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Madhuku and mediocrity of the majority
Tonderai Munakiri
May 30, 2006

http://www.newzimbabwe.com/pages/madhuku7.14233.html

THE amendment of the NCA constitution by Lovemore Madhuku to accommodate his addiction and insatiable appetite for power marks a sad turning point in our democratic struggle for a better Zimbabwe.

I am not a member of the NCA, neither was I part of the first group that formed the NCA. But the NCA has played a vital role in our democratic struggle for a new constitution, a better and new Zimbabwe. The NCA carries our hopes for a new dispensation because of its consistency and viability as a civic body. In addition, it is a source of hope because it was founded on democratic norms, ethos and culture. But like a catalyst for change, the NCA must practice what it preaches!

It is against this background that the NCA must continue to push our democratic struggle for a new constitution without eggs in its face. As things stand, Dr. Madhuku is vainly trying to make us believe that out of 11 million Zimbabweans, no one else except himself is qualified to lead the struggle for a new constitution. He is saying in other words, that out of the 3 000 NCA members nobody is fit to lead the NCA struggle for a modern constitution that is compatible with the democratic imperatives of the 21st century.

This is a sad day for Zimbabwe and civic organizations that check and balance the excesses of government. Civic organizations must check and balance themselves before they can make the government accountable. Zanu PF must surely be having a field day because the NCA has failed a major tenet of the democratic test. The gains of our democracy have been taken backwards by this sad turn of events. Madhuku is just using the old and tired argument of the mediocrity of the majority by claiming that "membership" wants him to remain in this position for another five years to accomplish the task of a new constitution for Zimbabwe. This is a veneer argument that will not pass a litmus test. Leaders come and go, they are not meant to die in power.

Our politics in Zimbabwe has been turned into physical fist fights because we use "rented crowds" to achieve our objectives. We have used undisciplined, desperate and unemployed youths to instil fear in anyone who dares to disagree with our greediness for power. We have become very cheap as a country and as individuals because we can do anything to achieve our power mongering goals. Our leaders have taken advantage of the poverty that reins in our midst to use mediocrity to stay in power. Most African leaders make this archaic claim that membership or constituency wants them to remain in power to justify continued misruling of their countries or organizations.

In Zimbabwe and indeed in Africa, we have created a cult of personality around some leaders and this has become so engrained that we don't think that a country or organization can function without some individuals.

We have made other people believe that they are not capable by denying them a chance to lead. For instance, Mugabe is still in power today because everyone in Zanu PF believes he is indispensable and he has come to believe that the succession debate is divisive and so nobody should talk about it. Just recently, Olusegun Obasanjo attempted to change the constitution without much luck, the same goes for Fredrick Chiluba in Zambia and Muluzi in Malawi. These countries will never collapse because the incumbents left office, to the contrary these countries will thrive because they have allowed younger and alternative blood to serve.

We must recognize the gifts and talents of the young and women in our societies. Most of the times we exclude these minority populations from the political process just because we believe they are not capable or that they have no gifts and talents. Women and young people should be given a chance; they should participate in the electoral, political and in the developmental process. Genuine leaders (statesman) should always be futuristic, if Madhuku felt there was nobody better than him, why would he not groom a successor, why would he not show the rest of the world that he cared about the generations after him by training somebody to take over from him? One wonders if Madhuku has ever thought that he is a mortal being.

As some renowned speakers have said on this column, Zimbabwe needs a metamorphosis of its value system. The Zanu PF culture has corrupted all of us; we have all become greedy and corrupt. The value system of our country needs to be overhauled and we need to be exorcised of the Zanu PF way of life because we have become so selfish and self-centered that we don't care about the national interest when we get into leadership positions. Our values have changed to suite our financial needs; everything we do is motivated by greed, power and plunder.

We have started to do business the Zanu PF way because it is the only way we know of conducting business. Consequently, the culture of using rented crowds, the culture of violence, repression, authoritarianism and greed have become pervasive in our society. Gone are the days when principles and a good value system was a pinnacle for our societies. Gone are the days when "ubuntu" was bedrock of everything we did in our country.

We are sadly witnessing the erosion and decay of principles and values at the altar of expediency ladies and gentleman.

*Tonderai Munakiri is a Zimbabwean and writes from South Africa. You can contact him at: tonde@myway.com

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