Zimbabwe is at the crossroads.We are a nation in deep pyschological pain and anguish.We are angry with and at ourselves.We are hurting.As a people,we Zimbabweans are naturally very loving,accomodative,tolerant,generous and patriotic.
However,over the past ten years or so we have allowed ourselves to be haters; a people filled with anger and frustration.We have whether ,advertently or inadvertently, become insipidly intolerant of any political views that are at a tangent with our own political convictions.Sadly,we have politicised almost every facet of our lives; from business,to religion and even to music.
This sad state of affairs has been actively encouraged by the Mugabe dictatorship largely through its vice-like grip on all the official media outlets,both print and electronic.Zimbabwe is arguably one of the few countries in the world where all four official radio stations in the country are State-owned and State-controlled.
There is only one official television station that is also State-owned and State-controlled.Thus,the only access we have to alternative voices on the radio is by listening to outside-based radio stations such as Studio 7 and Voice of America.Only a few people can afford pay-per-view satellite television.The majority of the people are forced to buy free-to-air digital satellite decoders because the propaganda that is churned day in,day out by the State media is just too much for any right-thinking person to bear with.
Both the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Holdings and Zimpapers have a specific mandate from the regime.The main agenda of this mandate is to ruthlessly propagate hate messages of and concerning the MDC in general and Morgan Tsvangirai in particular.Listeners of radio news bulletins and viewers of ZTV are daily bombarded with harshly-worded propaganda against the country's biggest and most popular political party; the MDC led by Morgan Tsvangirai.
You have a host of so-called '' analysts '' and other dubious commentators who frequently and routinely appear on national television specifically to demonise the MDC and to castigate them for being the main author of all of Zimbabwe's problems.You then wonder why the MDC continues to rule the roost amidst this crunch and Josef Goebels-style hate propaganda.
The MDC has virtually no access to the State-controlled media.In contrast,invariably all events organised by the erstwhile ruling party,ZANU (PF), are given prominent coverage both on national television and in the State-controlled newspapers such as The Herald and The Chronicle.
Even the death of a donkey belonging to a senior ZANU (PF) official can be covered on national television prime time news as opposed to covering the resolutions made by an important meeting of the MDC national council; for instance!
My argument here is simply that the ZANU PF dictatorship has systematically cultivated a siege mentality for itself.As a result,the rogue dictatorship has embarked upon a campaign to paint all MDC leaders and supporters as hopeless puppets and sell-outs who do not love their country and who are prepared to '' return '' the country to its former colonisers.This siege mentality gives rise to a delusional and paranoid hatred for and fear of the MDC.
In direct response to this pathetic delusion and fallacy,the State media goes into over-drive;spurning hatred and contempt for any views and any organisations that might not necessarily agree with the ZANU PF way of doing business.Even a harmless woman like Jestina Mukoko,who apparently might never have handled any firearm in her entire life , is labelled a bandit and a ''danger '' to State security.This level of paranoia is astounding and is indeed, fit for recognition in the Guiness Book of world records.
You may now appreciate why we in the MDC believe that Zimbabwe needs to heal from this incessant hate-mongering instigated by the ZANU PF dictatorship.This is the main reason why our vision as the MDC is to pursue social liberation policies aimed at completing the unfinished business of the national liberation struggle.We shall strive for the democratic structural economic liberation,rehabilitation and transformation of Zimbabwe.
In short, we intend to usher in a New Zimbabwe with a new and fresh beginning.The MDC shall work for the restoration of the core values of trust,confidence and love between the government and its people.As the MDC,we intend to cultivate a situation of tolerance and respect for divergent political views.Quite honestly, if someone doesnot support the MDC it doesnot mean that they hate Zimbabwe and thus,are not patriotic.
We are opposed to ZANU PF not because we hate its leaders and their supporters but solely because we do not believe in their politics of cronism,rampant corruption,patronage,intolerance and an appalling record of general bad governance and disrespect for property rights and basic human rights.
The MDC is the present and the future of Zimbabwean politics.We do not allow ourselves to be prisoners of the past.Instead,our conscience is our master.We do not believe in bitterness,hatred,corruption and greed.
In our social justice program,the MDC will create platforms for social dialogue that will address the legacies of the liberation struggle,national healing and social reconciliation.
The State must openly address the atrocities committed since independence in a manner that truth and justice become the foundationof any national reconciliation.This is not to mean that we advocate retribution.No; we don't believe in the primitive system of an eye for an eye.We all know that two wrongs do not create a right.
Many people have,rather ignorantly,accused the MDC of simply specialising in criticising ZANU PF without offering any alternative workable policies.Nothing could be further from the truth.The MDC is a vibrant party that is made up of people from all ethnic,racial ,social and cultural creed.Therein lies our strength.A villager from Mushayavanhu in Gutu can sit side by side with a Harvard-trained university professor; in the MDC.
We are united by a common and shared vision for Zimbabwe,our beloved country.We are not in the MDC to get jobs for the boys or to be appointed cabinet ministers as some of the readers of this column mistakenly believe.
We have no reason to sing for our supper because some of us are already highly successful professionals and businesspeople.We joined the MDC to serve and not to be served.Whether or not we are given positions of responsibility is not the issue.
We are driven by our desire to save our country from the plethora of problems brought about by almost three decades of ZANU PF misrule and dictatorship.This is why some of us are still stuck in Zimbabwe today.Although we possess credentials that can easily give us top and highly paid jobs in the Diaspora,we have made the choice of staying at home and to fight the dictatorship until our beloved motherland is set free.And you can be assured that victory is certain.
We are motivated by the virtues of the gallant sons and daughters of Zimbabwe;those of our compatriots who have travelled this arduous journey before us.We are inspired by the selflessness and dedication of our heroes such as Joshua Nkomo,Josiah Tongogara,Nikita Mangena,Herbert Chitepo,Eddison Zvobgo,Ruth Chinamano,Julia Zvobgo and many others.
In the MDC,we refuse to be intimidated by tyranny and thuggery.We will maintain our peaceful fight for democratic change in Zimbabwe.We are on the right side of history.The people are with us and indeed; we are the people.We shall overcome.Victory shall soon be ours to claim.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
A NEW ZIMBABWE BECKONS : ROME WAS NOT BUILT IN A DAY
here is absolutely no doubt that a good number of people,on both
sides of the political divide,will do everything within their power to
scuttle the operations of the all-inclusive government.
There are those
of our compatriots who had become hopelessly addicted to a life of
profligacy,gluttony,corruption,greed and kleptocracy.They had become
accustomed to obscene wealth accumulated through patronage and
corruption.
These people will spend sleepless nights trying to sabotage
the success of the new project.The Prime Minister and his team are not
naive and stupid people.They obviously are acutely aware of the
existence of a nefarious hard core element that will never accept the
dynamics of change.This cabal wiil,however,never succeed to derail the
experiment.
The New Zimbabwe that we all so desperately desire to live
in has ceratinly taken long in coming.For some of our collegues,the
gestation period has just been too long.They want a healthy baby to be
delivered today and not tomorrow.Well,this reminds me of something
that the Prime Minister told MDC Members of Parliament some few weeks
ago at a party caucusd in Harare.
He told us that some of our collegues
had come to his house literally crying before him; kusvimha misodzi
chaiko; crying that they had been left out on the list of ministerial
appointments.I was shocked by such a revelation because I had never
imagined that some of our collegues were so desperate to become
ministers.
The point I am making here is that this is an all-inclusive
government and quite honestly; it would be ridiculous for all Members
of Parliament to expect to be appointed ministers.Morever,the task
ahead is more agonising and we all need to strenghten the role of
Parliament so that it is not relegated to be a rumber-stamping organ
as it was under previous governments.
We would like to have a very
strong Parliamentary system that will put the Executive arm of the
State under intense and constant monitoring and surveillance.
As I stated in an earlier article on this forum,some of us joined the
MDC to serve and not to be served.What we would like to have is a
situation whereby our country is promptly rehabilitated.
We appreciate
that in a true mocracy,public office is to serve and not to enrich
oneself.This is the main reason why I will not trust a impecunious
person occupying a strategic public office. Alternatively,Iwill never
entrust my personal faith and hope in a politician who is a man or a
woman of straw.
