the heartless politicians and the government officials who have not a grain of care in their hearts who should answer to God for their atrocities, otherwise, we the people should run the affairs of the country, they are only overseers and nothing else!

Be wary of Political Users

The world is full of people and nations that use others for one sided gains. This is an old practice that ancients discovered and used it to achieve power and opulence. The organization of ancient settlements was based on this. Kings became and got the support of those who stood by them. People identified with each other by shared ancestry, language, heritage, shared interests and many other things. Today's formalized economies are just the same system evolved. The modern way of life is in every aspect similar to the period of peasants and landowners. The working class who are the modern day serfs all have been trained to attend educational institutions so as to learn modern wisdom and get good jobs in companies owned by rich people. These people discovered secrets that serfs have not, or rather, are reluctant to. The secret of making it big, is to go for it! So they all work for companies that make billions of dollars and they pay taxes to their governments that do not tax the same companies they work for that severely. The reason being that the same companies in much of the world control the governments. Most of the companies are run by people in the congress or have direct influence to members of parliaments and congress.

Titles we use at work play a large role in keeping us divided. Just like the slave system had house-negroes and the colonial system in Africa had baas boys, we today are kept at each others' necks by the titles such as 'supervisor, manager, team leader' etc. We are always stepping on each other trying to please the men at the top. Men, real men act like little girls in a bid to make bosses happy. On the other hand, soldiers are sent to shoot and kill fellow human beings just because their countries leaders harbor political differences. In most cases, wars are fought for monetary gains, not real differences but one nation tries to get in the way of the and stop it from obtaining oil, minerals or something of that sort. End of the day when those at the very top reach a consensus, they men sit on the same table and feed while wounded soldiers are usually left to suffer leading destitute lives as if their medals will replace their blown off limbs or lost sanity. We are living in such a greedy world where political leaders poison our minds with dogma and set us against each other like prize fighting dogs. We do not care to think about the greater picture but lash out at the next person who harbors a different political viewpoint. We burn infrastructure and kill children because of that. And when all is said and done, when these men and women are comfortably in power, they turn against the same people who helped them get to the top. They secrete into social conscience, issues of race, religion and tribal differences just to pit people more against each other. At work, union workers are intimidated and killed as with the Coca-Cola Union workers situation in Colombia, Guatemala and Marikana Mine workers in South Africa who government was stunned because they could not raise their voice over the corporate giants who happen to be their paymasters.

The real enemy as I have discovered over the years of being bombarded with lies to hate people or treat them unequally just because they speak or look different from me, is not the Muslim across the street, or the Ndebele down the line, neither is he the white man I meet in the street. The real enemy is the system designed to perpetuate such stereos. I will not on any given day, raise a hand to strike another because they subscribe to a different ideology than I do. Life is meant to be full of variety, that is why God created different kinds of animals and varieties of flora. We all love to buy different kinds of flowers don't we? Why then do have to have every person subscribe to one ideology, that is tyranny and has no room in this life, not in the next either. The purpose of our lives is to celebrate each other, live together and help one another, and not treat each other suspect because they are black or white!

If we carefully analyze violence, politically motivated in Zimbabwe, we see that the sufferer is not the minister vying for the spot for which he is murdering for. The casualty is ourselves because if in our village, neighborhood or church whatever institution it could be, we lose a member due to political violence, responsibility ricochets back to us and we have to partake in the wake and other things. Take it this way also, if we kill a baker in a village, who then bakes our bread. Already a vacuum has been created hard to fill and it may take years if it finally gets filled. Again, the person behind all this does not care to invite us into his lavish residence to privately thank us or include us in the business deals that he will sign with shady foreign companies to exploit our resources. We talk about indigenization in Zimbabwe and supporting everything Zimbabwean. But look at how political figures run to western countries their sworn enemies to educate their children and seek medical help? Their suits are tailored by people they claim cause their people's suffering. If at all sanctions are affecting people, they are not affecting them because they still live in absolute comfort and freedom. The same people who implant hatred in our hearts for western countries who actually do have sinister motives of their own. So instead of protecting us from them, they accuse them and then deal with them. We still are far off from reaching true independence as a continent, wholly.

Another important aspect to grasp and practice is Questioning authority. We need to be able to ask questions and demand answers. We need to feel like we have control over the minerals in our country as well as other resources' allocation. We need courts to represent people without bias and the police to safeguard our freedom, not to steal it. We need to stop thoughtless chanting of slogans and think about what we are committing our votes to. We need African leader who rise and question authority imposed on them by the western world. We have courts like the Hague trying mostly African deposed leaders for crimes against humanity. What about the rest of the world? We believe in the lie that nothing good comes out of our continent but the truth is, God is for us all. We wait to hear what western countries have to say about our economies and wait for their generosity through funds they proffer to us. That help does not come without strings attached. They always need something from the help they give from the money most of them made of Africa. Thus there has been this dependency that has been created and people believe that everything good comes out of the west. That is blatant lie and needs to be killed before future generations are swallowed by it.

