Just after his inauguration I wrote a letter to the new Zimbabwean president, Emmerson D Mnangagwa. Well, I didn’t write to him him… I wrote an open letter to him and posted it here. In that letter I highlighted some issues that have to do with tech and the whole tech ecosystem in this country.
Included in that letter was that it would be cool to have him on social media. The realistic and humble me wants to think the president and his team already were thinking about having a social media presence and that my letter never got to him. However, the not so humble but unrealistic me wants to think that my letter was delivered to him and more than that, that he thought, ‘wow, this guy has great ideas!’
Whether humble me or the more unlikely conceited me is right is immaterial. The President of the Republic of Zimbabwe yesterday made entrance on Facebook and has been on Twitter for a little while now. We had to of course confirm that the account is authentic first. So far our sources say it’s authentic.
This is a good move. Yes it makes him vulnerable (pa social media panotaurwa yese yese) but vulnerability is good. We want to move away from having leaders who are gods. We want leaders who are people. People make mistakes, people are emotional, people can be attacked but in all that people are loved.
I advise (not so humble me) the president to take it all: the good, the bad and the ugly that comes as part of the package called social media. I advise him to adopt a thick skin. I advise him to engage sincerely and to show humanness. I actually hope that he will post himself and not hist office personnel. Yes, that will mean less regular posts but that will make the whole thing sincere.
Now, here is President Mnangagwa’s inaugural post on Facebook:
I want to hear the views of all Zimbabweans. Facebook helps me do this. In the new Zimbabwe, we must engage all people more than ever.
I encourage you to SHARE my page with your friends, so that as we move forward, I can listen to the views from as wide a spectrum of people as possible as we encourage frank, honest and open dialogue.
As I’ve said many times, the voice of the people is the voice of God. Let us embrace this new era of hope together.
Here is the link to his Facebook page and to his twitter account
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29 comments
All the best for him.All we want is piece and the progress of our country,nothing else.
Twitter account is not verified?
Twitter has suspended verifying accounts hey. The challenge was that verification of accounts was now being confused with endorsement… Real problem isn’t it? They say they are working on a new system of how to actually verify accounts
@ Tinashe Nyahasha , sorry to burst your bubble ,but that account has been there for a while now .
Oh? I thought the FB one was new….
How do we knw its him thats not a verified account
We called some sources to ask and they said it was his. There is always the risk that the source misinformed but they had no incentive to do so
Techzim was there a formal press statement saying that its his account? The FB account has existed for a while now….both accounts are not verified
No there was now. Suggested to some of the information people to issue such a press release
You have an element of hate on Strive Masiiyiwa. Why call him a “god”. Everyone has a right to their Privacy.
I am not sure I get what you’re saying. Actually though, I love Strive Masiyiwa a lot
I also hope he will be the 1 posting and reacting to our posts only then can his page serve a purpose.
Hope so too or maybe just a specific time when it is known that he will be directly interacting with citizens
He needs to up his engagement skills, just posting is not good enough!
But a good start…
Yup, hope there will be some good folks to advise him how to utilise the platform more effectively
Firstly, isn’t it funny how we call human technological activity, an “ecosystem”, as if we are describing animals around a water hole. I know we love the word, but really, it’s too ridiculous. We cover the world in computer circuits, and pretend that it’s organic. Hehe. What next?
Here’s what: his Eminience called the voice of the people the “voice of God”. That is a man who will not take no for an answer. Even God is forced to take his side. We’ve heard from him, and God. What about the common people of Zimbabwe? Their views should matter. Including God in a democratic discussion is just invoking higher power in a debate on the powerless.
Never thought about the ecosystem term that way before.
I hope he just used the God statement as an expression and not in that sense. I do hope that every Zimbabwean will have their voice heard or at least appreciate in this current government and those to follow
Good idea, at helps him not to be narrow minded, by group think, that is being fed false information about status of things by those around him, who want to please him and remain endeared to him.
this is a mature forum. like all your posts. i think the President should be accessible too. Good start.
Thank you DM. I think it’s a good start too
The president should not have durawalls created by thieves ,which was charactorised by rgm system that made him loose touch with reality on the ground. This platform is his dashboard that he can employ whenever he is moving
May there be hotlines for tipoffs
In Patrick Chinamasa’s budget he promised that they are setting up toll free hotlines in the office of the president for reporting corruption related incidences
That is a very positive move only if reported cases will be dealt with through the courts of laws.
Please note that @HonMnangagwa is now @PRESIDENT_ED
Thank you
Its not the Pres on Twitter or FB. For one http://www.zimbabwe.com is not a Zim Govt website. Actually South african. Secondly your source misled you even if they had no incentive to do so, well, they just did.
Why do you say so?
Good start, Tinashe. Well done to our President. He is really trying to reach out to the views of the people. Well done President ED.
Verified or not, am hopeful he’s getting our views. So, people, speak your issues than argue about authenticity and see if they’ll not be attended to.