I am not suggesting that poor and indigent persons
should not aspire to occupy public office.All I am stating is that a
poor politician wielding considerable political power is a very
dangerous person.Nine times out of ten,this type of politician will be
corrupt and corruptible.
All of a sudden he/she would like to relocate
from Mabelreign to Borrowdale.We really have to be careful with this
lot.But we are confident that the new all-inclusive government will
discharge its duties with honesty,diligence and integrity.Time will
definately tell whether we are coming or going.
sides of the political divide,will do everything within their power to
scuttle the operations of the all-inclusive government.
There are those
of our compatriots who had become hopelessly addicted to a life of
profligacy,gluttony,corruption,greed and kleptocracy.They had become
accustomed to obscene wealth accumulated through patronage and
corruption.
These people will spend sleepless nights trying to sabotage
the success of the new project.The Prime Minister and his team are not
naive and stupid people.They obviously are acutely aware of the
existence of a nefarious hard core element that will never accept the
dynamics of change.This cabal wiil,however,never succeed to derail the
experiment.
The New Zimbabwe that we all so desperately desire to live
in has ceratinly taken long in coming.For some of our collegues,the
gestation period has just been too long.They want a healthy baby to be
delivered today and not tomorrow.Well,this reminds me of something
that the Prime Minister told MDC Members of Parliament some few weeks
ago at a party caucusd in Harare.
He told us that some of our collegues
had come to his house literally crying before him; kusvimha misodzi
chaiko; crying that they had been left out on the list of ministerial
appointments.I was shocked by such a revelation because I had never
imagined that some of our collegues were so desperate to become
ministers.
The point I am making here is that this is an all-inclusive
government and quite honestly; it would be ridiculous for all Members
of Parliament to expect to be appointed ministers.Morever,the task
ahead is more agonising and we all need to strenghten the role of
Parliament so that it is not relegated to be a rumber-stamping organ
as it was under previous governments.
We would like to have a very
strong Parliamentary system that will put the Executive arm of the
State under intense and constant monitoring and surveillance.
As I stated in an earlier article on this forum,some of us joined the
MDC to serve and not to be served.What we would like to have is a
situation whereby our country is promptly rehabilitated.
We appreciate
that in a true mocracy,public office is to serve and not to enrich
oneself.This is the main reason why I will not trust a impecunious
person occupying a strategic public office. Alternatively,Iwill never
entrust my personal faith and hope in a politician who is a man or a
woman of straw.
I am not suggesting that poor and indigent persons
should not aspire to occupy public office.All I am stating is that a
poor politician wielding considerable political power is a very
dangerous person.Nine times out of ten,this type of politician will be
corrupt and corruptible.
All of a sudden he/she would like to relocate
from Mabelreign to Borrowdale.We really have to be careful with this
lot.But we are confident that the new all-inclusive government will
discharge its duties with honesty,diligence and integrity.Time will
definately tell whether we are coming or going.
ZIMBABWE DIASPORA EXPERTISE AND RESOURCES SHOULD BE HARNESSED
Unofficial statistics state that more than four million Zimbabweans
are living in the Diaspora;the majority of them in South Africa and
Btswana; and several thousands of others in the United Kingdom,the
United States and Australia.
The relocation of these millions of
Zimbabweans into the Diaspora was a direct result of the economic
meltdown as well as the deteriorating human rights situation
particularly from the late 1990s onwards .
A good number of these
Diasporans consist of highly qualified and experienced professionals
such as lawyers,medical doctors,nurses,accountants,engineers
etc.Thus,over the past decade or so,Zimbabwe has suffered from a
debilitating brain drain the real effects of which are yet to be
felt.
As I write this article,I am on a short private visit to
Sydney,New South Wales,Australia,and during my short stay here,I have
come across several Zimbabwean professionals who are based in this
coastal humid city.Zimbabweans living in the Diaspora are abound with
skills,job experience and resources.
As our country goes through this
transitional phase,I am of the humble view that these non-resident
Zimbabewans can and indeed,should,play a crucial role in the
rehabilitation of our motherland.
We all know that as a country today,Zimbabwe is hardly generating
foreign currency; especially in the formal
agricultural,mining,manufacturing and industrial sectors.Our export
capacity is virtually close to zero and somehow,the diamonds at
Chiadzwa as well as the platinum at Selous have not really benefitted
the country's formal export sector.
Sometimes,I really agonise and
wonder where all the foreign currency from Zimbabwe's rich mineral
resources is going whilst the majority of the people live in poverty
and squalor.I trust that the all-inclusive government will immediately
formulate and implement policies that will ensure that Zimbabwe's
mineral wealth is not privatised by a few well-connected and corrupt
individuals.
Surely,reports that a very senior politician has been
directly linked with an attempt to illicitly sell almost four tonnes
of gold do not help in convincing prospective donors that Zimbabwe
should be given a bail out package.On the other hand,reports that
another very senior politician recently bought a three storey luxury
house in an upmarket district of Hong Kong also do not help in
sanitising the image of Zimbabwe and also in trying to convince a very
skeptical world that the suffering of Zimbabweans has been caused by
so-called sanctions imposed by Britain and her Western allies.My
argument here is that if Zimbabwe would honestly and properly harness
all her resources,both within the country and in the Diaspora;we will
not be suffering the way we are today.
Indeed,we will not be going
around with a begging bowl asking for urgent humiitarian
assistance.Somewhere down the line we allowed corruption and greed to
dictate our national politics and the direct result of this is what we
have today i.e. mass poverty,hunger,destitution,dejection and despair.
Zimbabweans in the Diaspora have been playing their part in supporting
families back home.Without this support from their children and other
relatives in the Diaspora,most families in Zimbabwe would have
literally succumbed to starvation.
I am inclined too believe that
Zimbabwe somehow kept on going on thanks to the Diasporan dollar.Prior
to the formation of the all-inclusive government,it is common cause
that the former government run by ZANU-PF had virtually abandoned its
core duties of running the affairs of the State.
The country was on
virtual auto-pilot and a total breakdown of the State was imminent.As
we try to extricate ourselves from this situation of utter
hopelessnes; I maintain that we need to harness the expertise and the
resources from the Diaspora.
It doesnot make any sense for us to ignore
the very positive role that the Diaspora can play in reconstructing
Zimbabwe.Infact,the all-inclusive government should deliberately craft
policies that are specifically targeted at harnessing the Diasporan
expertise.
Although the majority of Diasporans seem not to be too happy
with the form and content of the all-inclusive government,I remain
convinced that these non-resident Zimbabweans are patriotic and that
they will want to play a meaningfull role in the rebuilding of their
country.On our part,we should not miss this golden opportunity of
engaging the Diasporans in the task of reconstruction.But as I have
already suggested above,we should do this in a holistic and systematic
fashion.
There is absolutely no doubt that if this task is done
properly and efficiently,Zimbabwe will be able to raise millions of
United States dollars from her non-resident citizens.Perhaps,the
envisaged new people-driven constitution should also explore the
possibility of granting non-resident Zimbabweans the right to vote in
future national elections.Of course,logistically,this task will be
very cumbersome and expensive but it can be done.
There is need to give
non-resident Zimbabweans that feeling of belonging and what better way
of doing it than by granting them the opportunity to vote in future
national elections! If other countries can do it,why can't Zimbabwe do
it too?
Egypt is largely a desert country with very limited arable
land.However,Egypt has arguably the second biggest economy in Africa;
after South Africa.Egypt has managed to industrialise largely through
taping the resources and expertise of non-resident Egyptians.As a
die-hard football fan,I know that one of the twenty teams in the
English Premiership,Fulham,is owned by an Egyptian,Mohammed
Al-Fayed.
Al-Fayed,also the owner of the fashionable Harrods
departmental store in London,has played and continues to play a
prominent role in the ec onomic development of his motherland,Egypt.As
Zimbabweans,we can study the Egyptian example and seek to ascertain
how exactly they have managed to meaningfully involve the Egyptian
Diaspora in the economic development of their country.
Whether we like
it or not,the world is globalising and thus,it is becoming smaller and
smaller.It has already been stated,several times before,that it is
Zimbabwe that needs the world and not the world that needs Zimbabwe.We
should ,therefore,wake up and smell the coffee.
