In devising democracy the Greeks took "one giant step for mankind", a step we failing to follow 2 500 years on! By Wilbert Mukori.

“That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” These are the famous words of Neil Alden Armstrong, an American astronaut on July 21 1969 as he became the first man to set foot on the moon.

Neil Armstrong’s foot print on the Moon where, undisturbed, it will last for millions of year!

 

The Americans and other developed nations have gone on to great things; to send Space Craft to the very edge of our mother star the sun’s planetary system and beyond; to split the smallest particle, the atom, into its constituent subatomic particles and everything else in between.

 

If anyone was to ask Neil’s parents or primary school teacher if they had ever imagined he would grow up to be famous and accomplish such great feats of human ingenuity; they would, at most, say he showed great potential. At ten years of age he still had a lot of growing up to do and a great deal to learn.

 

“The only thing that Zimbabweans and non-Zimbabweans agree on is that the country has potential, but that potential will never be realized with that level of ineptitude in the highest office in the land,” said Ken Yamamoto, a Japanese research fellow on Africa.

 

It is true that having a corrupt, incompetent and inept Mugabe as President these last 36 years has dragged the nation with the sewer gutter. But even if Mugabe was to drop died this minute it is still unlikely that things will be any better showing that it is not just Mugabe who is holding back the nation; we, all 14 million of us Zimbabweans inside and outside the country, all are holding back the country.

 

We are like the young Neil Armstrong at ten with the potential to accomplish many things but unable to learn anything beyond the third grade will never accomplish anything, we are stuck in the sewer gutter.

 

For the last 36 years, we have allowed Robert Mugabe, a corrupt, incompetent and murderous tyrant to destroy the nation’s economy to the point where 90% of the people are out of work and millions are so poor they are starving to death. Whereas the Greeks devised the democratic system of government as the antidote to autocracy and tyrannical dictators 2500 year now, a small step for the Athenians but clearly a giant step for mankind; we are still stuck with tyrannical dictatorship. Even now, after 36 years of ruinous tyrannical dictatorship we still toying with replacing the dictator but keeping the dictatorship.

 

There is no excuse why Zimbabweans should not be demanding the full implementation of the 2008 GPA democratic reforms, everyone agreed are necessary for free, fair and credible elections and get this thorny issue of restoring the people’s power and democratic right to hold the leaders to account. This nation will never resolve the problem of bad governance until the people’s right to free and fair elections is fully restored.

 

We agree that everyone has the right to a meaningful say in the governance of the country and that this is the basis for good and stable government. Then why are we failing to deal with the issue decisively and have the matter settled for all time and not have it coming up again and again.!

 

Zimbabwe has some of the best land in the world for growing food and raising animals, that is inert potential but, as we know, we are starving in the Garden of Eden because people eat food not inert potential. Unless Zimbabweans make the concerted effort to understand why Zimbabwe has failed to live up to its real potential and do something to put it right, it is not rocket science, this nation will remain stuck in the gutter for many, many more generations.

 

Until we have mastered the art of good and stable government and follow the Greek’s example we will never master the technical know-how to follow Neil Armstrong and have a Zimbabwean footprint on the moon!