10 Things that will transform Zimbabwe

By Trevor Ncube

Zimbabwe’s fortunes are a burden to many who love this beautiful country.

Our country cries out for a collective purposeful focus to lift it out of this man-made quagmire. We must look past the preoccupation with sectional party-political interests. Our future lies beyond what politicians can do for us. We must be laser focused on what we each can do to first change ourselves and then change our spheres of influence.

While there is so much dysfunction in our country most of our guests on InConversationWithTrevor remind us that it is our honest endeavours that change our society. It is the things we work passionately on for the benefit of others that cause positive ripples and profit us. We each have power to change this country by searching for our why and pursuing it passionately.

Harriet Tubman emphasized the importance of understanding our past in shaping the future, stating, “We are not informed by where we are; we are informed by where we have been.” Where Zimbabwe has been says that while politics destroyed this country, with our participation by commission or omission, it is leadership and enterprise at an individual level that will rebuild these ruins. The emergence of our better angels will eventually shape the political landscape and not vice versa.

There is no magic wand, no quick fix let alone an individual that will transform Zimbabwe. Nation building is heavy lifting, multifaceted, time consuming and needs all hands-on deck.

To aid our individual endeavours are 10 overarching factors with tremendous potential to help transform Zimbabwe namely:

1. Zimbabwe needs a new us more than it needs new leaders. This is where enduring change will emanate from. We are so far gone as a society that we are in peril without self-reformation in the citizenry. We need a movement to spearhead moral self-reformation to take our society to firmer ground.
2. We need an active, principled and engaged citizenry that knows its rights and responsibilities in a democracy. A citizenry that prioritises issues, competence and merit as opposed to personalities for those seeking election to any public office.
3. We need a progressive constitution that serves all Zimbabweans including the weak and the powerful, and fidelity to that constitution. The two amendments to the 2013 Constitution and the many statutory instruments have taken away power from other branches of government and concentrated it in the executive. This damage must be undone post-haste to stop the executive ruling by decree. Society benefits when all branches of government blunt excesses of power through checks and balances.
4. Zimbabwe has a leadership and followership conundrum that has rendered our electoral system impotent. Our electoral culture must change. Changing the electoral system might not change the culture but there is a case to be made for considering proportional representation (PR) as a system that may yield better cross-sectional representation. PR promises better representation particularly if buttressed by transparent and inclusive political funding laws and facilitatory regulation of political activity.
5. Zimbabwe needs meritocracy and professionalism in the security services, including the military and police, and the entire civil service. These national institutions have been personalised and used to advance partisan interests to the detriment of the society.
6. Good governance, constitutionalism and the rule of law are desperately needed to nature investment, protect private property and promote economic development and prosperity for the majority. An independent judiciary is vital in this regard. The direct link between rule of law and development is well-studied and has long been established.
7. Zimbabwe needs a state that has capacity to maintain law and order, deliver public services and a strong civil society and assertive business sector that tames the excesses of the state. Currently we have an executive running roughshod over a timid private sector and weak and disorganised civil society and disengaged society.
8. Zimbabwe needs a central bank that is independent from the executive. Given where we have been, an autonomous Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) would go a long way in winning the trust of the public, local and foreign investors. It would eliminate the damaging suspicion that the executive has free rein with national resources. This move would support a stable currency.
9. A strong economy and a stable currency would then support investment into decrepit infrastructure such as transport, communication, education, water and power. There must be state leadership in building and creating an enabling environment for renewable energy and internet backbone infrastructure.
10. Last but certainly not the least are political freedoms: freedoms of association, expression, press and assembly. The current repression robs the nation of vitality that is necessary to spark innovation and a vibrant market place of ideas.

Our problems are far bigger than Zanu-PF and the opposition or the real and perceived differences between President Mnangangwa and Nelson Chamisa. A solution to our disfunction will emerge when there is scale in the number of people who bet for the country rather than self or sectional interests. Noble causes take time to become mainstream but when they do they create a groundswell which hatches its own leaders.

Trevor Ncube is Chairman of Alpha Media Holdings and host of In Conversation With Trevor. This is an excerpt from the weekly Newsletter . Please subscribe for thought provoking fresh insights.

In Conversation With Trevor

In Conversation with Phibion Gwatidzo

Phibion Gwatidzo, a pioneering Chartered Accountant and Chairman of Baker Tilly Central Africa shares his painful but inspirational journey from rural Zimbabwe to international boardrooms and a life of significance. A devout Christian and family man, Phibion credits his grandmother and God for his success in life. Watch his episode
here..

Audience Responses

From Phibion Gwatidzo episode, our community had this to say:

@michaelferewa2841:

Trevor I have to say, these interviews are absolutely inspiring. What draws me to them is your ability to interview these prominent people and unpack their life stories from where it all started in their lives. They are not super human, they started from somewhere.Keep up the good work.

@fanchochirimba2601 :

The story of Phibeon and his determination is amazing, how easily a dead beat dad can ruin a child’s future and many cases we have of drug abuse, street kids due to absence of Fathers. His story of focus, determination and faith is amazing

@leroynyabeze6824:

Investment in the proper human assets remains

Coming Next: In Conversation with Caroline Jacquet de Haveskercke

Don’t miss the next episode with the Project Manager at Bio Innovation Zimbabwe Caroline Jacquet de Haveskercke In Conversation
with Trevor.

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