The revolution that swept across Africa during the colonial days was a very good development. What killed the zeal of most of those who led it is the corrupting power of privilege. Once installed, in absolute control of everything, the men and women who were supposed to raise the flag of the continent up high and put it on the map soon forgot their missions. Once they tasted sweet power and money, they moved in for the kill. They wanted it all, and all for themselves. People see this daily and never care much to reprimand them. The real criminal in every nation is not the man and the woman who are daily convicted because of various crimes, of course they are but the real ones are men and women who gamble with national wealth and the rest of the people suffer austerity. The real criminals who are unpatriotic are men and women who drill the earth to extract diamonds meant for the benefit of the whole nation and sign deals with foreign firms who pay them to divert the money and put it in their private bank accounts. The men and women who ignore the signs of distress to go partying while their people die from lack of medical care among other shortages endured. As a matter of fact, instead of going to vote for the simple fact that one likes an aspiring candidate, we need to ask questions and we need assurance, signed and agreed that whoever shall take over, will indeed honor the wishes of people every time.

Zimbabwe Elections 2013.

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Could this be the end? Or it is the beginning of a new reign of the same old? Could we part of a wave of change that is sweeping across the world? Are we expectant of change? Do we as Africans harbor any hope for change, now that our counterparts in the North have twice effected change in their nation? As the world celebrates with America's United States their independence I have sat down contemplatively and have come up with questions unresolved that I will pose to the rest of the world.
To begin with, the president of the Republic of Zimbabwe has announced the dates for the 2013 elections for the public to democratically elect a new head of state. This will bring to an end, the life of a Government of National Unity that we all agreed to back in 2009. We in Zimbabwe I must say are the most resilient and peaceful people on the face of the earth. One can say we were subdued long before we could protest, but the truth of the matter is, we know the value of human life. Among us live a breed of people who could do anything for money and other gains, and those are the easy targets our politicians use to kill and destroy other people's livelihoods. Political pawns they are and the most corrupt and decadent among us manipulate their dim wits to grow opulent. 
On this day, in 1776, 13 American States declared themselves free from British rule and embarked on a journey that the country is still on today, towards the achievement of total democracy. The declaration of independence in America prompted the French to demolish their monarch. Old ideals were thrown out and founded were the new ideals of liberté, égalite and fratenité. A new dawn began that saw the independent states coming also together under one Federal Government. At the same time, Capitalism rose and saw the world prosper. Colonization of Africa followed suit, with ambitious European states venturing far across the seas to claim territories that belonged to native Africans, Indians and Asians. Later, they too were displaced and native peoples ruled in their respective countries, free at last! However, with all these good developments happening across the globe, there lately has been yet another sign of the times. Perhaps it is time to depart from the so-called democratic practices or rather, it is time to practice the 'real' democracy as has been avoided by many democracies across the world. Democracy is a very hard practice, for those who want the word to be defined in the true sense of the world. It is so because it means every individual in a nation is heard and is truly represented and leaders are held accountable at any point in time.

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We have seen the current ongoing events in Egypt who have twice forced their leaders to leave their posts. Early in June, the Brazilians took to the streets in Sao Paulo over bus fares. By mid June, about a million protesters turned up to protest against an even longer list of injustices they had braved over the years which include poor public services, corruption, overly paid for World Cup stadiums et cetera. There has been protests in Turkey over a building project backed by Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan. In Indonesia, they have refused to accept the increase in gasoline prices. What began as mere demonstrations in Sofia, against abnormally high electricity and hot water bills became even more serious demonstrations against the government's policies and the entire political system in the country. As a result, the government of Boyko Metodiev Borisev resigned. The rest of Europe, in Greece people are displeased by austerity measures adopted by their government as well as in Spain and other Euro zone countries. It seems like the time we are in is a phase of people-initiated changes in the most high places in countries and this should ring bells to current African leaders as well as those planning to lead. Personally, I feel we should not remain quiet when things in our beloved Zimbabwe are not going so well, especially if they are because government officials are not performing their duties. The issue to keep in mind is that we should be peaceful, in everything that we do. We must, just like the rest of the people who are realizing this, see that power, real power lies in people, not governments. 
As for the presidents old and young in Africa, presidential aspirants, let Dilma Rousseff, Tayyip Erdogan, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Mariano Rajoy and Morsi and the rest of them tell you how it is to have people who you would have thought you had gotten them in the bag tell you. As docile as we may look, as lethal as the armies may seem, it will take just a day for the walls to break and the water come crushing in on authority. Remember, it is hard to contain an angry mob that is not fighting among itself, but shouting for your removal from power. Perhaps it is the work of the Divine one fighting for the injustice His children are suffering at the hands of unruly politicians. 

The lines that run under the heading 'What is ZANU PF? in their constitution include the following portion,'driven by its Democratic African Values where the leadership is accountable to the membership which elected it...'. On the other hand, the MDC's elections manifesto promises people that the party, once elected into power will strive to create a 200 billion dollars economy by 2040 and a creation of over a million jobs within the next five years. On the other hand, ZANU PF whose manifesto is soon to be launched, says they are going to be promising voters more in the areas of indigenization, empowerment and development. I think both parties really need to come up with well laid plans of how they shall accomplish what they are saying to be for. Given the little time there is before the deciding days, it is imperative that every voter demands to know and let it be known that whoever shall be elected, they will be held accountable and failure to produce results, nothing personal, but the elected people shall be removed without having to think twice. I believe that it would be a strong line to run by if leaders tell people that if they fail them, they will leave room for others to try out, after all, the president's job is not designed to accommodate only one person per thirty years.