As such,we should
quickly learn to grab all our opportunities instead of always running
around with a begging bowl.A begging mentality will not take us far.It
will relegate us to the position of mere spectators in the global
environment.
Zimbabwe should refuse to be a nation of beggars;surviving
on hand-outs from well-wishers.We should strive to be up there with
the movers and shakers of the world's economy because that is
precisely where we belong.
The brain drain that Zimbabwe has sufferd from has to be urgently
addressed.The all-inclusive government should also try to lure back
some of our professionals who have now settled in the Diaspora.
Of
course,it is not going to be an easy task to lure back professionals
to a country where there is no access to safe drinking
water,affordable and quality education for their children,efficient
and reliable public transport as well as respect for basic human
rights and private property rights.In essence,therefore,we should
rebrand Zimbabwe as a country that can once
againbetrusted.
Presently,Zimbabwe has a rogue image out there; the
image of a renegade State where the law of the jungle is fully
operational; a lawless country where might is right.Zimbabweans that
are living in the Diaspora,particularly those living in developed
countries,are now accustomed to a certain way of running public
affairs.They live in countries where politicians and other public
officials are held accountable for their deeds and actions.Thus,the
rampant pilfering of public resources should never be tolerated by the
all-inclusive government.Public servants are there to serve and not to
be served.Corruption and greed should be ruthlessly nipped in the bud.
More importantly,Zimbabweans,both resident and non-resident,should
embrace a new culture of openess,honesty,integrity and mutual
respect.Ubuntu as they call it in Zulu.The politics of hate and
polarisaton has wrecked havoc with our way of doing business.We take
the first opportunityo to over charge and profiteer.
We would like to charge
top dollar for a shody service.In short,we would like to get rich
quickly;we would like to reap where didn't sow.This '' chikorokoza''
habit should simply stop if Zimbabwe is to catch up with the rest of
the world.The task ahead of us;though arduous is definately not
insurmountable.Where there is a will there is a way.
Senator Gutu
are living in the Diaspora;the majority of them in South Africa and
Btswana; and several thousands of others in the United Kingdom,the
United States and Australia.
The relocation of these millions of
Zimbabweans into the Diaspora was a direct result of the economic
meltdown as well as the deteriorating human rights situation
particularly from the late 1990s onwards .
A good number of these
Diasporans consist of highly qualified and experienced professionals
such as lawyers,medical doctors,nurses,accountants,engineers
etc.Thus,over the past decade or so,Zimbabwe has suffered from a
debilitating brain drain the real effects of which are yet to be
felt.
As I write this article,I am on a short private visit to
Sydney,New South Wales,Australia,and during my short stay here,I have
come across several Zimbabwean professionals who are based in this
coastal humid city.Zimbabweans living in the Diaspora are abound with
skills,job experience and resources.
As our country goes through this
transitional phase,I am of the humble view that these non-resident
Zimbabewans can and indeed,should,play a crucial role in the
rehabilitation of our motherland.
We all know that as a country today,Zimbabwe is hardly generating
foreign currency; especially in the formal
agricultural,mining,manufacturing and industrial sectors.Our export
capacity is virtually close to zero and somehow,the diamonds at
Chiadzwa as well as the platinum at Selous have not really benefitted
the country's formal export sector.
Sometimes,I really agonise and
wonder where all the foreign currency from Zimbabwe's rich mineral
resources is going whilst the majority of the people live in poverty
and squalor.I trust that the all-inclusive government will immediately
formulate and implement policies that will ensure that Zimbabwe's
mineral wealth is not privatised by a few well-connected and corrupt
individuals.
Surely,reports that a very senior politician has been
directly linked with an attempt to illicitly sell almost four tonnes
of gold do not help in convincing prospective donors that Zimbabwe
should be given a bail out package.On the other hand,reports that
another very senior politician recently bought a three storey luxury
house in an upmarket district of Hong Kong also do not help in
sanitising the image of Zimbabwe and also in trying to convince a very
skeptical world that the suffering of Zimbabweans has been caused by
so-called sanctions imposed by Britain and her Western allies.My
argument here is that if Zimbabwe would honestly and properly harness
all her resources,both within the country and in the Diaspora;we will
not be suffering the way we are today.
Indeed,we will not be going
around with a begging bowl asking for urgent humiitarian
assistance.Somewhere down the line we allowed corruption and greed to
dictate our national politics and the direct result of this is what we
have today i.e. mass poverty,hunger,destitution,dejection and despair.
Zimbabweans in the Diaspora have been playing their part in supporting
families back home.Without this support from their children and other
relatives in the Diaspora,most families in Zimbabwe would have
literally succumbed to starvation.
I am inclined too believe that
Zimbabwe somehow kept on going on thanks to the Diasporan dollar.Prior
to the formation of the all-inclusive government,it is common cause
that the former government run by ZANU-PF had virtually abandoned its
core duties of running the affairs of the State.
The country was on
virtual auto-pilot and a total breakdown of the State was imminent.As
we try to extricate ourselves from this situation of utter
hopelessnes; I maintain that we need to harness the expertise and the
resources from the Diaspora.
It doesnot make any sense for us to ignore
the very positive role that the Diaspora can play in reconstructing
Zimbabwe.Infact,the all-inclusive government should deliberately craft
policies that are specifically targeted at harnessing the Diasporan
expertise.
Although the majority of Diasporans seem not to be too happy
with the form and content of the all-inclusive government,I remain
convinced that these non-resident Zimbabweans are patriotic and that
they will want to play a meaningfull role in the rebuilding of their
country.On our part,we should not miss this golden opportunity of
engaging the Diasporans in the task of reconstruction.But as I have
already suggested above,we should do this in a holistic and systematic
fashion.
There is absolutely no doubt that if this task is done
properly and efficiently,Zimbabwe will be able to raise millions of
United States dollars from her non-resident citizens.Perhaps,the
envisaged new people-driven constitution should also explore the
possibility of granting non-resident Zimbabweans the right to vote in
future national elections.Of course,logistically,this task will be
very cumbersome and expensive but it can be done.
There is need to give
non-resident Zimbabweans that feeling of belonging and what better way
of doing it than by granting them the opportunity to vote in future
national elections! If other countries can do it,why can't Zimbabwe do
it too?
Egypt is largely a desert country with very limited arable
land.However,Egypt has arguably the second biggest economy in Africa;
after South Africa.Egypt has managed to industrialise largely through
taping the resources and expertise of non-resident Egyptians.As a
die-hard football fan,I know that one of the twenty teams in the
English Premiership,Fulham,is owned by an Egyptian,Mohammed
Al-Fayed.
Al-Fayed,also the owner of the fashionable Harrods
departmental store in London,has played and continues to play a
prominent role in the ec onomic development of his motherland,Egypt.As
Zimbabweans,we can study the Egyptian example and seek to ascertain
how exactly they have managed to meaningfully involve the Egyptian
Diaspora in the economic development of their country.
Whether we like
it or not,the world is globalising and thus,it is becoming smaller and
smaller.It has already been stated,several times before,that it is
Zimbabwe that needs the world and not the world that needs Zimbabwe.We
should ,therefore,wake up and smell the coffee.
As such,we should
quickly learn to grab all our opportunities instead of always running
around with a begging bowl.A begging mentality will not take us far.It
will relegate us to the position of mere spectators in the global
environment.
Zimbabwe should refuse to be a nation of beggars;surviving
on hand-outs from well-wishers.We should strive to be up there with
the movers and shakers of the world's economy because that is
precisely where we belong.
The brain drain that Zimbabwe has sufferd from has to be urgently
addressed.The all-inclusive government should also try to lure back
some of our professionals who have now settled in the Diaspora.
Of
course,it is not going to be an easy task to lure back professionals
to a country where there is no access to safe drinking
water,affordable and quality education for their children,efficient
and reliable public transport as well as respect for basic human
rights and private property rights.In essence,therefore,we should
rebrand Zimbabwe as a country that can once
againbetrusted.
Presently,Zimbabwe has a rogue image out there; the
image of a renegade State where the law of the jungle is fully
operational; a lawless country where might is right.Zimbabweans that
are living in the Diaspora,particularly those living in developed
countries,are now accustomed to a certain way of running public
affairs.They live in countries where politicians and other public
officials are held accountable for their deeds and actions.Thus,the
rampant pilfering of public resources should never be tolerated by the
all-inclusive government.Public servants are there to serve and not to
be served.Corruption and greed should be ruthlessly nipped in the bud.
