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Time to dismount from our little summits of pride
By
Silence
Chihuri
EVERYBODY seems to agree on what we need to do NOW, so as to redeem
ourselves from the economic quandary and social deprivation that we
have been thrown into by the self-serving and self-exulting Zanu PF
government.
The biggest question is what, and whom are we waiting for? And upon looking around, one can only find that there is none other than us!
There is saying that goes like this; if you are not things right, then you have not started doing anything. We have been doing a lot over the last few years but unfortunately somehow, we have not been doing things right and this is why we are still stuck. It is no longer the two sided affair pitting the ruling party and the opposition, but an array of players that include the politicians (supposedly at the top of the deck), the clergy, the civic society, the trade unionists, the women, the constitutional as well as human rights lawyers, and last but most importantly, the ordinary people.
I will quickly eliminate the clergy because they have already charted the way forward regardless of the concerns that have been, and will continue to be raised by various commentators as to the manner in which the process was kick-started. However, it should be appreciated that where a relay is run the first runner may trip at the beginning, or even fumble over the first hurdle, but with the encouragement and genuine support of the other team members and the spectators of course, he will run and go on to win the lap so as to have a positive impact on the outcome of the remainder of team in the full race. We are at the beginning of the relay and the clergy are in the process of handing over the button to the next member (any of the above players) of the team to run even harder and faster. Whoever will run the last lap does not matter as long as the race is won.
The politicians must be extremely wary of their prospects at the moment because the national spotlight is shining glaringly over their heads. By politicians here, I mean both those in the MDC and Zanu PF because it is up to the two main parties to come up with respective formulas that will rid the country of the problems. Some people may be forgiven to suggest that I could be out of my mind to remember to mention Zanu PF especially when they have presided over all this mess. I would hasten to say however, that politics is about re-invention and this is why both politicians and governments alike, come and go, and go and come. It is up to those in Zanu PF to go back to the drawing table and come up with a rightly re-branded party that would be able to do now, what they have failed for the better part of the last 20 years.
There has been talk of the possibility of the largely sidelined Simba Makoni bouncing back to lead a reformed Zanu PF, and any prospect of that materialising would interest a great many Zimbabwean. That would be a drastic move though, on the part of the conservative and rigid Zanu PF old guard but one that could surely have a very positive impact on national politics depending of course, on what kind of team Makoni would assemble. Anything good to our body politic would be extremely welcome, not withstanding wherever it emanates from. We must remember that regardless of whichever party sweeps to power MDC or worse still Zanu PF, we will still need a vibrant and competent opposition to keep whatever the government there will be in good check.
As for the MDC well, the recent rumours that seem to be slowly gathering pace would suggest that the opposition leaders might still have a little bit of their unifying instincts left in them after all. The prospect of a reunified and refocused MDC would surely be more exciting than the repackaging of a dead Zanu PF. There are a few reasons for caution however, some of which are that it is terribly early days to celebrate about that and also, there is still a long way to go in terms of patching up the differences that precipitated the split of the party in the first place. Although everything is still but just media speculation, there is nothing wrong in drawing early positives or equally early on, pointing out the potential negatives of such a prospect if not approached with due regard.
Everybody is itching for a rejuvenated MDC and any realism of that would the not just be the prefect “Christmas gift”, but it would be the perfect gift of life to people who are dying needlessly while Zanu PF incompetence goes unchecked. Anything and anyone that would make the seemingly impossible re-union happen would be extremely welcome. However, there is great need to take note of the circumstances surrounding the split of the party, the causes of the split, and the individuals whom through their positions, influence and utterances, could have remedied but instead, exacerbated the split because, while such individuals might still have a political role to play, they may not be ideal players at the centre of the re-unification process.
Again I will reiterate here that while it is still mere press fever, there is nothing wrong with advance analysis lest that fantasy comes into fruition and slips through the net without due scrutiny. There are individuals on both sides of the MDC divide who, due to their proximity to the split of the party and the messy aftermath, would seriously dent the credibility and prospects of a successful reunification process. This is because such individuals might find it difficult if not impossible to participate in the process with clarity of perspective, as well independence of judgement.
