BRIAN KAGORO'S COMMENTS!

Well , Fellow Citizens, Africans and Zimbabweans!

The business of reconstructing an economy already in tatters ; public institutions in severe dilapidation and public confidence in crisis will -of necessity- be excruciatingly painful. It has to be inclusive of friends and foes alike; of ideological allies and opponnents ;of revolutionaries and quislings alike. The challenge of leadership at this great hour is that ability to accept the pain and discomfort of an inclussive politics. There are many people we all feel justified to assign to the dustbins of political history; there are others whose illegitimacy we deem almost legendary. Yet as we seek to salvage what remains of the pride of our great nation, we must -of necessity -possess the grace and courage to forgive the unforgiveable ; to restrain justifiable appetites for revenge and retribution; to share with those who treated us like dogs and animals of prey. The change we hope to see and the new Zimbabwe we endeavour to build will require a different kind of courage...a rare courage ...a courage to embrace diversity and to do so inspite of betrayal. It is a courage to embrace and celebrate our diversity. An acceptance that we are not a political choir and we will not always sing from the same song-sheet. This courage also requires a great measure of integrity.....rather , the ability to critically engage with friends and foes alike. There are certain principles that we have undermined as we trudged along this course towards political change. In this great enterprise of trying to change governance in our country , we --the change agents ---have remained largely unchanged! We need to see change in ourselves......to become and be the change we wish to see in the world! To change the way we talk to and about each other. In this instance, the way we talk about our history and our future must reflect an alternative to Zanu PF's exclusionary tendencies. Zimbabwe belongs to all of us and we are all Zimbabweans. We are children both of the past .....but of the present and future as well. Perhaps in the future we could afford the luxury of being divided and separate and resentful. The present challenges and the daunting tasks that await us in the future as we attempt to reconstruct our economy and livelihoods require us to be united. Unity though must be founded on justice...both of the present and future . I take it we can not do too much about our past. But we can arrest the rot we see today and fashion a better future for Zimbabwe and Zimbabwe of the future.

Regards

Brian (bkcjnr@hotmail.com)