More importantly,Zimbabweans,both resident and non-resident,should
embrace a new culture of openess,honesty,integrity and mutual
respect.Ubuntu as they call it in Zulu.The politics of hate and
polarisaton has wrecked havoc with our way of doing business.We take
the first opportunityo to over charge and profiteer.
We would like to charge
top dollar for a shody service.In short,we would like to get rich
quickly;we would like to reap where didn't sow.This '' chikorokoza''
habit should simply stop if Zimbabwe is to catch up with the rest of
the world.The task ahead of us;though arduous is definately not
insurmountable.Where there is a will there is a way.
Senator Gutu
ZIMBABWE'S PARLIAMENT SHOULD BE FEARLESS AND INDEPENDENT
The legislature is one of the three pillars of the State. The other pillars are the executive and the judiciary. Put simply, the doctrine of separation of powers essentially entails that each of the three pillars of the State should be independent from the other if real and substantive democracy is to be observed.
It, therefore, follows that the true tenets of democracy are severely compromised in countries where one of the arms of the State, in most cases the executive, becomes supper-strong and domineering at the expense of the other arms of the State.
Typically, in most if not all totalitarian States, the executive arm is very powerful and it literally relegates the legislature and the judiciary to subsidiary roles where they become weak appendages of the executive.
Proceeding on the assumption that Zimbabwe should not be a totalitarian State, it naturally follows, therefore that we need a strong and independent legislature as well as an independent judiciary that is always ready to dispense justice without fear or favour. Anything short of this clearly not acceptable.
I make no apology in stating that since independence in 1980, Zimbabwe’s parliamentary system has not developed to an acceptable level inasfar as modern democratic tenets are concerned.
Invariably, parliament has been virtually dominated by one political party to such an extent that most pieces of legislation, no matter how controversial, such as the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA) and the Public Order and Security Act (POSA) have been rail-roaded through parliament with relative ease and comfort.
It is my considered view that a parliament that is exclusively dominated by one political party is never good for democracy. Alternative viewpoints are always healthy in order to nurture, develop and sustain a genuine democracy. For democracy to thrive, there is always a need to have a vibrant opposition in parliament that is able to play a genuine oversight role over the activities of the executive.
The inclusive government in Zimbabwe gives us a unique parliamentary set-up where we virtually do not have an opposition in parliament save for the lone voice of one Jonathan Moyo.
Whether or not the unique parliamentary set-up that is presently obtaining in Zimbabwe is good for democracy is neither here no there. Suffice to state that a parliament should always strive to have a strong and fearless opposition voice.
Parliament has basically three main functions and these are to legislate, to play a representational role to the people who vote legislators into office and also to play an oversight role over the activities of the executive arm of the State. A parliament that fails to effectively carry out any of these three main functions in therefore a serious impediment to the development of democracy.
A parliament that merely rubberstamps the actions and decisions of the executive is a catalyst towards the development of a dictatorship. Zimbabwe doesmot need a dictatorship. What we need is a robust, independent and well-funded parliament that will genuinely play a decisive role in the democratization agenda in Zimbabwe.
I am a legislator in the seventh parliament of Zimbabwe that was voted in office on March 29, 2008. My experience so far has been anything but rosy. We have a parliament that is so severely underfunded that it is unable to hold parliamentary sittings that are long. In most cases, parliament just sits for few days and/or hours before a long adjournment is announced.
For all the months that I have been a member of parliament, the legislative agenda has been virtually non-existent. Only a few pieces of legislation have been dealth with so far in both houses of parliament. For the avoidance of doubt, I will itemise the few pieces of legislation that parliament has dealt with to date. These are the Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment No. 19 Act, the Zimbabwe National Security Council Act, the Finance Act and the Appropriation Act.
New pieces of legislation to enhance Zimbabwe’s democratization agenda have simply not been forth-coming from the inclusive government. Here is hoping that when parliament resumes sitting on June 16, 2009 we are going to be kept busy by dealing with new pieces of legislation as envisaged in the global political agreement (GPA) that was solemnized on September 15, 2008 in Harare.
I am very mindful of the prevailing economic and financial challenges that are being faced by our country. I am also acutely aware of the fact that the inclusive government is cash-strapped and that it has to attend to many competing interests.
Be that as it may, I humbly urge the inclusive government to take note of the debilitating poverty and destitution that is afflicting the majority of our parliamentarians.
Most of them cannot even afford to buy a single meal in the hotels in which they are booked during parliamentary sessions. Parliament normally pays for bed and breakfast only and the individual legislators have to take care of the other meals. Lest I am misunderstood by the readers; I am not by any stretch of the imagination suggesting that legislators are a special breed of Zimbabweans who deserve to be pampered.
No. All I am stating is that it is dehumanizing and utterly humiliating for honourable members of parliament to be seen stashing bread rolls in their handbags during breakfast so that they can cater for their next meal! In similar measure, it is any unmitigated embarrassment for an honourable member of parliament to tour his/her constituency using public transport simply because the Treasury has not made available the requisite funds to purchase motor vehicles for parliamentarians.
I have nothing but absolute respect for our Minister of Finance and on some occasions, I have personally appealed to him to urgently do something about the plight of our parliamentarians if the legislature is to remain a useful and relevant arm of the state in the New Zimbabwe that we are all so keen on building.
On our own part as legislators, I also humbly urge my fellow legislators not to be cry babies. We should not expect to earn a living by getting into parliament. First and foremost, being a parliamentarian is a public duty; to serve Zimbabwe and not to have Zimbabwe serve you.
You will be terribly disappointed if you think that you will get rich by simply getting into parliament. We should endeavour to be enterprising and thus, ensure that we have some decent and honest sources of income other than the US100 allowance that we are getting from parliament every month.
For those of my collegues who saw wisdom in grabbing motor vehicles that were recently doled out to them by the Reserve Bank, I humbly urge them to interrogate their consciences and ascertain whether they did the right thing for themselves and for the institution of parliament.They should appreciate that Gideon Gono is fighting his own desperate battles.
He is a cornered man who is viciously fighting to save his skin.Thus,if given the opportunity,he woyuld be keen to recruit parliamentarians so that they will fight in his corner.This man is sly,crafty and cunning.Thus,legislators should look at the bigger picture.
Whilst there is absolutely nothing wrong with legislators being allocated vehicles, I am strongly of the view that proper procedures ought and must be followed if we are to maintain and uphold the dignity of the institution of parliament. Comrades, greed will never take us anywhere.
As a parting shot, I wish to reiterate that a week and compromised parliament is the anti-thesis of democracy.
By Senator Obert Gutu
It, therefore, follows that the true tenets of democracy are severely compromised in countries where one of the arms of the State, in most cases the executive, becomes supper-strong and domineering at the expense of the other arms of the State.
Typically, in most if not all totalitarian States, the executive arm is very powerful and it literally relegates the legislature and the judiciary to subsidiary roles where they become weak appendages of the executive.
Proceeding on the assumption that Zimbabwe should not be a totalitarian State, it naturally follows, therefore that we need a strong and independent legislature as well as an independent judiciary that is always ready to dispense justice without fear or favour. Anything short of this clearly not acceptable.
I make no apology in stating that since independence in 1980, Zimbabwe’s parliamentary system has not developed to an acceptable level inasfar as modern democratic tenets are concerned.
Invariably, parliament has been virtually dominated by one political party to such an extent that most pieces of legislation, no matter how controversial, such as the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA) and the Public Order and Security Act (POSA) have been rail-roaded through parliament with relative ease and comfort.
It is my considered view that a parliament that is exclusively dominated by one political party is never good for democracy. Alternative viewpoints are always healthy in order to nurture, develop and sustain a genuine democracy. For democracy to thrive, there is always a need to have a vibrant opposition in parliament that is able to play a genuine oversight role over the activities of the executive.
The inclusive government in Zimbabwe gives us a unique parliamentary set-up where we virtually do not have an opposition in parliament save for the lone voice of one Jonathan Moyo.
