By Mike Bambo
According to the Herald of September 28, 2013 Zimbabwe needs about US $60m for the maize they got from Zambia. This just shows that Zimbabwe does not have a leader. If the maize was from US or Brazil, then that was going to be different.
We do not need to be reminded that Zimbabwe embarked on a suicidal fast track land reform program that resulted in the disruption of all farming activities. Most of the white farmers were chased away from their farms. The less fortunate ones lost their lives.
And to make matters worse some of the people who committed these horrendous acts are free. No one, absolutely no one denies the fact that land reform was needed. But some of us challenge the manner in which it was carried out.
Had the government crafted a legal framework aimed at addressing the land reform, and operate within the confines of that legislation, no one would have complained. So what did the farmers who were driven off their land do? You and I know what happened to them.
They were asked to come to our neighbors (the same neighbors whom we claimed supported the land reform program) and gave them land. Countries such as DRC, Zambia, Malawi, South Africa and Namibia welcomed them and gave them land.
Now, we should be literally kicking ourselves in shame for it is from these countries that we are now buying maize from. Surely, a country such as Zimbabwe importing maize from Zambia, a country that relied heavily on us in terms of expertise in different fields, should be a shame on us.
Silly excuses given are not even enough to convince a kindergarten kid. To blame everything on sanctions just shows how our leaders have lost their minds.
To say we do not have enough food for the nation because the country experienced drought is just an excuse for saying the people who took land do not have the expertise to farm. It’s never too late to admit, let alone make amends in this regard.
A proper planning would see the country benefit as well as its able farming personnel.
Zimbabwe, surely if for Zimbabwe, and that I agree, There is no reason why we must refuse to be “colonized” by the British as they say, yet we agree the Chinese people to “colonize” us. Let’s tread on this path carefully as we will find ourselves digging our own grave.
We need to set our own priorities, and adhere to them.
When, as a leader you take an 80 member delegation to new York and then you are restricted to a 25 mile radius of your rendezvous, just shows how insensitive you are as a person and leader.
Recycling the same people in cabinet that have failed for over the past 33 years just shows how out of touch you are with the realities of this world as a leader. When you try to stamp out corruption yet you keep on employing the same people who have been corrupt, then your leadership is past this age.
Zimbabwe needs brilliant leaders, people who have the country at heart. Not these chancers who went to war and now claim to have liberated us, yet we are far worse than we were under colonial rule.
We are now scattered around the world not because by choice by due to bad economy propagated by the same “liberators.” If we do not stand up and liberate ourselves from this tyranny, then we have ourselves to blame.
We should not rely too much on Tsvangirai mantra – there has to be some form of confrontational approach. We all have given our best in trying to remove Mugabe and his cronies from power, and have failed. At times force yields better results.
Who would have guessed that the all-powerful Gaddafi would die like a goat? These leaders when they see that you are afraid, they threaten you left right and center. There is nothing shameful as buying maize on credit for that matter from a country like Zambia.
Am not taking away anything from Zambia, but the best of “our” farmers who left the country are the same that are turning farming in Zambia a dream come true.
God bless Zimbabwe, and grant her real leaders.
Mike Bambo is a student in the US and can be contacted at mikebambo1@gmail.com