Regionalism in Zimbabwe: A mere red herring.

The issue if regionalism keeps getting raised by narrow-minded people who are refusing to see the forest for the woods.

Firstly local development issues are the purview of district councils. If the people running those are incompetent, then they should also be taken to the cleaners not just national leaders.

Secondly with so many people with names like Diniwe Mutambudzi, Thabani Magaya, Tichaona Mkandla and even my own brother Bekezela Edmore Punungwe (Facebook page), it is pointless and impractical to try and allocate most Zimbabweans to a particular region.

If you take the extreme view like the Mtwakhazi Liberation Front where does that leave my brother Bekezela born in Harare to a mother from Filabusi and a father from Chivhumudhara. Does he qualify as a Mtwakhazian? If maybe he qualifies because of his Ndebele name, what about my other brothers Muchineripi Punungwe and Tawanda Punungwe? Same father and same mother as this guy named Bekezela. What about my friend Steve Mpofu born in Nkayi but who has since made a life for himself in Harare. Does he have to abandon his mansion in Chisipite?

What about our neighbours in Chivhu, the Mpundumani family, the Ndlukula family, the Molai family. Do they have to abandon the homes that they have occupied for generations (and their youngsters don't speak even a word of Ndebele).

It is my sincere belief that any Zimbabwean who has and espouses a national outlook can lead Zimbabwe. It would be naive to expect those who constantly blurb along regional lines to get the votes of the people they are constantly criticising along ethnic lines.

It is also a fact that once issues are stripped down to regional issues then so called Shona (none of us calls ourselves Shona by the way. I am a muBarwe and my mother is a muHera) enjoy a significant advantage in numbers. There is no need for any of us to try and explain or be apologetic about it, because none of us is Cecil John Rhodes, Leander Starr Jameson, Frank Johnson or Frederick Selous the people most responsible for where the county's borders are now.