Zimbabwe is not a choir where everyone must sing to one tune – legislator says

Zimbabwe is not a choir where everyone must sing to one tune, Gweru legislator Brian Dube told Parliament on Tuesday. People must, however, all agree that Zimbabwe is the only home that they have.

He said this during the debate on the motion calling for the barring of those advocating for sanctions to be barred from holding public office.

“The main challenge that we have in Zimbabwe is that a majority of Zimbabweans especially politicians love their political parties more than the country Zimbabwe,” he said.

“The people that I have seen in my political journey love their political leaders and their presidents at political party levels more than they love their country so that even if that person is wrong and messing up, they will not be in a position to say yes or no.

“So the problem that we have cannot actually be regulated through the Patriotic Bill because patriotism is not a concept that you can regulate through legal processes.  It is an attitude that one has towards their country. How do you cement patriotism, make everyone feel that Zimbabwe is their home?

“Allow everyone to enjoy even when people come for Independence Day celebrations, acknowledge me as an MDC person when I come there. Accept that Zimbabwe has ZANU PF which is present at the Heroes Acre every time when you are burying a hero. Also acknowledge that Brian Dube can come there as a member of the MDC and still is a member of Zimbabwe. Accept when you see Happymore Chidziva coming there and say this person is from CCC and is here and a Zimbabwean. That way, you would not need to then regulate anyone.”

Full contribution:

HON. B. DUBE: (Part of speech not recorded due to power outage.) Madam Speaker, I am sure we are having a connectivity challenge and I do not know whether we will wait for it to connect?

THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: You have to wait for the connection for the benefit of those who are on virtual.  You can now continue Hon. Dube.

HON. B. DUBE: Thank you Madam Speaker Ma’am. I am sure I am now connected.

THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Yes, you are connected.

HON. B. DUBE: Madam Speaker Ma’am, I love the first part of the reading of this motion that it is acknowledging that Zimbabwe is a multiparty democracy that accommodates divergent views of all parties in the country. What this implies is that we must understand that Zimbabwe is not a choir where everyone must sing to one tune. We must understand that the nation is made up of different people who have different views but at the end of the day, what we must all agree is that Zimbabwe is the only home that we have especially for some of us. I do not have any other country that I wish to belong to except Zimbabwe. I assume that every other Zimbabwean has that same belief that Zimbabwe is the only home that they have.

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