The kind of President that Zimbabweans want

Today I was having conversation with some African foreigners and the conversation suddenly turned to the economic and political situation in Zimbabwe. The foreigners were of the opinion that the economic and political demise Zimbabweans find themselves in is because they don't know what they want because if they did they would do something about the big zero in their country. Ever the patriotic citizen I of course took it upon myself to correct that wrong perception of Zimbabweans that some foreigners have. I told them that Zimbabweans do know what they want but their only problem is that they do not aggressively join hands and call out with one voice to get what they want. It was then that the idea of writing this article stating clearly the kind of President that Zimbabweans want came to mind so that it comes out clearly that even though we have this big zero in our Presidential leadership it is not what we want and we do know exactly what we want. Not that my aims are modest for I hope to affect not only what people know but how they think, at least in terms of the images people have in their minds as they look at Zimbabweans from a distance. This effort at an overall interpretation, tentative as it is, has been stimulated by the difficulties I find with the interpretations of foreigners. I hope to sharpen a confrontation of basic issues, provoke disagreement over the matters of interpretation and make manifest the underlying assumptions of different perceptions.

Zimbabweans want a President that will represent them to the outside world as the peace-loving and dignified people that they are, so it is imperative that the President be well-groomed with the right etiquette and knows the right diplomatic language and tactics to use when interacting with others on his level as well as with anyone he comes into contact with. Mugabe's rhetoric hate speeches towards the British and the Americans or anyone who disagrees with his principles, policies, political ideology or actions does not have the support of most Zimbabweans, in fact he embarrasses most Zimbabweans with such behavior. We don't expect words like idiot, go hang, etc, to be uttered publicly by a President, such undiplomatic words are not a true representation of our Zimbabwean culture which condemns hate speech. There is always a polite alternative way of expressing how one disagrees or has a different opinion from another person without resorting to foul language. Talking about diplomacy, remember how Tsvangirai's undiplomatic utterances undermining SADC and the AU and preferring to deal with the EU and the UN when it was trying to resolve the GNU formation problems resulted in him loosing respect and credibility among most African leaders. This goes to show the importance of diplomacy in a President..

Zimbabweans want a President who recognizes the importance of an excellent education system for all Zimbabwean children who in future are going to be responsible for developing the nation after all the adults of today are long gone. Mugabe and his ZANU-PF government destroyed the educational system of Zimbabwe and then send their children abroad to study as did Jerry Rawlings of Ghana when he and his ministers sent their children to Europe and America to study after destroying one of the best educational systems in the world. If Tsvangirai and Mutambara want the majority of Zimbabweans to vote for them in the next elections then they have got to use this opportunity as PM and deputy PM of the GNU to ensure that the standard of education in Zimbabwe is raised high to its former level or even to a higher level than before.

Zimbabweans want a President who makes the development of an excellent and affordable health system a priority because the lives of Zimbabweans depend on it. We must have a President who will see the importance of financing the health infrastructure needs of Zimbabwe and prioritize it. Mugabe and his ZANU-PF government destroyed the efficient health infrastructure that they inherited from Smith's government such that when he and his elite cronies fall ill they travel overseas for medical treatment. It's sad to say that such behavior is typical of most African leaders, who have no trust in the health infrastructures in their own countries , yet they are the ones who have the responsibility to build the health infrastructures in their own countries to high competence levels. Gnassingbe Eyadema after ruling Togo for more than 3 decades could not built the country's health infrastructure and died when he was being rushed to Europe for medical treatment. The same can be said of Omar Bongo who was President of Gabon for 42 years during which time he did absolutely nothing about the health infrastructure in his country which had one of the world's highest infant mortality rates. When his late wife Edith fell ill he had to fly her to France for medical treatment and he himself died in Spain this year where he had gone to receive medical treatment. Zimbabweans expect Tsvangirai, Mutambara and their MDC ministers who are in the Zimbabwean GNU government to rebuild the health infrastructure to very high competence levels such that they themselves will have confidence in receiving medical treatment in Zimbabwe.

Zimbabweans want a President who is not preoccupied with how to enrich himself and his children, grandchildren & relatives. We want a President who does not think only about the future of his children & great grand children, we need one who thinks about how the great grand children of the entire nation of Zimbabwe will fare in future. We don't want a President who is more concerned about how to get rich than how to lift the Zimbabwean citizens from poverty. We don't want a President who is more interested in votes than the responsibilities that go with the votes. There is an IMF report which shows that last year, 2008, Mugabe and his elite ZANU-PF cronies through the RBZ governor, Gideon Gono, got subsidized directed lending, subsidized provision of equipment and fertilizers and allocation of foreign exchange at subsidized exchange rates. Besides monetization, these activities were financed by surrender requirements on export proceeds, the retention of foreign exchange earnings of the gold and agricultural sectors in excess of mandatory surrender requirements, a freeze of most foreign currency deposits, external borrowing, and purchases of foreign exchange at the parallel market. After enriching themselves corruptly like this the ordinary Zimbabweans were left languishing in poverty, hunger and cholera and told to tighten their belts and embrace economic hardships with open arms. As Zimbabweans were dying of hunger Mugabe repatriated a lot of US dollars to banks in Hong Kong and bought a three storied mansion for his daughter Bona in Hong Kong. Such behavior shows how Mugabe and his cronies are only concerned about themselves and their families and relatives and don't give a damn about the welfare of all the other Zimbabweans. Zimbabweans expect Tsvangirai, Mutambara and their MDC ministers in the GNU to put the interests of Zimbabweans above their own interests and never to indulge in corrupt activities. In this 21st Century we need a President who will not collude and connive with Swiss Banks and banks in Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, Austria, France, Britain, Jersey Island, US and a host of offshore banks in the Caribbean and the Pacific to cheat their poor countries as Mobutu of Zaire; Lansana Conte of Guinea; Eyadema of Togo; and a number of dictators and tyrants such as Omar Bongo of Gabon; Obiang Nguema of Equatorial Guinea; Dos Santos of Angola; Denis Sassou- Nguesso of Congo; Paul Biya of Cameroon; Arap Moi of Kenya; Jerry Rawlings of Ghana; Ibrahim Babadjinda of Nigeria and a number of sitting and ex-presidents in Africa did to their countries thereby surrendering their people to the altar of poverty. These African Presidents paid lip service to fighting corruption and then turned to loot the treasuries of their countries and Zimbabweans don't want such a President in their country.

