As Saturday’s election draws closer I’ve been reflecting on our individual and collective disempowerment as Zimbabwean citizens. Take the issue of political posters for example. All over the city private businesses like fuel stations,cafes and office blocks have had (predominantly) Zanu PF posters pasted on their walls. Ordinary home owners have also experienced this. Instead of ripping these posters down and asserting their right to keep their private property free of politricking (if they so wish) Zimbabweans cower and refuse to stand up to Mugabe’s regime. I can’t imagine that many South Africans would tolerate the image of shower-head Zuma on their private property without their consent.

And then there are the taxi and bus drivers who bow to the military and the police demands for free travel on public transport.

And long queues of long suffering Zimbabweans wait patiently in line for cash while allowing men in uniform to bully their way to the front so that they get first dibs at the little cash thats available.

What will it take to end this? What will it take for Zimbabweans to demand equality and justice?

If, and that’s a big IF, there’s a change of political leadership in Zimbabwe, we need more than cosmetic political change. Tsvangirai’s campaign message has been “Morgan is More“. But we need more than Morgan; we need each and everyone of us to confront our lack of courage in keeping our politicians and civic leaders accountable. We need to stop relinquishing our power and outsourcing our social and political responsibilities.

Zimbabwe’s rehabilitation requires far more than a X on election day. It requires a change of behaviour, and a change of heart. And the maturity to demand More from ourselves as active and aware citizens.

This entry was posted on March 28th, 2008 at 11:12 am by Bev Clark and is filed under Elections 2008, Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.