The Sunday Mail
Taurai Changwa Business Forum
As a new year dawns, it will perhaps be the most defining year insofar as setting the local economy on the growth path is concerned. However, with the recent change in political guard in the ruling Zanu-PF, hope springs eternal for Zimbabweans.
The scheduled elections, tentatively set for mid-year (between July and August), will likely give the new Zimbabwean Government the legitimacy that is needed to carry out far-reaching reforms. After undergoing a two-decade economic trauma, Zimbabweans are naturally sceptical and cynical that local economic circumstances will change anytime soon.
But for a complete turnaround in fortunes, everyone really needs to put his or her shoulder to the wheel. Whining and whingeing will not take us anywhere. All the country’s productive energies need to be channelled towards rebuilding and growing the economy.
A change in attitude and work ethic is needed if Zimbabwe is to change the script. And this includes attitudes in the opposition. The folly of wishing ill on the Government is that when it fails, we also fail. It is simply counter-productive.
The contestation for political power, which is likely to intensify in 2018 as we approach the harmonised elections, does not entail decampaigning the national cause. A national vision and national aspirations are unitary ideals, which cut across political parties and emblems.
Both the ruling party and the opposition parties should work for the greater good of the country, whatever their differences. So, as another year begins, we have a new opportunity to redefine our politics from a politics of attrition to a politics of constructive engagement.
It is an anomaly to subcontract the work that we ordinarily are expected to do for ourselves to either politicians or other individuals.
Everyone of us has a role in building the country and economy we wish for ourselves. Change begins with us; whatever decisions we decide to make, have implications on the wider society. When we decide to be corrupt, it also rubs onto society. When we decide to be unethical, it also spreads into our immediate environment.
And when we decide to be slothful and cynical, it also has a contagion effect on the same society we live in. There are countless examples of individuals who, through their sheer work, changed the course of history. We also have that capacity within us.
We do not have to look up to others to change our circumstances, but we have to look up to ourselves. We are the people that we have been waiting for. This is precisely the reason why the exhortation made by the 35th president of the United States of America, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, at his inaugural address on January 20, 1961 was so powerful. Through this often-quoted speech, Kennedy managed to articulate the role of citizens in national building.
“And if a beachhead of cooperation may push back the jungle of suspicion, let both sides join in creating a new endeavour, not a new balance of power, but a new world of law, where the strong are just and the weak secure and the peace preserved,” he said, adding: All this will not be finished in the first one hundred days. Nor will it be finished in the first one thousand days, nor in the life of this Administration, nor even perhaps in our lifetime on this planet. But let us begin.
“In your hands, my fellow citizens, more than mine, will rest the final success or failure of our course.Since this country was founded, each generation of Americans has been summoned to give testimony to its national loyalty. The graves of young Americans who answered the call to service surround the globe.
“And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.
“Finally, whether you are citizens of America or citizens of the world, ask of us here the same high standards of strength and sacrifice which we ask of you. With a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking His blessing and His help, but knowing that here on earth God’s work must truly be our own.”
This loaded excerpt of Kennedy’s speech shows some of the ingredients that make it one of the most powerful and influential speeches ever made. Put simply, it calls on individuals to actively contribute to the development of their own country.
History also beckons us to do the same. Active individuals and communities can help Government achieve its goals. So 2018 is surely not a time for political fights and complaining endlessly: it is a timefor hard work. You do not have to be super rich or influential person to make a difference. All that is need is to have an indomitable willpower to change one’s circumstances. Wishing you a happy and rewarding new year.
Taurai Changwa is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Zimbabwe, Certified Tax Accountant and an Estate Administrator. He has vast experience on tax, accounting, audit and corporate governance issues. He is a director of Umar &Tach Advisory. He writes in his personal capacity and can be contacted at [email protected] or or WhatsApp on 0772374784
