Our leaders, ourselves
I wonder sometimes at the choices of people in positions of power Our Dear Leader has made. It would be myopic to place the entire burden of responsibility for our economic and social quagmire on his shoulders. Yet, surely the man who answers to no one when making these appointments must bear a large portion of the blame.
Having had to assemble my own crack team for a project recently, I am beginning to understand the difficulties of placing the right person in the right position, and, trusting that person to do their job the way I wish it done. Sometimes I am disappointed, and sometimes it works out. Having a relationship with that person makes it difficult to criticise them, especially when there is always an excuse for work that is not done properly.
Today’s Newsday reports that while speaking at the funeral of Rtd. General Mujuru Our Dear Leader ‘conceded he was surrounded by wannabes and corrupt people, but admitted there was nothing he could do to stop the virus.’ The article goes on to say that he is becoming increasingly lonely following the deaths of his closest comrades.
While Our Dear Leader is only a man, and an old man at that, he cannot be everywhere to watch everyone at once, despite what the ZANU PF Women’s and Youth Leagues would have us believe. That is the purpose of organisation and bureaucracy, but even the soundest strategy can fail without adequate leadership at every level. In many respects it is a case of letting things get out of hand, and for that he is solely to blame. In the terms of his own paternal metaphor: a father is supposed to punish his children when they do wrong, not reward them with more trips abroad, more power, a continued stay in office, and protection from would-be opponents.
Our Dear Leader is in his twilight now, a time for much reflection. If gossip and rumour are to be believed, he is making plans for an exit strategy, but in whose hands will he place the burden of steering Zimbabwe and the party into the future? Who will replace him in executing his vision? Even those who are quickest to point to his failings, have themselves failed in this regard. The leaders of organisations to whom we would entrust with safeguarding us against avaricious and power-hungry party and government officials are themselves afflicted with the very same demons. The MDCs, with their factionalism, and embarrassing public infighting, can hardly claim the moral high ground. Civil society is not blameless either, with founder-directors refusing to vacate office to make way for a renewal of ideas.
Our leaders regardless of where their spheres of influence lie are afraid of change, and ironically it is those who have the loudest voices in calling for it that are most afraid. As many have said before me, ours is a crisis of leadership. But as a society, we should look to ourselves before we point to the failings of our leaders. Our leaders reflect who we are; if they are corrupt it is because we allow them to be so. If they are avaricious it is because we allow them to take from us without raising a single voice.