DEAR President Emmerson Mnangagwa, Nelson Chamisa.
I write to you today 13 days before the 44th independence celebrations for our country, expressing grave concern on the political, economic and social situations in our country affecting the youths.
It has come to my attention that the priorities of our political parties seem to have shifted away from serving the interest of our citizens advancing the agendas of the respective parties and political elites.
Let me with a heavy heart refer you to the political illegitimacy that is plaguing our country and hindering its development. It has become evident that the outcome of the August 23 to 24, 2023 elections, the division among our political parties and political leaders are not only harming the fabric of democracy, but also impeding the progress and prosperity of our nation.
As a young person, a dedicated civic leader and steadfast advocate for the welfare of our country, I feel compelled to remind you both of the dream that inspired our liberation struggle, the dream of a united and prosperous nation, where needs and aspirations of citizens are placed above all else, where political parties and government serve the people and not otherwise.
During our darkest hours, we stood together, united by a common vision for freedom, justice and equality for all, it was a dream that transcended political ideologies and partisan interests, a dream that fuelled collective effort to overcome adversity and we won our country back for generations to come. It was also a dream that was responded to by your mentors despite their own personal mistakes, the late former President Robert Mugabe and Morgan Tsvangirai and we owe it to them and all other icons who sacrificed for this country to fulfil this dream to its fullest extent.
However, it pains me to see the ideals and principles that guided us during those tumultuous times being overshadowed by political expediency and self-interest.
Instead of focusing on the common good and serving the needs of citizens, our political leaders have become entrenched in partisanship and divisions putting individual interests above the interest of the people they volunteered to represent.
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President Mnangagwa you have said that the voice of the people is the voice of God, not the voice of the political elite. You have also through your Vision 2030 pledged not to leave any place or anyone behind hence I implore you to act on those words since you are known in the circles as a man of few words and more action.
Chamisa, you have answered to the call to turn Zimbabwe into a united, prosperous and just nation. You prophesied through your vision of a Great Zimbabwe a nation with one people sharing the same vision. I implore you to remain steadfast and resolute to that prophecy, after all you are the manifestation of the youth dream and vision.
So I call upon both of you to rise above party politics and demonstrate true leadership by working together to address the political illegitimacy that is holding our great country back. Set aside your differences and unite the people under a common vision for a future that transcends political affiliation, after all socialism and social democracy in the African context can develop our country if they are used in a complementary manner not as rival ideologies.
As I write to you, I am trembling for I know this will make me a target across the political divide. I will be a target of those that specialise in inflicting pain or transporting people into the spiritual world. I will be a target of the gatekeepers for I am a youth speaking from the grassroots because I do not qualify among the elite.
However, it is time to remember the sacrifices made by those who came before us from the colonial to post-colonial era and honour their legacy by reverting to the principle of putting citizens first.
I have written to only the two of you as the political representatives of our country, however fully awake to the fact that there are other political leaders at national level across the board and I leave the task of inspiring them to this noble cause in your capable hands.
I will also be writing to other leaders across sectors in our country as we rise to the challenge and work together to fulfil the goals of our revolution.
My message in short is that the liberation struggle gave us a country and it is now our duty to build it.
- Milton Kudakwashe Gwamuri writes here in his personal capacity.
