Joel Mapaura
Zimbabwe continues to experience problems in political, social and economic spheres despite the formation of the inclusive Government in February 2009. The inclusive Government is made up of three political parties: Zanu-PF, MDC-T and MDC-N.
During the formative stages of the inclusive administration, many people carried high hopes with the expectation that they could see their lives transforming for the better.
But to date their plight has worsened with very strong indications that the problems are still far from over.
It is time we looked objectively at the reasons why our problems are not coming to an end.
A reality check is necessary at this point since time is ticking away and to avoid the embarrassment of passing the same problems to future generations.
The solution lies with us and us alone!
One of our biggest problems in Zimbabwe is that we do not want to look at issues when voting candidates into public offices.
Instead, we concentrate on attacking personalities.
In many cases we choose to ignore certain basic fundamentals which resultantly cost us and usually when we pay for our mistakes, we do pay dearly.
There is need for us to interrogate ourselves why we continue to reside with the same problems every year or even become worse off immediately after every election.
Many people in Zimbabwe participate in significant national events such as elections for the wrong reasons.
We have developed an annoying tendency of voting to please or spite politicians of political parties at the expense of our well-being.
It is all fair and fine that people exercise their democratic right to choose political leaders of their choice, but that right should not be used to the detriment of our own well-being and those of generations to come.
History will judge us harshly for being careless.
Let us guide each other constructively.
Our motivation to vote should go beyond participating in an election for the sake of voting in or out someone without considering a suitable replacement and charting a well defined way forward thereafter.
Our voting trend should not be for the sake of replacing one political party and replacing it with another when if looked at closely behaves the same or is even worse than the one displaced.
It is time to look at what exactly aspiring public officials have to offer.
The issue is not about selecting the highest noisemaker in the political arena, but it is about following the idea that one has to transform the country into a better society for us all. In 1980, people voted resoundingly to remove Ian Smith.
PF Zapu and Zanu-PF sat down and settled to appoint a leader in the name of Canaan Banana who later passed on the Presidency to Cde Mugabe in 1987 after signing of the Unity Accord between Zanu-PF and PF Zapu.
Everyone will agree that during the first 15 years after attaining Independence, life was bearable on the economic front.
But look at where the country is today.
Significant national events such as Independence should be celebrated and forever be cherished by all Zimbabweans and there should not be any debate about that.
Furthermore we should be objective enough to acknowledge the role played by all those who participated for us to gain Independence, but we should be wary of the replacements that we put to preside over the affairs of our nation, for such replacements have a direct bearing in our lives in that if not carefully worked out, they will live to haunt us and generations to come.
We should also acknowledge the role played after Independence by other political parties namely Zanu Ndonga, Zapu, Forum, ZUD, ZUM and all MDC formations of challenging one party rule and fighting for democracy in Zimbabwe.
However, we are not at all obliged to vote for unsuitable candidates for the sake of appeasing them nor their political parties.