The people and Govt are one

Tendai Moyo Features Correspondent
Rural life can provide a wealth of lessons to Zimbabweans living in a promise-laden period after elections. All year long, rural life is full of promises that require collective effort and the inimitable patience of rural dwellers to bring them to fruition. As the farming season encroaches, villagers would assiduously start preparations to harness the unknown promises held by the ensuing rainy season. Members of each rural household would come together to prepare for the unravelling season. Each member is assigned a specific role that contributes to the collective effort that accentuates prospects of a better season.

The head of the family would provide agricultural inputs required to invest in the season. Together, the family members would clear and till the land. They will sow the seeds and remove the weeds. The neighbours would not be left out but complement the family efforts by availing their sturdy oxen for tilling the land or lend their modern drought resistant seeds for planting.

Agricultural extension officers would chip in with their textbook advice while the traditional leaders would lead in all the necessary rituals to insure a better season.

The villagers are patient and would work for months expecting better rewards. After placing their seeds in the soil, they will remain composed waiting for the plants to grow. Where necessary, they will make chemical or physical interventions to curtail the proliferation of pests or plant diseases.

The manifestation of ominous indications such as prolonged dry spells or floods would not falter their efforts. They will meet such challenges with interventions nearer to their capabilities.

At the end of a good season, the rural folk will fill their granaries with abundant yields that will see them through the year. Conversely, a poor farming season would jostle the villagers to seek jobs in urban areas in search of money for food. In other instances, the villagers will turn to government for food assistance.

Notwithstanding the nature of the yields, the rural folk will remain patient and would once again pool their energies to prepare for the next season.

Like the rural folks, all Zimbabweans should embrace the “season” of the new Government with patience and a sense of collectiveness. Both ordinary and corporate citizens should urgently take strategic positions to work for the development of the country. No citizen should stand akimbo or seek to recklessly lull others into lethargy by saying “tongai tione”. Neither should we have trigger-happy people who petrol bomb buildings belonging to their political rivals as happened in the recent Highfield arson case. Everyone, including our neighbouring countries and others in places yonder, should step up to the plate.

Commendably, some corporate citizens have realised the importance of collective efforts and have timeously placed their shoulders on the wheel.

It is encouraging to hear that members of the Bankers Association of Zimbabwe have set aside US$620 million to finance the coming agricultural season in an effort to revive the economy.

We also applaud efforts by new ministers who hosted all-stakeholders meetings to bring on board contributions from sectors under their purview. Similarly, the inter-ministerial response to the decimation of elephants in the Hwange National Park should be applauded.
We praise consistent calls by the African Union and Sadc for the removal of illegal sanctions imposed against Zimbabwe. The recent valiant appeal at the United Nations General Assembly by Namibian President Hifikepunye Pohamba on the matter is laudable.

Such camaraderie would solidify Zimbabwe’s natural bid for self-determination. Equally, the unequivocal and regular support from Asian countries to Zimbabwe should be cherished. Nevertheless, we denounce and frown at actions by some players in the tourism sector who were lambasted by Minister Walter Mzembi for nicodemously under-declaring their earnings.

Such selfish shenanigans do not only prejudice the country of the much needed revenue but work against Government’s promise to make tourism a major contributor to the country’s Gross Domestic Product.

Another conceited practice that brazenly flies in the face of the collective effort to revive the economy is corruption. It is a cancer that retards economic growth while fattening pockets of bigoted individuals.

The promise by Government to uproot this social ill requires that citizens pool their efforts to detect and eliminate it. Zimbabweans are gleefully waiting for the fulfilment of a number of promises made by Zanu-PF during the elections. People are looking forward to the resuscitation of industries, restoration of normal electricity and water supplies, adequate food supplies and creation of jobs among other promises.

Bringing these promises to fruition requires the collective support of ordinary citizens and the corporate world, regional and global partners.

More so, reviving the economy would not be an event but a process that would take time and demands reserves of patience from the expectant citizens.