Whether or not the unique parliamentary set-up that is presently obtaining in Zimbabwe is good for democracy is neither here no there. Suffice to state that a parliament should always strive to have a strong and fearless opposition voice.
Parliament has basically three main functions and these are to legislate, to play a representational role to the people who vote legislators into office and also to play an oversight role over the activities of the executive arm of the State. A parliament that fails to effectively carry out any of these three main functions in therefore a serious impediment to the development of democracy.
A parliament that merely rubberstamps the actions and decisions of the executive is a catalyst towards the development of a dictatorship. Zimbabwe doesmot need a dictatorship. What we need is a robust, independent and well-funded parliament that will genuinely play a decisive role in the democratization agenda in Zimbabwe.
I am a legislator in the seventh parliament of Zimbabwe that was voted in office on March 29, 2008. My experience so far has been anything but rosy. We have a parliament that is so severely underfunded that it is unable to hold parliamentary sittings that are long. In most cases, parliament just sits for few days and/or hours before a long adjournment is announced.
For all the months that I have been a member of parliament, the legislative agenda has been virtually non-existent. Only a few pieces of legislation have been dealth with so far in both houses of parliament. For the avoidance of doubt, I will itemise the few pieces of legislation that parliament has dealt with to date. These are the Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment No. 19 Act, the Zimbabwe National Security Council Act, the Finance Act and the Appropriation Act.
New pieces of legislation to enhance Zimbabwe’s democratization agenda have simply not been forth-coming from the inclusive government. Here is hoping that when parliament resumes sitting on June 16, 2009 we are going to be kept busy by dealing with new pieces of legislation as envisaged in the global political agreement (GPA) that was solemnized on September 15, 2008 in Harare.
I am very mindful of the prevailing economic and financial challenges that are being faced by our country. I am also acutely aware of the fact that the inclusive government is cash-strapped and that it has to attend to many competing interests.
Be that as it may, I humbly urge the inclusive government to take note of the debilitating poverty and destitution that is afflicting the majority of our parliamentarians.
Most of them cannot even afford to buy a single meal in the hotels in which they are booked during parliamentary sessions. Parliament normally pays for bed and breakfast only and the individual legislators have to take care of the other meals. Lest I am misunderstood by the readers; I am not by any stretch of the imagination suggesting that legislators are a special breed of Zimbabweans who deserve to be pampered.
No. All I am stating is that it is dehumanizing and utterly humiliating for honourable members of parliament to be seen stashing bread rolls in their handbags during breakfast so that they can cater for their next meal! In similar measure, it is any unmitigated embarrassment for an honourable member of parliament to tour his/her constituency using public transport simply because the Treasury has not made available the requisite funds to purchase motor vehicles for parliamentarians.
I have nothing but absolute respect for our Minister of Finance and on some occasions, I have personally appealed to him to urgently do something about the plight of our parliamentarians if the legislature is to remain a useful and relevant arm of the state in the New Zimbabwe that we are all so keen on building.
On our own part as legislators, I also humbly urge my fellow legislators not to be cry babies. We should not expect to earn a living by getting into parliament. First and foremost, being a parliamentarian is a public duty; to serve Zimbabwe and not to have Zimbabwe serve you.
You will be terribly disappointed if you think that you will get rich by simply getting into parliament. We should endeavour to be enterprising and thus, ensure that we have some decent and honest sources of income other than the US100 allowance that we are getting from parliament every month.
For those of my collegues who saw wisdom in grabbing motor vehicles that were recently doled out to them by the Reserve Bank, I humbly urge them to interrogate their consciences and ascertain whether they did the right thing for themselves and for the institution of parliament.They should appreciate that Gideon Gono is fighting his own desperate battles.
He is a cornered man who is viciously fighting to save his skin.Thus,if given the opportunity,he woyuld be keen to recruit parliamentarians so that they will fight in his corner.This man is sly,crafty and cunning.Thus,legislators should look at the bigger picture.
Whilst there is absolutely nothing wrong with legislators being allocated vehicles, I am strongly of the view that proper procedures ought and must be followed if we are to maintain and uphold the dignity of the institution of parliament. Comrades, greed will never take us anywhere.
As a parting shot, I wish to reiterate that a week and compromised parliament is the anti-thesis of democracy.
By Senator Obert Gutu
POOR GOVERNANCE & RAMPANT CORRUPTION AND NOT ''ILLEGAL'' SANCTIONS ARE THE MAIN CAUSE OF ZIMBABWE'S ECONOMIC DECAY
Denialism is always a convenient tool for most if not all dictatorships throughout the history of mankind.Even if Adolf Hitler was alive today,he will vehemently deny that his expansionist and fascist policies in Europe were a direct cause of the Second World War.If Idi Amin was alive today,he will give you a wide grin and declare that he is the best thing to ever happen to Uganda.
Students of history and political science are quite accustomed to the denialist tendencies of all dictatorships and thus; they are not at all surprised when ZANU-PF religiously blames Zimbabwe's economic stagnation and general socio-political trepidation on so-called ''illegal'' sanctions imposed on the country by Britain and her western allies.ZANU-PF zealots and propagandists will not tell you about the autocratic and klepocratic style of governance that their party has perfected over the years.
They will be conveniently silent about the complete disaster that has been the hallmark of their brand of land '' reform''.In equal measure,they will not explain to you why the so-called Look East policy has been such an unmitigated disaster.Talk about ''regime change'' and these same ZANU-PF apologists and sycophants will go into a trance and shout their voices hoarse; declaring that they are a '' revolutionary'' party that should rule Zimbabwe until thy Kingdom come! But what they will not tell you is why their '' friends'' in the East never seem to take them seriously. They will also not tell you what they mean,exactly, by the term '' regime change''.
Regime change is a perfectly lawful,legitimate and democratic aspiration of any mass political party in any country.Political parties basically compete for political power and thus; there is absolutely nothing wrong for any political party in Zimbabwe or anywhere else for that matter,to seek to form the next government through peacefull,lawfull,democratic and constitutional means.
If a political party doesnot aspire for regime change then it is not a serious and ambitious political organisation.Put simply,therefore,there is nothing criminal and/or treasonous for a political party to seek to change the incumbent government through democratic and constitutional means.That is regime change.
In recent weeks, the issue of sanctions has been very topical again.Infact,this particular issue is literally threatening to tear the inclusive government into pieces.We have heard ZANU-PF vehemently declaring that, as a political party,they have since fully complied with all their obligations in terms of the global political agreement that was solemnised on September 15,2008 in Harare.
This political party is,instead,blaming the MDC led by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai for failing to play ball by not calling for the lifting of so-called illegal sanctions imposed on the country by Britain,the US and their allies.In my humble opinion,this is what I call errant nonsense.I have repeatedly argued that Morgan Tsvangirai does not run Britain; neither does he run the United States nor Australia.
For any sane person to, therefore, expect Morgan Tsvangirai to instruct these countries to lift the restrictive personal measures that they imposed on certain ZANU-PF personalities simply boggles the mind.
If some people opt to conduct their political affairs like warlords and die-hard fascists then who is Tsvangirai to help these kind of people to have their cake and eat it? If the same group of people seeks to derail the democratisation process by deliberately delaying the constitution-making process,then why should they demand to be treated as royalty when their very actions are the exact antithesis of the democratisation agenda? If it takes more than
two months to consider the names of individuals selected to sit on the Zimbabwe Media Commission before setting up the said Commission,then who,exactly, has imposed sanctions on the innocent and suffering people of Zimbabwe?
So much has also been said and written about the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act ( ZIDERA) that was passed by the US Congress in December 2001.What surprises some of us is that no attempt has ever been made by the ZANU-PF propagandists to clarify,chapter and verse,how exactly ZIDERA has caused Zimbabwe's economy to collapse and its agriculture industry to plumet to such humi\
liating levels where we have to import 400 000 tonnes of maize this season from a tiny country called Malawi.
With or without ZIDERA these propagandists should be told that Zimbabwe has accumulated more than US$5 billion in both domestic and foreign debt.They should also be advised that Zimbabwe's voting rights in the IMF were suspended because of her failure to service her debt and clear her arrears.And how does ZIDERA impact on Zimbabwe's failure to service her indebtness? How did this indebtedness arise in the first place? Where is the money? Who used it and for what purpose(s)? When Zimbabwe chose to waste her hard-earned financial and material resources in the DRC during the so-called Operation Sovereign Legitimacy,how did ZIDERA influence this absurd military escapade? Furthermore,what tangible benefits,if any, did Zimbabwe derive from her military adventurism in the Congo?
