I totally agree with your point, my brother-leader @Cde_Ostallos.
Before we go any further, people must understand that what you have said is not an endorsement of the EFF, as some will inevitably try to portray it. You are a political scientist. You study political organisations, compare them, and analyse what works and what does not. Your observation is simply that, organisationally, the EFF is superior to many political parties in our region.
What the EFF has built should be studied as a prototype by political parties across Southern Africa, and indeed the rest of the continent.
In 2022, I shared the document below with the main opposition leader in Zimbabwe and people around him. I secured all the things in the documentary. Nothing came of it. Why? Because too many opposition parties believe that politics is simply about criticising the government of the day instead of demonstrating an alternative way of governing.
I also shared the same document with the ruling party. They told me I should come after the elections because, if I were to deliver these things and the electorate in Zimbabwe knew that I was behind them, I would become highly popular. They were not even embarrassed to say that.
But that is the state of our politics, where political parties pursue parochial interests instead of the interests of the citizens they are supposed to serve. And the opposition thinks its job is simply to oppose, rather than to demonstrate.
The EFF has turned that script upside down.
Instead of waiting to be in government, they go into communities and build houses, funded in part through monthly contributions from their MPs, councillors and public representatives. They have sponsored young people to attend aviation schools, and there are now qualified pilots whose training was made possible through EFF initiatives.
They support community sports facilities and assist vulnerable community.
South Africa has been governed by the ANC for more than three decades, yet a party that commands only around 9% of the national vote has, in many communities where it has a presence, demonstrated a greater commitment to practical service delivery than many larger parties, including the ANC.
That is a lesson Zimbabwe’s opposition must learn.
Political parties should not wait until they win power before proving they can govern. They should demonstrate leadership while still in opposition, by solving real problems wherever they can.
Two years ago, I was heavily criticised when I proposed establishing a government in exile that would mobilise resources to address urgent needs in Zimbabwe. The idea was very simple, raise money to support hospitals and schools, provide books for children, and create scholarships for talented young Zimbabweans to study medicine, engineering and other critical professions.
I was attacked from both sides. The ruling party opposed the idea because it understood how popular and effective such an initiative could become. Some opposition leaders opposed it because they wrongly assumed I wanted to replace them and take away the donor funds they get from citizens, despite my repeatedly stating that I have no interest whatsoever in becoming a politician in Zimbabwe.
The EFF has demonstrated a different philosophy. Help the grandmother who has been waiting years for a house. Invest in the education of gifted young people. Build community infrastructure. Show people, through action rather than slogans, what your leadership would look like.
You do not have to be in government to make a meaningful difference, especially when opposing a government as dysfunctional as ZANUPF, whose defining characteristic has become the looting of public resources instead of serving its citizens.
That is why I appreciate your contribution, Ostallos. Whether one agrees with the EFF’s ideology or not is a separate debate. There is nothing wrong with studying what an organisation does well and asking what lessons can be applied elsewhere.
On the left is Vee Mampeezy a Botswana citizen and an award winning musician and artist.On the right is ZinhleGradwell a popular Pan African South African citizen .
Both have publicly come out in support of Zimbabweans affected by the Afrofhobia and xenophobic attacks in South Africa.
Zimbabwe 🇿🇼 loves you back.Instead of inviting Mafikizolo_Africa ,whom the Zimbabweans have rejected ,@vee Mampeezy should take their spot.
@VeeMampeezy