The Zimbabwe God wants In 2006, the church umbrella bodies penned a discussion document titled the Zimbabwe we want: “Towards a national vision for Zimbabwe” . Therein, they sought to define the kind of Zimbabwe we should all strive for. In a nutshell, they defined such a Zimbabwe thus: Our vision is that of a sovereign and democratic nation characterized by good governance as reflected in all its structures and operations at all levels and in all our institutions; a nation united in its diversity, free, tolerant, peaceful, and prosperous; a nation that respects the rights of all its citizens regardless of creed, gender, age, race and ethnicity as defined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and with a leadership that puts the interests of the people of Zimbabwe above all personal gains; and above all a nation that is God- fearing. They spoke in some other place of the same document as follows: Where there is no vision the people perish (Prov.11:14). Zimbabwe needs a new national vision to restore our self-confidence, dignity, and hope. A people without a vision is (sic) like a ship without a rudder. To this end we the Church leaders of Zimbabwe commit ourselves and the Churches that we lead to do all within our power and faith, to inspire, encourage and facilitate national dialogue, debate and national reconstruction across the broad spectrum of national opinion, constituencies and stakeholders. The Zimbabwe we want document was “an invitation to all Zimbabweans and all friends of Zimbabwe to dialogue with us [the Church] so that we can together define a national vision of the Zimbabwe we want and agree on strategies on how to get there . The document was equally a non-exhaustive, non-prescriptive for the ills the nation was facing then, or may still be facing, but merely the Church’s “humble contribution to the search for a solution to the challenges faced by our nation”. I opine that the Zimbabwe God wants (no more the Zimbabwe we want) is a Godly Zimbabwe, a Zimbabwe where God is king and key, the centre and centrality of our existence as a nation and people. It is a Zimbabwe built on a Godly foundation, standing in God and flourishing therein. The defining thread of the Zimbabwe God wants should be Godliness, nothing more and nothing less. It is in this light that I take issue with concepts like democracy to the extent they express themselves in part in a manner inconsistent with Godliness. The Zimbabwe God wants should consist of,so I would argue and propose: 1. Godliness: that is to say, the elevation of the supremacy and centrality of God accompanied by our humbling submission to Him in all that we do as a nation and people as opposed to the hypocrisy that the concepts of human rights and democracy represent to the extent they accommodate sin and wickedness 2. Justice; that is to say equality of all before the law, impartiality in the interpretation and application of the law, fairness in the administration of justice and the law, fair dealing and even handedness in the exercise and use of power on the part of those in authority 3. Right doing: that is to say the promotion and pursuit in national affairs by all citizens, leaders, and those in authority of that which is good, fair, equitable, justified, valid, legitimate, well founded, defensible, supportable, honesty, trustworthy, as opposed to that which is unfair, corrupt, unjust, crooked, and dishonest 4. Love: that is to say a society that cares for its people, is driven by a keenness to serve one another, has concern for the good of others, and is full of readiness to forgive, is ready to extend compassion to everyone, in particular the vulnerable citizenry, and does not rejoice in or promote wrongdoing 5. Truth/Stability: that is to say that which is upright, flawless, blameless, above reproach, full of integrity, consistent, stable, predictable, orderly, in faithfulness, and in all genuineness 6. Independence and non interference in our internal affairs: that is to say a society that will not submit itself to unwelcome foreign interference and meddling in its internal affairs except to the extent it has committed itself to interface with others by way of international treaties, obligations, and cooperation 7. Sovereignty and self-determination: that is to say the people of Zimbabwe, as agreed by them according to the framework defined agreed upon by them, have the exclusive right, free of foreign interference and meddling, to determine their destiny, own, exploit and benefit from their God-given natural resources 8. Good Governance: that is to say, a society based on the fundamental truth that the only reason and purpose for existence of the institution of the State and all its apparatus, and the conferment of authority to those in public office is to serve the people of Zimbabwe in good faith 9. Service: that is to say, a people who live to serve and submit to one another in our different spheres of capabilities and responsibilities, holding that each citizen is part of the community called Zimbabwe and has a role and responsibility to discharge for the good of the country 10. Freedom: that is to say a people who respect the reality that we are all created equal by God our Creator, and enjoy equal status in every aspect of life, except to the extent and subject to measures that may be put in place to ensure that such God-given freedom is exercised responsibly and not for the promotion of unGodly objectives 11. Peace and Peaceableness: that is to say, we the people of Zimbabwe in our diversity should choose to peacefully coexist and resolve to settle any dispute amongst ourselves through peaceful and lawful 12. Unity: that is to say, the need for us as a people to dwell around those issues that defines and unites us as a people, as Zimbabweans, over and above our differences 13. An enabling environment that allows every citizen to pursue a means of existence: that is to say, deployment of the country’s natural resources for the benefit of Zimbabweans and not foreigners or a few individuals as well as the creation of an environment that enables every citizen to realize their God-given potential Underpinning and anchoring the Zimbabwe God wants should be five key fundamental pillars, namely; (a) Agriculture: that is to say, the ability of a nation to feed itself, and beyond that, to be able to feed others by exporting any surplus (b) Education: that is to say, the impartation of the relevant knowledge and skills that will enable a people to be self-sufficient and self-reliant (c) Investment promotion: that is to say, provision of a conducive environment for the local investor and indigenous Zimbabwean to prosper, and beyond him and if need be, foreign investors for the transfer of technology into the country (d) The country’s wealth: that is to say, using the country’s rich mineral and related wealth to underwrite for any contingency that may arise as well as cover up for any legitimate deficiencies that we may have (e) Godliness: that is to say, a value system that ensures social cohesion and societal stability because of its inherent goodness and eternality
Posted on: Sat, 06 Jul 2013 13:07:04 +0000
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