It is misguided military adventurism such as the Congo operation and not the so-called '' illegal'' sanctions, that accelerated Zimbabwe's economic meltdown.We have heard that a certain man who heads the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe boasts of being a '' sanctions'' buster.Really; if this gentleman has managed to be a successfull sanctions buster why is that the Zimbabwe economy literally imploded during his tenure at the Reserve Bank? There are surely more questions than answers.
ZANU-PF's stubborn refusal to agree to the swearing in of Roy Bennett as a deputy minister is hardly anything to surprise anyone who has studied the modus operandi of this party.Similarly,the refusal to share the gubernatorial posts is typical of this party; always indicating left and then suddenly turning right.
The real reason why ZANU-PF is unreasonably refusing to fully consummate the GPA is mainly because they realise that the MDC, led by Morgan Tsvangirai, is becoming so immensely popular each and every day that ZANU-PF has got a snowball's chance in hell of ever winning a free and fair election in Zimbabwe.
The reluctance by ZANU-PF to fully consumate this clearly loveless and almost forced marriage is informed by the desire for self-preservation.ZANU-PF is properly advised that their continued
stay in power can only be sustained by holding back the train of democratisation.But then they have to learn from the lessons of history.Surely,the former ruling party can fool some of the people some of the time but they will never manage to fool all the people all of the time.The day of reckoning is nigh.
For as long as the GPA is not fully consumated ZANU-PF can be assured that the rest of the world will always view the new political dispensation with extreme caution and circumspection.Surely,if a die-hard hardcore and violent criminal tells you that he is fully rehabilitated it would be folly to take his word on the face of it.
You will have to wait and observe that the hardcore criminal has genuinely reformed and that he has abandoned his nefarious ways.To date,ZANU-PF has hardly managed to convince the doubting world that it has become a rehabilitated political party that can be trusted with pursuing a democratisation agenda; in keeping with the letter and spirit of the GPA.
No matter how much they will talk about the so-called '' illegal'' sanctions,if they fail to honestly and in utmost good faith,fully consumate the GPA, then the status quo shall prevail.
Those characters who are prohibited from travelling to New York,London,Paris,Sydney and some other western cities will only see those cities on television and /or in their dreams.This is the cold hard fact that they should learn to live with.Indeed,poor governance and rampant corruption and not the so-called '' illegal'' sanctions are the main and direct cause of Zimbabwe's economic malaise and a generalised democratic deficit.
Wriiten by:
Senator Obert Gutu
Students of history and political science are quite accustomed to the denialist tendencies of all dictatorships and thus; they are not at all surprised when ZANU-PF religiously blames Zimbabwe's economic stagnation and general socio-political trepidation on so-called ''illegal'' sanctions imposed on the country by Britain and her western allies.ZANU-PF zealots and propagandists will not tell you about the autocratic and klepocratic style of governance that their party has perfected over the years.
They will be conveniently silent about the complete disaster that has been the hallmark of their brand of land '' reform''.In equal measure,they will not explain to you why the so-called Look East policy has been such an unmitigated disaster.Talk about ''regime change'' and these same ZANU-PF apologists and sycophants will go into a trance and shout their voices hoarse; declaring that they are a '' revolutionary'' party that should rule Zimbabwe until thy Kingdom come! But what they will not tell you is why their '' friends'' in the East never seem to take them seriously. They will also not tell you what they mean,exactly, by the term '' regime change''.
Regime change is a perfectly lawful,legitimate and democratic aspiration of any mass political party in any country.Political parties basically compete for political power and thus; there is absolutely nothing wrong for any political party in Zimbabwe or anywhere else for that matter,to seek to form the next government through peacefull,lawfull,democratic and constitutional means.
If a political party doesnot aspire for regime change then it is not a serious and ambitious political organisation.Put simply,therefore,there is nothing criminal and/or treasonous for a political party to seek to change the incumbent government through democratic and constitutional means.That is regime change.
In recent weeks, the issue of sanctions has been very topical again.Infact,this particular issue is literally threatening to tear the inclusive government into pieces.We have heard ZANU-PF vehemently declaring that, as a political party,they have since fully complied with all their obligations in terms of the global political agreement that was solemnised on September 15,2008 in Harare.
This political party is,instead,blaming the MDC led by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai for failing to play ball by not calling for the lifting of so-called illegal sanctions imposed on the country by Britain,the US and their allies.In my humble opinion,this is what I call errant nonsense.I have repeatedly argued that Morgan Tsvangirai does not run Britain; neither does he run the United States nor Australia.
For any sane person to, therefore, expect Morgan Tsvangirai to instruct these countries to lift the restrictive personal measures that they imposed on certain ZANU-PF personalities simply boggles the mind.
If some people opt to conduct their political affairs like warlords and die-hard fascists then who is Tsvangirai to help these kind of people to have their cake and eat it? If the same group of people seeks to derail the democratisation process by deliberately delaying the constitution-making process,then why should they demand to be treated as royalty when their very actions are the exact antithesis of the democratisation agenda? If it takes more than
two months to consider the names of individuals selected to sit on the Zimbabwe Media Commission before setting up the said Commission,then who,exactly, has imposed sanctions on the innocent and suffering people of Zimbabwe?
So much has also been said and written about the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act ( ZIDERA) that was passed by the US Congress in December 2001.What surprises some of us is that no attempt has ever been made by the ZANU-PF propagandists to clarify,chapter and verse,how exactly ZIDERA has caused Zimbabwe's economy to collapse and its agriculture industry to plumet to such humi\
liating levels where we have to import 400 000 tonnes of maize this season from a tiny country called Malawi.
With or without ZIDERA these propagandists should be told that Zimbabwe has accumulated more than US$5 billion in both domestic and foreign debt.They should also be advised that Zimbabwe's voting rights in the IMF were suspended because of her failure to service her debt and clear her arrears.And how does ZIDERA impact on Zimbabwe's failure to service her indebtness? How did this indebtedness arise in the first place? Where is the money? Who used it and for what purpose(s)? When Zimbabwe chose to waste her hard-earned financial and material resources in the DRC during the so-called Operation Sovereign Legitimacy,how did ZIDERA influence this absurd military escapade? Furthermore,what tangible benefits,if any, did Zimbabwe derive from her military adventurism in the Congo?
It is misguided military adventurism such as the Congo operation and not the so-called '' illegal'' sanctions, that accelerated Zimbabwe's economic meltdown.We have heard that a certain man who heads the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe boasts of being a '' sanctions'' buster.Really; if this gentleman has managed to be a successfull sanctions buster why is that the Zimbabwe economy literally imploded during his tenure at the Reserve Bank? There are surely more questions than answers.
ZANU-PF's stubborn refusal to agree to the swearing in of Roy Bennett as a deputy minister is hardly anything to surprise anyone who has studied the modus operandi of this party.Similarly,the refusal to share the gubernatorial posts is typical of this party; always indicating left and then suddenly turning right.
The real reason why ZANU-PF is unreasonably refusing to fully consummate the GPA is mainly because they realise that the MDC, led by Morgan Tsvangirai, is becoming so immensely popular each and every day that ZANU-PF has got a snowball's chance in hell of ever winning a free and fair election in Zimbabwe.
The reluctance by ZANU-PF to fully consumate this clearly loveless and almost forced marriage is informed by the desire for self-preservation.ZANU-PF is properly advised that their continued
stay in power can only be sustained by holding back the train of democratisation.But then they have to learn from the lessons of history.Surely,the former ruling party can fool some of the people some of the time but they will never manage to fool all the people all of the time.The day of reckoning is nigh.
For as long as the GPA is not fully consumated ZANU-PF can be assured that the rest of the world will always view the new political dispensation with extreme caution and circumspection.Surely,if a die-hard hardcore and violent criminal tells you that he is fully rehabilitated it would be folly to take his word on the face of it.
