By Noah Mangwarara.
Wild celebrations erupted in the streets of Harare following the resignation of Robert Mugabe as the state president of Zimbabwe. Indeed there is every reason for a carnival mood considering that the greater part of the population has not experienced real freedom from birth.
The level of economic downturn was too alarming with unemployment standing at 90%; unprecedented in the modern era moreover coming from a leader with so many degrees. This follows the alarming levels of hyper-inflation experienced ten years ago. Zimbabweans haven’t forgotten the operation murambatsvina of 2005, the killing of opposition supporters in the 2000, 2002 and 2008 elections. The gukurahundi massacre of the first decade of independence go down history as some of the excesses of Mugabe’s rule. In as much as many still regard him as one of the greatest African statesman for his hard stance on issues like fighting homo-sexuality and also giving land to the black majority, the manner in which it was done was highly questionable though. Robert Mugabe will be remembered as a modern day leader who managed to destroy a vibrant economic powerhouse that he inherited in 1980 to a basket case. In the words of Julius Nyerere, Robert inherited the jewel of Africa. Unfortunately, he failed to keep and maintain the jewel status. Many Zimbabweans are living in foreign lands courtesy of the tyrannical rule of Robert Mugabe. The celebrations are indeed justified.
In all the negative developments that rocked the country whilst Mugabe was at the helm, one man has been close to the goings on dating back to the liberation struggle. Such is Emerson Mnangagwa, the man earmarked for the high office, probably more experienced than any other, whether in positive or negative light no one knows. The question that begs an immediate answer is whether Zimbabwe isn’t in a betwixt situation where they have destroyed tyranny on one end and created a worse off leadership on the other? Change for the sake of change is not the best of strategies to take an establishment forward and Zimbabwe is not an exception. The truth is that time will surely tell. In the excitement of the hour, there are chances of failing to adequately tie the loose ends which might come back to haunt the nation in the future. Robert Mugabe was regarded as the knight in shining armor when he inherited this country in 1980 and those who were close to the goings on never thought that at one time he will refuse to let go of power considering his level of intelligence and ability to articulate issues. The reason for ignoring the obvious was pretty simple, everyone was overjoyed to the point of failing to put in place sound corporate governance structures meant at limiting the powers of the man at the helm. The mood of 1980 as people celebrated the fall of Ian Smith is back with us as the next leader is due to assume office in the next few days.
One wouldn’t want to dwell much on the past but explore the various options that can ensure and promote a sound political and fully functional economic powerhouse. In all the hullaballoo, there is every need to pay attention to detail.
Indeed the garwe guy can lead and surely his time has come in line with what happened in 1980, but if Zimbabweans fail to tie every loose end on the new leader right from the onset, we might end up in a similar situation a few years down the line. No one needs to be reminded of the means by which he was propelled to the high office- bloodless and peaceful coup of-course. Who is going to guarantee that the generals who orchestrated the change of government cannot likewise use the same force to protect the one coming aboard even if he usurps power and goes over bounds to the total frustration of the masses? Promises will always be promises; good intentions are always there when one assumes office but power is sweet and it corrupts those supposedly good leaders. If what we have seen with Robert Mugabe is anything to go by, there is need to quickly make serious ruling party adjustments to their constitution to avoid a repeat of what we have seen in the past 37 years. What we saw before us is a serious lesson in leadership. The new leader should know when to say goodbye especially considering the age factor. The best time is that time when everyone is pleading for you to stay. Old men should only rule for a short time, resign then stand by the sidelines to offer advice to the coming generation.
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