Therefore, placing such individuals at the heart of a process with such essential national implications, would not only jeopardise that vital process, but would be toying around with the feelings of the people who desperately want their dear party back in one piece and not pieces. There should never be any tinkering around the pertinent issues that precipitated the split of the part because these will still come back to hound the same party. It is either a genuine and principled reunion or no ramshackle plebiscite at all.
Also, the language of both factions might help or doom the potential of the entire process because politicians should be seen to demonstrate caution and sincerity to political processes especially where these strike at the heart of national sentiment and prospects. Nelson Chamisa could be welcomed for departing from the initially dismissive stance that characterised the feverish after-congress period whereby any talk of the re-unification of the MDC was then viewed as total taboo.
While it is allowed to prophecy ignorance of such processes in their infancy, especially where such acknowledgement would damage rather than abate the progress both sides must in the national interest, showcase the due sincerity expected of political leaders in such situations. The kind of arrogance displayed by government spokesmen must never be duplicated in any manner or form because it defies logic and it is only a catastrophic self-indulgency benefiting no one.
And now moving on, we are all aware that the constitution is the main sticking point in the route to full re-democratisation because virtually everything hinge on it and this is where the constitutional lawyers come in. The constitutional process should be intensified alongside what is happening elsewhere nationally, and the NCA could play a very crucial role because the organisation has been the leading if not almost lone voice in that regard so far.
It is now time to take the matter further on by bringing on board all the other players some of who may not necessarily be subscribed to the organisation. There are several other experts in the field of constitutional formulation who have not yet joined the constitutional bandwagon and they need to be reached out to so as to make it a holistic exercise. The government will need to be formally approached and by formally here, I mean with a proposed document because if anyone thinks that the constitutional process will be started from within the government then that is a pipe dream.
President Mugabe “approached” the clergy and “implored” them to do something about the prevailing situation and in a normal environment there would be nothing sinister about that, but given our unique but sorry case in Zimbabwe, what ensued has been the condemnation of the clergy for “supping” with the ruling party. If the NCA really wants to avoid the prospect of finding themselves in that same “compromising situation, then they should make the move now and get down to business. From experience it can be reasonably argued that the tendency of issuing empty threats of which we do not have the means or the will to execute, neither does any favours to those who issue them, nor any service to our country. Such futile threats as the ‘Final Push’, the ‘Cold Season’, and now the threat by the NCA to “walk on Munhumutapa Buildings are just a waste of our breath.
This is no longer the time for childish ultimatums or the “or else’s” syndrome because we have all seen that they simply don’t work. Rather, it is time to get down to serious, mature and beneficial business because such futile overtures only lead to the loss of precious ground. The NCA together with all the other leading constitutional experts could come up with a constitutional roadmap and present it to the government and the opposition parties in the same way the clergy are selling their idea to the nation.
Of course due to our laughable circumstances in Zimbabwe, requesting an audience with President Mugabe maybe widely seen as a no-no, but this taboo has to be broken now for the sake of progress. Zanu PF will always be that missing link in any meaningless exclusive process because they are the sitting government (no matter how unpopular), and have to be engaged somehow. People should not be fooled that we can get round Zanu PF anyhow and sort out this mess in some messianic fashion or with the fringe involvement of the government. “Not in a thousand years” could things ever work that way and the sooner we all sober up to that reality, the earlier we can start making meaningful progress because that bend has proved to be a little bit too long to negotiate given our severely deprived faculties.
Human rights lawyers would need now to consolidate the documentation of abuses and violations to prepare for the healing process that would be an integral element of the aftermath of all this madness. There needs to be much more formal corroboration between all the experts in this field so as to avoid duplication. One regrettable consequence of the prevailing sorry situation in our country is that lately, we have seen what could be called “organisationism” emanating especially from among Diaspora Zimbabweans whereupon almost each and every individual is now an organisation unto themselves, championing this cause or that cause. That kind of egotistic nonsense needs to be checked otherwise we will end up as a nation of organisations without any single individual to play the essential but particular roles. Diasporas need to understand that living outside the country does not necessarily mean that they are now little domains autonomous from mainstream processes back home because such dangerous existence can be quite counter productive.