You will have to wait and observe that the hardcore criminal has genuinely reformed and that he has abandoned his nefarious ways.To date,ZANU-PF has hardly managed to convince the doubting world that it has become a rehabilitated political party that can be trusted with pursuing a democratisation agenda; in keeping with the letter and spirit of the GPA.
No matter how much they will talk about the so-called '' illegal'' sanctions,if they fail to honestly and in utmost good faith,fully consumate the GPA, then the status quo shall prevail.
Those characters who are prohibited from travelling to New York,London,Paris,Sydney and some other western cities will only see those cities on television and /or in their dreams.This is the cold hard fact that they should learn to live with.Indeed,poor governance and rampant corruption and not the so-called '' illegal'' sanctions are the main and direct cause of Zimbabwe's economic malaise and a generalised democratic deficit.
Wriiten by:
Senator Obert Gutu
ZIMBABWE'S '' LOOK EAST'' POLICY : A POISONED CHALICE ?
With an economy growing at an average annual rate of around 10% in recent years,China is undoubtedly a global economic tiger.China is experiencing an impressive economic boom virtually unparalled in the past two or so decades.The increasing role that is being played by China in the global economy cannot, therefore, be ignored.
The main purpose of this paper is to interrogate the economic relations between China and Zimbabwe firstly in a bilateral context and also in a generalised Sino-African context.Going forward, the fourth Forum for China -Africa Co-operation ( FOCAC) that was held at the Egyptian resort town of Sharm El' Shaik in November , 2009 set the tone for China's desire to structure and outline its foreign and indeed,economic policy, in Africa.The need to foster and stimulate greater South-South co-operation through more integrated trade and investment synergies and linkages was emphasised.
Because of the abundance of natural resources such as minerals and oil on the African continent, China is taking its economic relations with Africa very seriously.China, as one of the world's fastest growing economies, has a voracious appetite for Africa's vast and in some cases, untapped natural resources.The first FOCAC summit was held in Beijing in 2000, followed with the second summit in Addis Ababa in 2003 and the third summit in Beijing in 2006.
Africa has not been spared from the effects of the global economic crisis.Although Zimbabwe's economy, for the past decade or so, has been largely de-linked from the global economy, it will be folly for anyone to think that Zimbabwe has nothing to lose from the global economic recession.Weak and decimated as the Zimbabwean economy might be today, it is not a secret that Zimbabwe possesses tremendous economic potential.Infact,Zimbabwe is a sleeping economic giant.
As soon as we emerge from the politics of autocracy,repression and kleptocracy,Zimbabwe will be a resurgent economic giant in Sub-Saharan Africa, second,perhaps, only to South Africa.Zimbabwe is well-endowed with virtually every strategic mineral resource known to mankind; most of which is yet to be exploited.China is acutely aware of Zimbabwe's strategic position as a sleeping economic giant with vast mineral and other natural resources.
China has become the third largest commercial partner in Africa after the USA and France.There are about 450 Chinese-owned investment projects in Africa; most of it resource extraction.Since the inception of the first FOCAC summit in 2000, the trade relationship between China and Africa has increased from US$10,5 billion to US$106 billion in 2008.
Zimbabwe has to learn to re-direct her development trajectory to make her economic revival more enduring and sustainable.Gone should be the days of sloganeering and hate-mongering.
This world is getting smaller and smaller and if Zimbabwe is not careful, she will very soon be squeezed out. China means business in Africa; the Chinese are not here to sloganeer and reminisce about the good old days of the liberation struggles that were waged on the African continent in the sixties and the seventies.China is in Africa to benefit from the vast natural resources that are necessary to fuel the Chinese economic boom.Sino-African relations can be traced back to the 1960s during the Cold War when China provided military and ideological support to Africa's liberation struggles, particularly in Southern Africa.
In the 1980s, China adopted economic reforms that saw its economy increasingly becoming market driven.Of course, there was always the trappings of socialist rhetoric but this paper boldly adopts the view that modern day China is a capitalist nation; the main distinction from the West being that the vast majority of Chinese companies that play a major role in the global economy are State-owned corporations.But these State-owned Chinese corporations are fiercely capitalistic in both their mode of production and marketing.They are first and foremost, profit-driven.
The clarion call for Zimbabwe and indeed, for the rest of the African continent, should be to seek to develop and sustain a win-win economic relationship with China.And to be able to do this Africa should work out a continental or at the very least, sub-regional masterplan of how Africa should economically engage with China.
There are absolutely no meaningfull benefits to be derived by Africa if small and weak African nations continue to enter into fragmented and unco-ordinated bilateral economic contracts with China.Do I hear someone shouting that African countries, because they are sovereign nations, should do what they want with whomsoever they want on a bilateral basis?
This paper doesnot seek to bastardise the noble principle of state sovereignity.If anything, it is the writer's argument that African countries can strengthen their sovereign status by engaging in well co-ordinated and regionally integrated economic ties not only with China, but indeed, with all the major economic powers of the world; both in the West and in the East.
Thus, although the writer has particularly no qualms about the much talked about '' Look East'' policy; he has serious reservations about continuing to look east without also looking west, north and south.At any rate, if you continue going East, you will inevitably come to the West.Because the East and the West are now two sides of the same coin.
The writer attended the Chinese Development Assistance in Southern Africa Regional stakeholder workshop that was held in Maputo, Mozambique, on 30 November, 2009.This workshop was very ably put together by AFRODAD ( African Forum and Network on Debt and Development) in conjunction with SAPSN ( Southern African People's Solidarity Network).Notable amongst the presenters at this workshop was a celebrated citizen of SADC and renowned academic, Dot Keet.She presented an insightful paper entitled '' Perspectives for African Engagement with China''.
This was a thought-provoking paper that really interrogated the myth behind Sino-African relationships.Keet was not flattering in her condemnation of the one-size-fits-all approach that is normally adopted by Western institutions such as the World Bank and the Bretton Woods institutions in their dealings with developing countries; particularly in Africa.
She was also not flattering when she boldly stated that African countries should be very careful and cautious when they enter into economic and financial agreements with China.For obvious reasons, China would like to portray herself as Africa's '' all weather friend''. Naturally, African dictators are very keen to enter into economic relations with China mainly because China is hardly bothered about issues of governance, environmental sustainability and human rights.
These African dictators will tell you that aid from China is always without any strings attached.They are, of course, not telling the truth.In this world that we live in as mere mortals, nothing is for free and no aid is without any strings attached.
China has a very strategic economic agenda in Africa.She needs to acquire resources needed for continued industrialisation and economic growth as well as to find access to new markets for cheap consumer products produced in China.
If Africa fails to develop her own strategic economic agenda with the Chinese, the African continent will remain just as a huge market for cheap imports from China whilst Africa' s vast natural resources will continue to be plundered by the new capitalists from the East.Is China really Africa's '' all weather friend'' ? Certainly not! Is Zimbabwe 's much talked about '' Look East'' policy the panacea to our socio-economic trepidation? The writer is unable to agree.
Written by :
Senator Obert Gutu
The main purpose of this paper is to interrogate the economic relations between China and Zimbabwe firstly in a bilateral context and also in a generalised Sino-African context.Going forward, the fourth Forum for China -Africa Co-operation ( FOCAC) that was held at the Egyptian resort town of Sharm El' Shaik in November , 2009 set the tone for China's desire to structure and outline its foreign and indeed,economic policy, in Africa.The need to foster and stimulate greater South-South co-operation through more integrated trade and investment synergies and linkages was emphasised.
Because of the abundance of natural resources such as minerals and oil on the African continent, China is taking its economic relations with Africa very seriously.China, as one of the world's fastest growing economies, has a voracious appetite for Africa's vast and in some cases, untapped natural resources.The first FOCAC summit was held in Beijing in 2000, followed with the second summit in Addis Ababa in 2003 and the third summit in Beijing in 2006.
Africa has not been spared from the effects of the global economic crisis.Although Zimbabwe's economy, for the past decade or so, has been largely de-linked from the global economy, it will be folly for anyone to think that Zimbabwe has nothing to lose from the global economic recession.Weak and decimated as the Zimbabwean economy might be today, it is not a secret that Zimbabwe possesses tremendous economic potential.Infact,Zimbabwe is a sleeping economic giant.