Zimbabwe needs a humanitarian President who respects human rights by adhering to the tenets of democracy and all its freedoms like Khama of Botswana. A President who relinquishes power freely like Nelson Mandela, Rawlings and John Kuffour, not Presidents who panel beat the constitution so that it has no limit to the number of terms that a President can serve and has no age limit so that they stay in power until they die like what Gnassingbé Eyadéma of Togo did.
Not the likes of Mwai Kibaki of Kenya and Mugabe of Zimbabwe whose recent election results where not a true representation of the citizens' votes. Africa has a lot of Presidents who are very undemocratic, corrupt, kleptocratic and have dictatorial tendencies not only in Zimbabwe but also in Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Cameroon, Egypt, Burkina Faso, Congo, Angola, Libya, Sudan and Chad, these Presidents should not be emulated. Tsvangirai and Mutambara must make sure that a new democratic constitution is drafted with the participation of all Zimbabweans and its bill passed in Zimbabwe so that all the tenets of democracy and its freedoms can be fully practised in Zimbabwe with the support of the constitution. This new constitution should not be based on the Kariba draft which gives the President too much power which a dictator President can then abuse.

Zimbabweans want a President who is committed to building excellent infrastructures in Zimbabwe, in schools, hospitals, roads, airports, rail lines, telecommunication, manufacturing and processing industries, silos and irrigation facilities using the latest technologies in the market so that the country can compete in the global village. South Africa is one country in Africa whose infrastructure is counted among the best in the world and it continues to upgrade its infrastructure every year. The economic competition for markets in the global village requires a President who will strategise and implement concrete and sound economic and social policies that are long lasting, result oriented and are attractive to both local and foreign investors. Policies that can help lift millions of Zimbabwean citizens from poverty, diseases and illiteracy. Policies that enable Zimbabwean citizens to experience their Zimbabwean dream in their own country so as to curb the brain drain. What the Zimbabwean GNU should appreciate is that no matter how good their economic and social policies might be if they are not supported by the rule of law and respect of human freedoms then those policies will count for nothing. As long as commercial farmers continue to be violently and forcibly evicted from farms and opposition members are abducted and jailed unjustly the country will continue to be regarded as unfriendly and a risk to investors. As long as the Zimbabwean constitution is not amended so that it becomes fully democratic then all the good policies the GNU government comes up with will count for nothing. As long as corruption remains a cancer which is not being treated by chemotherapy it will continue to eat away every positive achievement in the country and cancel it to zero.

Zimbabweans want a President who has the vision to convert the huge amounts of natural resources in the continent into processed goods that can be sold globally and enable the country to be self-reliant and move away from the dependency trap. Zimbabwe is home to a lot of natural resources and human resources that needs to be tapped so that it produces end products that can make the country look to the West and East not for donor funding but for win-win trade deals that benefit everyone in the country. Zimbabwe is home to a lot of rivers, lakes and dams and yet water supply cuts are an everyday experience, why when efficient water supply networks can be built all over the country? The value of these rivers and lakes to agriculture, transportation, manufacturing, commerce, power generation and household use cannot be overemphasised. Zimbabwe experiences sunny and windy weather through out the year except for just a few days and yet it has to buy electricity from other countries, why when it can convert solar energy to electricity or use the wind to turn wind turbines that generate electricity? Zimbabwe has got a lot of mines with huge amounts of precious minerals and yet the money the country gets from selling those minerals only benefits a few elite families like the Mujurus who have made Chiyadzwa diamond mine their private territory. Zimbabwe has got very rich soil that can feed all sorts of crops and yet those who took over commercial farms from white farmers are failing to produce enough crops to feed the whole nation, and yet most rural families are relying on Western donors for food. Zimbabweans need a President who will make sure that all the country's resources are fully utilised to benefit everyone in the country and eliminate poverty in the country. We can no longer afford to remain poor in the abundance of natural resources.

Zimbabwe's Presidential leadership as well as its economic, political and social situation has been mocked and laughed at for so long and it is about time we change that. In the next elections, whenever that is let us rise up in great numbers and use the ballot to demand excellent Presidential leadership and accountability in our country Zimbabwe. Let us vote for the candidate who can put back our country on the path to economic prosperity and back on the world map as a country full of integrity and competence in all fields. Prior to the elections, during the campaigning period let us ask the election candidates all the questions that will reveal the kind of leaders that they are so that we make informed decisions about the right candidate to choose. It will be great if ZBC allocates them a slot where the candidates can debate important issues and to take questions from viewers so that we ask them all the questions that some journalists are afraid to ask. Let us use the ballot to vote for a Zimbabwean President based on merit rather than tribal or party affiliation. We must make sure that in the next elections Zimbabwe becomes free from Presidential leadership incompetence and corrupt, weak, ineffective and despotic rule.