Again moving on, the role of the trade unions would be much better appreciated in an environment where the rule of the law prevailed, and the shackles of dictatorship unfettered the constitutional and human rights of workers to freely express their disquiet over lamentable working conditions like these existing in Zimbabwe today. The efforts of the unions thus far can only be described as courageous if not desperate, in trying to ring sense into the head of an extremely insensitive regime. There is no need to despair but to consolidate efforts in reforming the work place in Zimbabwe, and the input of the unions to the constitutional process would need to be collated and fully availed so as ensure that all the loopholes are sealed. Obviously much of the misery of the workers emanates from the constitutional deformity in place at the moment, coupled with a devilish political establishment and this will need to be addressed on both fronts.
And then onto girl power, well, Zimbabwean women have over the latter years demonstrated how much they have moved on as a force in campaigning, not just for their own rights but also, for the general well being of all the citizens of our country. There have emerged lately, very determined women forces such as WOZA and others that have shown quite convincingly, that women can longer be simply brushed aside. There is still more scope for women to foster much more closer co-operation among themselves so as to consolidate their base and their stand on the national platform.
It is worth noting there are now more women politicians than ever, and by this I do not mean some of the docile cherry-picked women who have graced (or maybe disgraced) our government since independence, but real women of valour and courage who have endured the most unwarranted violation at the hands of the regime. Women who have chosen to side with principles and imposed hardship, rather than hop into bed with a corrupt dictatorship. There is urgent need for the women to also, put something in place (an Action Plan/Women’s Charter etc), as their respective contribution to the constitutional process because the Domestic Violence Bill may not necessarily be then end of the troubles of our mothers and sisters as there seems to be still great scope for constitutional consolidation.
The approach now is one that may have never been envisaged five years ago, and that is engaging each other rather confronting one another. It can be quite difficult to go down this route but in most cases it is the only one that works. Who ever dreamed that President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda would one-day travel to the jungle to meet Joseph Konny the notorious rebel who has murdered several thousand innocent civilians including women and children? Some people thought Museveni was out of his mind and was only seeking to humiliate himself. But that is what a leader would do when he has his people at heart, because it is not about the leader’s pride or ego, but it is about the welfare of the people. If a leader’s humiliation means the salvation of his entire nation, then what leader in his sane senses would not go for that?
What is needed in Zimbabwe right now is not just to try but also to actually break the ferocious cycle of vilification and demonisation because this is not getting us anywhere. We cannot solve our problems when we draw boundaries between the parties who are key to, and should be working together so as to solve the crisis. Of course, it all started with the government who were denouncing the opposition as sell-outs but the opposition have since picked on it and are becoming just as good or maybe as bad at it as the government.
That has to be stopped and some kind of common sense has to prevail with politicians understanding that you can still approach and seek to discuss national issues with a political opponent. There should be no enmity or bad blood because politicians are serving the same people. Lets draw closer and go further in our desire to seek the elusive solution. Lets embarrass ourselves for the first time, just like what Museveni did because it pays in the end. Let people do the unthinkable and be seen at the table with the most unimaginable person sitting next to them. Someone has to start that process.
We have done the
shouts, the threats and the fights but it has only brought more misery
to our people. Now it is the time to dismount from our little summits
of pride and indignation and for once put the people first before personal
ego. Yes, President Mugabe is a very stubborn leader, and may have been
the obstacle for more than half the time, but are we not risking being
worse by keeping pointing the finger at him without doing any better
ourselves? I think people can do better than the President has shown
so far, but if that is the case then this is the ideal moment to demonstrate
that kind world-class magnanimity and reason.
Chihuri is a regular New Zimbabwe.com opinion writer
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