Zimbabwe witnessed the historic inauguration of a new president, after 37 years, last week. This was move, joyously accepted by many of my countrymen through a bulk of celebrations. ZImbabweans we elated!
The new president, Cde Emmerson Mnangagwa was sworn in at the National Sports Stadium in front of foreign delegates, thousands of Zimbabweans and millions watching worldwide.
What this means is that the country flipped open a new page and is either heading for destruction or rebuilding.
The support given to President Mnangagwa reveals to the world how many Zimbabweans were against the country becoming, allegedly, a family business and they showed their frustrations with the help of the army, whose takeover of the national broadcasting service gave the necessary push.
There are positives and negatives to this new presidency but regardless of the change in power, many Zimbabweans near and far accepted the change.
One of the positives is that the country will be led by a slightly younger, more competent individual who has support from millions of Zimbabweans who also felt that Cde Robert Mugabe had supposedly overstayed in his presidency.
Another good outcome to this new presidency is that the president has promised to rebuild the country’s economy with the assistance of foreign investors and this initiative will be able to rebuild the crippled economy that crumbled under former president Cde Mugabe.
To every positive is a negative and this new government will see massive involvement of the army after they helped in bringing the new president into power and this will especially be troublesome as the government will be relying on the army to deal with any disrespect especially from the opposition parties.
Another setback is the lack of an honest cabinet that will assist the new president in running the affairs of the country and how the chosen officials will lead without dealing in any corruption and being different from some of the ousted officials who were part of the G40.
The course of action is for the government to engage in a dialogue with the opposition parties as a way of establishing a government that is capable of rebuilding the country from the ground up and stabilizing the economy whilst paving a way for the upcoming elections.
Elections should also be made a priority to avoid any unnecessary tension that may arise if the new government decides to reject their validity.
Youth involvement is also key in creating a new Zimbabwe and the government should take the first step in involving young people in decision making regarding their future.
The country is heading for new horizons and many do not know what it has in store for them but are putting their faith in the new president, hoping he leads honestly and for the people whilst avoiding tyrannical rule that has become a constant among African presidents.
