Zimbabwe News Online: Woman President for Zimbabwe as activist reveals plans on party 

Woman President for Zimbabwe as activist reveals plans on party
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Zno Editor on 10 July, 2010 09:42:00
 
With some five years experience as protest singer and activist Viomak confirmed
that plans are underway to form a political party that will see her concentrate
on making ZIDELE a part of the solution to the problems that are destroying
Zimbabwe.
According to the party‘s website which is under construction the “party
whose goals are based on TRUTH principles  ushers a new era of politics and
energises Zimbabweans to be at the forefront of creating a Tolerant, Responsible
,Understanding, Transparent and Honest leadership.”
Still in its infancy stage, Zimbabwe Development Leaders is “founded on basic
principles that leadership in the home, school, college, at work, at state
house, parliament in church and indeed everywhere should be grounded in the
people and not individuals. Starting in every home the role of family will be
supported to build good leadership.”
As Viomak is planning and working on registering the party and putting all other
basic issues in place, she confirmed that if everything goes according to plan
she is very much prepared to embark on this dangerous political career in
Zimbabwe.
“It is very necessary that I give politics a chance and run for presidency.
Many problems in Zimbabwe remain unresolved because of bad and selfish leaders
who get into politics to make themselves rich instead of making citizens rich.
Our political party will therefore do all it can  to give the power to decide to
the people of Zimbabwe ”, Said Viomak.
The journey from being a banned protest singer and activist to president of a
political party will obviously be a huge and risky task for Viomak considering
that she is a banned singer who is also targeted for producing music that is
against Zimbabwe‘s repressive law POSA (Public Security Order Act). According
to POSA, it is a criminal offence to sing protest songs that despise President
Mugabe’s leadership.
However ,in addition to protesting against bad governance ,her music tells a
long story of how she wants Zimbabwe to be governed and with that in mind ,her
journey into politics will be a dream come true as she will have to make sure 
that what she despised in her songs she will not do and what she asked for in
her songs she will do. A striking example that immediately comes to mind is a
campaign that she spearheaded since 2009 in which VOTO (Voices Of The Oppressed
) and herself campaigned requesting that MDC –GNU leaders declare their
personal assets to combat corruption. She later produced a song ‘Chinja
Maitiro‘ to help in the campaign.
A voice of the voiceless, the activist who comes from Mutare, Zimbabwe has a
long history of despising ZANUPF and Mugabe’s bad governance using music as a
tool for socio-political change .In December 2008 she released a controversial
music album ‘Zimbabwe Circus’ in which she despised both ZANUPF and MDC
leadership and compared the political crisis in the country to a circus in a
song ‘6 and 9’ .At that time she mentioned that, “Mugabe is a bad person
and bad leader. Tsvangirai is a good person but is not a good leader”.
With 6 albums and one single song under her belt, amounting to 49 protest songs
the activist explained that the party motto is,
“A Legacy of Good Leadership and TRUTH (Tolerance
–Responsibility-Understanding -Trust –Honesty).
Activism
Viomak started her activism as protest singer and human rights activist in 2005.
She continues to be an activist whose work includes campaigning for freedom of
expression .In April 2008 she was instrumental in setting up Voices Of The
Oppressed (VOTO) Internet radio to promote and offer airplay to banned Zimbabwe
protest artists. In January 2007 Viomak got involved in freedom of expression
issues and subsequently set up Zimbabwe Institute For Free Expression (ZIFFE) an
institute that aims at educating Zimbabweans on their right to freedom of
expression. In 2009, the activist came up with an idea of promoting Zimbabwe
protest artists and set up Zimbabwe Protest Movement (ZIPROMO) ,to promote
Zimbabwe protest artists’ work on the internet.
Charity work
When she set up viomak charity music in 2005, her objectives included singing
against bad governance and donating 50% of music profits to the needy. She has
since donated to various organisations and individuals in need, making her a
unique musician and activist in Zimbabwe who sings for charity causes.
More information about Zimbabwe Development Leaders party will be available on
the website www.zimbabwedevelopmentleaders.org as time goes on.