Don’t restrict patriotism to membership of parties

my choice. In similar fashion, I respect the right of every Zimbabwean to hold political views and convictions that are contrary to those that I hold.
I don’t seek to impose my own peculiar political and religious beliefs upon anyone against their will.
For this very reason, I have managed to cultivate and indeed, nurture, very strong personal friendships with people of all races and ethnic creed, across the political and religious divide.
My very strong conviction is that Zimbabwe’s political problems are largely if not exclusively, a result of lack of tolerance amongst the various political players.
We should look at the bigger picture all the time.
My prayer is that Zimbabweans should always perceive themselves as Zimbabweans first and foremost and not as political entities.
During the past decade or so, we have allowed our politics to be toxic and to poison all other good things that we can afford to do in order to turn around our economy and make our lives better and happier.
We have degenerated into a nation of haters and spoilers. Instead of appreciating different political and religious views, we have sought to divide our people into two groups of mainly so-called patriots and so-called sell-outs and puppets.
This is a tragedy of monumental proportions. Unfortunately, we have developed the primitive culture of using both physical and psychological violence as tools of mass political mobilisation.
Our people have had their lives permeated by a culture of violence and intolerance. We have failed to properly honour and respect the values of our gallant heroes and heroines such as Joshua Nkomo, Herbert Chitepo, Ruth Chinamano, Julia Zvobgo, Alfred Nikita Mangena and Solomon Mujuru.
These people were revolutionary icons who always looked at the bigger picture and not at narrow, parochial and partisan political interests. They were visionaries who dreamt of a Great Zimbabwe that would transcend petty racial and ethnic divisions.
The best that we can do to honour these visionaries, is to ensure that the ghost of violence, hatred and intolerance is exorcised from our politics permanently. We can never develop as a nation if we allow our politics to be contaminated by hatred and intolerance.
It is my fervent conviction, as well, that no right-thinking and patriotic Zimbabwean would sell his/her birthright for a few pieces of silver to so-called imperialists and our erstwhile colonisers.
My political experience over the years has somehow proved that the average Zimbabwean is extremely patriotic. And this includes Zimbabweans who live in the Diaspora.
I have held fervent discussions with Zimbabweans who live in different parts of the globe each time that I travel and I have never ceased to be amazed by their level of patriotism. You get the impression that the majority of our Diasporans are so homesick they will catch the first plane home if political and socio-economic conditions improve drastically.
In my discussions with these Diasporans, I have also challenged them to avoid adopting an armchair approach and to start playing a more active and meaningful role in the political and socio-economic transformation of our motherland.
I have often given them the example of Israel and Turkey where the citizens of these two countries who stay in the Diaspora have managed to harness resources for the benefit of their home countries.
It is really a shame that with all our highly qualified and highly trained human resources who are found all over the globe, we still have difficulties in coming up with concise and effective policies and programs that will positively impact on our economic development.
Zimbabwe has produced some of the sharpest brains in the fields of science and technology, medicine, law and engineering.
Indeed, some of Africa’s richest people are Zimbabweans. Think of the Strive Masiyiwas, Mutumwa Maweres and the Philip Chiyangwas of this world!
Instead of celebrating the success and financial genius of our fellow Zimbabweans, we have gone out of the way to persecute and denigrate them. In fact, we have made our own local billionaires feel very unsafe and very unwanted in their own country of birth. This is a complete shame.
My dream is to see a Zimbabwe that has a booming economy controlled by local people and benefiting the generality of the people. I despise poverty.
Each time I read about the stories of Zimbabweans being treated like trash in neighbouring countries such as South Africa and Botswana my blood runs cold.
We have allowed the majority of our people to live like paupers in their own country and in some neighbouring countries. We have huffed and puffed about the evil machinations of imperialists and former colonisers who want to permanently enslave us.
But what have we done to effectively counter the machinations of global imperialism and neo-liberalism? Why do we allow ourselves to hate and despise one another instead of sustaining a culture of unity in diversity? Why should we always be trapped in the blame game mantra?
Let us liberate our minds from this parochial mindset that always seeks to blame outsiders even for own short-comings. Surely, what has neo-liberalism and neo-imperialism to do with the rampant corruption that has pervaded both our public and private sectors?
What has Britain and America to do with the chronic looting of public resources and general mismanagement that has become the hallmark of most if not all our public enterprises and parastatals?
Why did we allow a situation where symbols of national pride such as Air Zimbabwe and ZUPCO virtually crumbled before our own eyes? We surely must be ashamed. We should look ourselves in the mirror and decide where, exactly, the problem is coming from.
Going forward, we should adopt a paradigm shift whereby individual human rights and private property rights should be enforced and respected. We ought to consciously develop an investor-friendly environment so that we can easily attract both domestic and foreign direct investment. Our national tools for fighting corruption should be strengthened.
The Anti-Corruption Commission should be a lethal tool to fight, combat and ultimately eliminate corruption in both the public and private sectors. Our national police force should strive to maintain professionalism. All criminals, no matter who they are, should face the full wrath of the law. Plunderers and thieves should never be allowed to flounder their ill-gotten wealth.
We should develop and sustain a culture of good, honest, hard work. Indeed, we should strive to make Zimbabwe the new Hong Kong or Singapore of Africa within the next decade. This is my vision. And it is within striking range.
Why should the majority of Zimbabweans live in so much poverty when our beloved motherland is hugely endowed with so much natural and human resources? I challenge my fellow Zimbabweans to wake up and smell the coffee.

l Obert Gutu is the MDC-T Harare province spokesperson, Senator for Chisipite as well as the Deputy Minister of Justice and Legal Affairs. Recently, he was appointed the Goodwill Ambassador for Justice by the Africa Heritage Society; a Pan-Africanist organisation.