via Bulawayo24 NEWS | Reconciliation before Unity by Bekezela Maduma Fuzwayo 22 December 2013
Its Unity Day in Zimbabwe today but has the country really achieved NATIONAL UNITY?
Why is there still the Matebele and Mashona stigma? Why is there still tribal based politics? Why is there still dominance of one tribe over another and marginalisation of a region over another?
Perhaps the mistake we made was to celebrate a coalition of two political parties as national unity. The perception that PF ZAPU was Ndebele and ZANU Shona was the initial mistake. The joining of PF ZAPU and ZANU did not mean a unification of the two ethnic groupings.
Fact is and remains that at the consolidation of PF ZAPU and ZANU not everyone in the country belonged to the two political parties. It is also fact that some who did then, today no longer subscribe to the two parties and some here today have never been members of these two parties and so feel out of the accord.
Can we in all honesty speak of unity while there is still a hurting population filled with hate and anger? Can we talk of national unity when people still have lots of unanswered questions and giving their children lessons of hate and rivalry? Can we talk of national unity when victims of past atrocities come face to face with perpetrators who have not shown any remorse and offered an apology?
Can there ever be unity without truth (not the temporary truce) and reconciliation? Reconciliation is not a result of unity but unity is a result of reconciliation. Though long over due (due in 1980) its still never yet too late for Zimbabweans black and white, Matebele or Mashona to sit down and tell each other the real truth of our past and solve whatever divides us and build real and everlasting reconciliation and unity.
God bless our country.
COMMENTS
Point number one unity which was signed between the two parties is exactly like what was done by the white people when using the bible, acting as good people sent by God to Africa , they gained that access and colonised Africa . Mugabe was clever to do so to the leader of ZAPU Nkomo who mainly represented the Ndebeles , we made peace out of it and it never work for the Ndebeles ZANU failed to respect they couldn’t make a difference out of this and instead they took advantage of the Ndebeles and that is a pain ,ribalism still goes on until ZANU PF views things differently and serves all provinces equal , we will never heal from the wounds of Guguraundu unless and until we talk about it , we will never stop the stigma of tribalism unless and until ZANU PF mutually respct i have known Byo as Byo , i have know the roads of Byo from birth , i have known the road stretching from Byo to Beitbridge from birth , where is improvement on these structures ???? I have heard of Masvingo netara a capert road as they say , ZBC moved out of Byo to Harare Mashonaland province , a number of firms closed down from Matebeland province (Byo)and reallocated in Harare , There is no spacial development , huge amounts of rands generated at Beitbridge boarder gate have never been used to develop the area , roads are not up to the required standards .
It is clear that one province is benefiting and that is Mashonalnd province , then why should i as a Ndebele be happy about the situation which is mainly created by ZANU , why should i do away with tribalism and creative friendship with my brothers from Mashonaland province wheeas the ZANUgovernment have failed to do that instead created more division among the people of Zimbabwe .
The stigma of tribalism stays on until we do away with ZANU PF , they can try to change their acts but i as a Ndebele i will never have faith on ZANU PF ,i will never trust a dead snake unless and until i can see it burning into arches .
While it is easy to surmise that the poor development in Matabeleland is tribal, we must be careful not to ascribe malice to that which can be fully explained by incompetence. Relocation of industry is a Zimbabwean phenomenon hence the old adage “Harare yakakura ngetsvete”. Feruka installations that were just outside Mutare have been moved to Harare. There generally is poor development across the country, the “Masvingo netara” adage is just a phrase whose realities are not on the ground. The government is even failing to complete the Harare Bulawayo highway. I have travelled the whole country and every major road and I can say with confidence there is not much difference between the Bulawayo-Victoria falls road (which is wholly in Matabeleland) and the Harare-Mutoko or Harare-Chirundu roads (which are wholly in Mashonaland). The Bulawayo-Beit Bridge and the Harare Beit Bridge roads are the same to me. Chinhoyi and Gwanda look similar to me. Tribalism has been a phenomenon for sure but largely incompetence is to blame.