Zimbabwe on road to nowhere

Zimbabwe on road to nowhere

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• Defining the role of the State in post-colonial Africa

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• Capitalism may challenge the poor, but it gives them hope

By Mutumwa D. Mawere
(www.mmawere.com)
Posted to the web: 17/11/2008 16:56:37
IT IS now almost seven months since the defining and historic election that saw Zanu PF lose the parliamentary majority for the first time since independence in 1980.

What is significant is that there appears to be no substantive responses to the challenges that face the nation. When people voted on March 29, they wanted to see change and regrettably, the change they sought is more elusive now than it was at the time of the elections.

It is like someone has stolen the agenda and no-one seems to know what to do. Even SADC appears to be confused about what time it is in Zimbabwe. The problem has been reduced to a single issue of who should be allocated the Ministry of Home Affairs and not what kind of leadership and affirmative set of solutions should be on the table to lift the country from its current comatose state.

People want to know what the politicians are going to do about the challenges that face the country. Things are so bad that something has to give and yet the urgency of now does not appear to be on the top of the agenda of the wise men and women who have the privilege of shaping the country’s future.

The future is uncertain and the population is being reduced to hopelessness. There are no easy solutions and yet the leadership deficit is apparent to any rational mind.

Who is to blame? To what extent are President Mugabe and Zanu PF culpable for the current political quagmire? To what extent do the opposition leaders bear some responsibility for the stalemate? To what extent has the involvement of SADC undermined the change agenda?

History will determine who is to be blame for the current state of play in Zimbabwe, but what is significant is that there is no longer a link between the citizens and decision making at the political level. The gaps that the post-colonial state was meant to bridge have grown wider largely through the actions of the very people the citizens had invested in to bring a better tomorrow.

The project of Zimbabwe’s renaissance is now playing hostage to the egos of the players.

The nature, content and context of the challenges that confront Zimbabwe are well known to all rational minds and even SADC would accept that the status quo ante is just not acceptable, however one tries to camouflage it in the context of the Global Political Agreement.

The post-colonial state was supposed to deliver justice, freedom and equity but after 28 years of one-man rule, we must accept that the promise of independence has not been realised. One would have expected a serious conversation on what kind of Zimbabwe citizens want to see to be part of the post-election agenda.

It is apparent that the people’s agenda for change has been hijacked and the issues at hand have regrettably been reframed in a minimalist and retrogressive manner. What appears to be at stake is the agenda of constructing a government at all costs irrespective of what the country requires to move forward.

Leadership is evidently in demand in Zimbabwe but choices have now been distorted through political manipulation. The nature of the threats confronting Zimbabwe requires serious and urgent actions.

Although the challenges are not insurmountable, there is evidently no unity of purpose at the top. The values and ideals that inform the decisions of Zimbabwe’s political actors seem to be at variance with what people want to see.

History will record that for the last seven months, the country has been governed by an illegitimate administration that has refused to accept that the choices made on March 29 by the voters represent their only voice to register their distaste about the toxic and lethal leadership deficit.

The few wise men that now control the government continue to display their arrogance notwithstanding the seriousness of the situation.

Narrow cliques of highly ideological absolutists who control the state still believe that they have a monopoly of wisdom and truth. They continue to see problems in historical context through preconceived notions about how Zimbabwe should work.

For Zimbabwe to access the global economy, change must visit it urgently but it is evident from state propaganda that President Mugabe and Zanu PF have invested in an impossible task of attempting to change the world rather than changing their ways.

Mugabe has presided over the economic decay and it must be accepted that he does not seem to have any substantive responses to the challenges of the day.

There are no easy solutions ahead but it appears that the drivers of Zimbabwe’s post-colonial agenda have no clue about what to do.

Opportunistically Zanu PF has invested in creating a perception that Zimbabwe is a victim of targeted sanctions and the salvation lies exclusively in the removal of such sanctions. Zanu PF still has to concede defeat to the two MDC factions and President Mugabe believes that notwithstanding policy bankruptcy, he is the legitimate head of state and government.

He offers no solutions to the debilitating economic problems. While not prepared to concede power in line with the wishes of the voters, he nevertheless wants the assistance of Tsvangirai as a junior partner to restore the country to its former state. He has not and probably will never accept any responsibility for driving the economy to its current albatross.

Zanu PF is a race-based nationalist party that continues to believe that an open, competitive and open society is a threat to stability and nation building.

While many would agree that ‘it is the economy stupid’, Zanu PF still holds the view that excelling in political games will solve the challenges ahead.

Tsvangirai finds himself at this defining moment in Zimbabwe’s history holding all the political cards and privileged to have the veto on what is to happen in terms of political change. Arthur Mutambara has accepted that without MDC-T as part of the deal, there is no deal. Equally SADC has resolved that there is no choice but to form an inclusive government.

No inclusive government can be established in Zimbabwe without the consent of the MDC-T. Clearly, no constitutional amendment as contemplated will be passed by parliament just because President Mugabe wants that to be the case. For the first time, President Mugabe finds himself in a corner with limited room to maneuver.

The negotiations so far have exposed the fact that notwithstanding the wishes of Zimbabweans for change, President Mugabe is still a powerful force in SADC. He can have his way but Tsvangirai has demonstrated that he has what it takes to take Mugabe on.

The future remains in the balance. The real stumbling block to progress is known and he knows it. Any attempt to divert attention from the core problem that has visited Zimbabwe over the last 28 years will not be in the national interest.

The futility of proceeding with a national unity government is evident to all suggesting that only one of the three principal players in the current drama must remain standing when the storm is over if the country has any prospect for moving forward. Who will that be? Only time will tell but it will not be long as the economy is already saying enough is enough.

Mutumwa Mawere's weekly column is published on New Zimbabwe.com every Monday. You can contact him at: mmawere@global.co.za
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