The Majority of Zimbabweans are functionally Illiterate.

The zimbabwean civic and political landscape suffers an illiterate electorate that is ignorant to polictical developments making it difficult to cast into the future of the electoral escapede. Yes, most of the Zimbaweans are not educated civically as they are skewed to academic education. The greater populace, which is formed by young people is has limited education on civics. The Zimbabwean government adopted the colonial regime education system that focuses more on academics and never on civics. the dictatorial regime of the British propelled this simply as a way of not allowing access to knowledge, later formulate into demads of equality, accountability, transparency and other principles of good governance. Access to such knowledge instilled reason and forced a revolutionary agenda. However, the revolutionary agenda was motioned and moved by those few blacks that had accessed civic educaion through academic means. It will be unjust not to mention that the majority were not educated civically owing them not to understand the need of the revolution. They never believed or see equality, black men walking in the first street of harare or did they see that the oppression they were suffering. These are the unsung comdrades that voted Mugabe resoundingly in his election life history. The difference with the then unsung heroes is that they acted to reason and voted for democracy but were illiterate as they never brought the elected to accountability or transparency. It remains the same 3 decades afte the revolutionary agenda passed political power to the black majority.

 

Today we have more educated people in Zimbabwe, however civically there are not educated, rather they are illiterate. The inability to read and write is visibly through functional illiteracy, where according to UNESCO is people who have learned some reading and writing, but not well enough for their work. The work of the Zimbabwean citizenry is to elect good leaders basically after hearing their manifestos. However, those going to cast no or yes as in the year 2000, do not know what no or yes will stipulate. With a population of 3 million, i wonder if all have accessed or even set sight to the cover page of the draft constition. These are signs of illiteracy among the zimbabwean populace. Despite that COPAC has uploaded the draft constitution it remains a worry on the number of downloads. students in teriary institutions will say i am busy with my books and those at work with deadlines. Thus i say functional illieratcy is high among zimbabweans. The political fratenity is left for a few celebrated analysts who will deceide for the greater citizenry, who will adopt without even sparing a superfical gaze to the political discourse.

This advante by political moguls have created the govenance of Zimbabwe a freelance playground for politicians as the populce find it not their duty to demand accountability, transparency, rule of law, free and fair regular elections,  citizen participation, equality and equity.

 

the current proposition of the whole nation rooted in uncetainity as the populace remains silents on political developments of the country. Yet the outcome will affect them by and large with disappointing and worse scenarios. Politicians have taken advantage of the functional illiteracy of the Zimbabwean people to play political games than serve the people. The failure to be functionally literate will cost dearly to the generations of Zimbabwe as politicians have become the societies elitie through under-table hand shacke deals filthy with evil corrupt beings fighting for personal richies. Richies that have accrued outside the best economic enviroment, all this because of prospering functional illiteracy.

 

It will be fair also to blame the Zimbabwean populace of the state in which Zimbabwe has bee plunged into as they has ignorantly endorsed and gave unlimited power to corrupt individuals and decided to be silent for the past 3 decades. In any court you wull never be aquited innocent because of ignorance, the same applies to failure of the populace to demand accountability and transparency and vote out corrupt and useless politicians. This is because the populace is full of functionally illiterate people. It reminds me of even phd holders, lawyers, teachers, students and professors voting for a person who holds no 5 O-Levels into the office of councillor to run their ward. Later you hear them cry that the council is failing to provide services. My question will be what did you expect from these uneducated politicians and are also functionally illiteate as the electorate that voted in a person with no credentials into office. Some professors would want to hide from their ignrance behind the finger of democracy. Call it democracy, i better conclude it as functional illiteracy.

 

Zimbabwe needs a society with functionally literate citizenry that will ensure the civic landscape remain serving the interest of the people through good governance and not whims ad fancies of greedy politicians. The populace need to move from the ignorant behaviour to a more informed and partcipative citizenry that influence who gets into political office by functionally casting ther vote for a better candidate who spells a favourable manifesto. Lastly I say Register to Vote, weigh the options then cast your vote. Afte the results demand acoutability least w continue falling with a thud to the unknown and stop complaining if you are functionally illiterate.