Dear friends,
This post comes
after our much awaited harmonized elections that saw the electorate voting for
their ward councillors, members of parliament and president. The hotly
contested election came after 4 years of a government of national unity in
which the former opposition had joined forces with the long serving party in
Zimbabwe. Though at times dysfunctional, this unity government managed to bring
a lot of stability into the economy, health, education and other sectors. The
general populace began to put some faith and trust into the systems of
government and this led to peace prevailing in the country.
The elections
have now come and gone, results favour one party whilst losing parties are
crying foul of the results that obviously did not go the way they thought. I
was terribly surprised at the results of this election, judging by the mood,
hype and excitement that the electorate had, I was bracing for a radical change
in governance and with keen interest awaited the future that lay ahead for the
country. The doom and gloom that has characterized the country in the past few
days post the elections is evidence of a people whose hopes have been dashed.
Those who have
followed the Zimbabwean story, know that the past 13 or so years have been very
tough for the ordinary Zimbabwean, particularly when we look at the macro
economic environment prevailing at that time. Bread and butter issues have been
on the mindsets of Zimbabweans on a daily basis and hope lay in the election of
a fresh government, untainted by corruption scandals, patronage systems and
abuse of institutions of government. Therein lay the hope of the masses, that a
new government would restore their dignity, restore the country to be a
breadbasket and that the former glory of the country would be revealed once
again.
Well, that did
not happen as envisaged and a dark cloud hovered over the country as election
results were being announced. Was this the will of the people? Where is God in
all this? How are we going to survive the next five years? These are questions
I heard many a Zimbabwean postulate. I, too have had so many questions, many of
which remain unanswered. Zimbabweans are a docile lot, why don’t they take to
the streets to protest, why don’t they unseat the elected government? These are
some suggestions that I have heard from various ones as they ponder over the
Zim electoral crisis as it were.
I humbly submit
here and now, that Zimbabweans are not a docile lot, Zimbabweans know too well
that taking to the streets will lead to the governing party unleashing various
arms of state security onto the people, killing, maiming and torturing them in
the process. Zimbabweans know too well that the end is in sight, that whatever
repression they face has an end date, that the answer to what is being called a
crisis lies entirely in the hands of our Creator and all will be done to
glorify Him. In God we trust!
Until next time,
Patrick
How
wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to
improve the world.
-Anne Frank
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