As soon as we emerge from the politics of autocracy,repression and kleptocracy,Zimbabwe will be a resurgent economic giant in Sub-Saharan Africa, second,perhaps, only to South Africa.Zimbabwe is well-endowed with virtually every strategic mineral resource known to mankind; most of which is yet to be exploited.China is acutely aware of Zimbabwe's strategic position as a sleeping economic giant with vast mineral and other natural resources.
China has become the third largest commercial partner in Africa after the USA and France.There are about 450 Chinese-owned investment projects in Africa; most of it resource extraction.Since the inception of the first FOCAC summit in 2000, the trade relationship between China and Africa has increased from US$10,5 billion to US$106 billion in 2008.
Zimbabwe has to learn to re-direct her development trajectory to make her economic revival more enduring and sustainable.Gone should be the days of sloganeering and hate-mongering.
This world is getting smaller and smaller and if Zimbabwe is not careful, she will very soon be squeezed out. China means business in Africa; the Chinese are not here to sloganeer and reminisce about the good old days of the liberation struggles that were waged on the African continent in the sixties and the seventies.China is in Africa to benefit from the vast natural resources that are necessary to fuel the Chinese economic boom.Sino-African relations can be traced back to the 1960s during the Cold War when China provided military and ideological support to Africa's liberation struggles, particularly in Southern Africa.
In the 1980s, China adopted economic reforms that saw its economy increasingly becoming market driven.Of course, there was always the trappings of socialist rhetoric but this paper boldly adopts the view that modern day China is a capitalist nation; the main distinction from the West being that the vast majority of Chinese companies that play a major role in the global economy are State-owned corporations.But these State-owned Chinese corporations are fiercely capitalistic in both their mode of production and marketing.They are first and foremost, profit-driven.
The clarion call for Zimbabwe and indeed, for the rest of the African continent, should be to seek to develop and sustain a win-win economic relationship with China.And to be able to do this Africa should work out a continental or at the very least, sub-regional masterplan of how Africa should economically engage with China.
There are absolutely no meaningfull benefits to be derived by Africa if small and weak African nations continue to enter into fragmented and unco-ordinated bilateral economic contracts with China.Do I hear someone shouting that African countries, because they are sovereign nations, should do what they want with whomsoever they want on a bilateral basis?
This paper doesnot seek to bastardise the noble principle of state sovereignity.If anything, it is the writer's argument that African countries can strengthen their sovereign status by engaging in well co-ordinated and regionally integrated economic ties not only with China, but indeed, with all the major economic powers of the world; both in the West and in the East.
Thus, although the writer has particularly no qualms about the much talked about '' Look East'' policy; he has serious reservations about continuing to look east without also looking west, north and south.At any rate, if you continue going East, you will inevitably come to the West.Because the East and the West are now two sides of the same coin.
The writer attended the Chinese Development Assistance in Southern Africa Regional stakeholder workshop that was held in Maputo, Mozambique, on 30 November, 2009.This workshop was very ably put together by AFRODAD ( African Forum and Network on Debt and Development) in conjunction with SAPSN ( Southern African People's Solidarity Network).Notable amongst the presenters at this workshop was a celebrated citizen of SADC and renowned academic, Dot Keet.She presented an insightful paper entitled '' Perspectives for African Engagement with China''.
This was a thought-provoking paper that really interrogated the myth behind Sino-African relationships.Keet was not flattering in her condemnation of the one-size-fits-all approach that is normally adopted by Western institutions such as the World Bank and the Bretton Woods institutions in their dealings with developing countries; particularly in Africa.
She was also not flattering when she boldly stated that African countries should be very careful and cautious when they enter into economic and financial agreements with China.For obvious reasons, China would like to portray herself as Africa's '' all weather friend''. Naturally, African dictators are very keen to enter into economic relations with China mainly because China is hardly bothered about issues of governance, environmental sustainability and human rights.
These African dictators will tell you that aid from China is always without any strings attached.They are, of course, not telling the truth.In this world that we live in as mere mortals, nothing is for free and no aid is without any strings attached.
China has a very strategic economic agenda in Africa.She needs to acquire resources needed for continued industrialisation and economic growth as well as to find access to new markets for cheap consumer products produced in China.
If Africa fails to develop her own strategic economic agenda with the Chinese, the African continent will remain just as a huge market for cheap imports from China whilst Africa' s vast natural resources will continue to be plundered by the new capitalists from the East.Is China really Africa's '' all weather friend'' ? Certainly not! Is Zimbabwe 's much talked about '' Look East'' policy the panacea to our socio-economic trepidation? The writer is unable to agree.
Written by :
Senator Obert Gutu
ZANU PF CONGRESS : GRAND EXERCISE IN SELF-DELUSION
The recently held ZANU PF congress was indeed,an exercise in futility.In some of my previous articles that covered the moribund state of the former ruling party, I have repeatedly stated that ZANU PF is mortally wounded to such an extent that only a miracle can save it from inevitable electoral annihilation by the resurgent and vibrant MDC led by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai.During the past week,the nation was subjected to some form of tragi-comedy styled the ZANU PF 5th People's Congress.
It was a tragedy because of the sad atmosphere of deeply held factional positions and tribal politics that openly played themselves out at an occasion that was supposed to be a real and genuine political party congress.Sad because one could not avoid sensing the feeling of utter hopelessness, dejection and resignation amongst members of the Emmerson Mnangagwa faction who werely obviously outplayed and outmanouvred at this circus called a congress.
It was a comedy because of the sheer pleasure and comical relief one could get by simply observing grown-up men and women behaving in some very strange manner all in a desperate bid to push their factional agendas.Of course, there was comic relief in the use of electronic warfare in an attempt to push certain positions particularly the short message campaign using mobile telephone technology.This campaign was obviously aimed at influencing the delegates' choices during the plenary session at the congress.Alas,there was no plenary session at the congress! The whole act was stage-managed in such a manner that the genuine and legitimate concerns of the majority of the delegates were never entertained.That was vintage ZANU PF.
A political party congress should be an occasion to robustly debate and discuss a party's ideological ramifications as well as to design and articulate its development trajectory going forward.In addition,a congress should also be used as an occasion to choose a leadership that will be able to competently and effectively manage the party's affairs.Where there is need, as was obviously the case in ZANU PF, a new leadership ought to have been chosen to try to extricate the former ruling party from the political wilderness where it is now domiciled.
The fact that ZANU PF dismally failed to use its congress as an opportunity to renew and re-invigorate itself is clear testimony to the conclusion that the former ruling party is now completely damaged goods which no right-thinking consumer can willingly buy.For what can one say about a party that goes out of its way to thwart internal democracy in a bid to push the selfish and in some cases, openly tribalistic agenda, of some political heavyweights.
One may ask, why were the delegates prevented from making nominations from the floor ; even for candidates to occupy seats in the so-called presidium? Who knows what might have happened to the likes of John Nkomo and Simon Khaya Moyo if congress delegates had been granted their democratic right to nominate candidates from the floor.
It is quite possible that characters such as Oppah Muchinguri and Didymus Mutasa would have found themselves in the presidium if genuine democracy had been given a chance at the recently held ZANU PF congress.But we all know that democracy and ZANU -PF are like parallel lines ; they will never meet.If ZANU PF so effectively thwarts democracy at its own congress, how can any sane person,therefore, expect such a party to practise democracy in its dealings with other organisations; particularly competing political parties?
A political party that hopelessy fails to renew its old and tired leadership at a congress should never be given the mandate to govern any democratic nation.Zimbabwe is too special to be relegated to the realms of failed states such as Somalia.ZANU -PF has perfected the art of rule by the elders otherwise known as gerontocracy.
In any democratic and progressive nation,geriatrics are normally confined to less-demanding tasks and in some cases, they are even confined to retirement homes.We should certainly respect our deserving elders but then it will be utter recklessness to burden our elders with the onerous task of running the affairs of state.Unlike ZANU-PF, the MDC led by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has a youthfull and focused leadership who obviously have a cutting edge.These are people in the prime of their lives who have both the physical and mental energy to take Zimbabwe to the next level.
Some of the resolutions passed at the ZANU PF congress fly in the face of the spirit of inclusivity which should be the hallmark of the transitional government presently running Zimbabwe.For instance, the ZANU PF congress resolved that there should not be any more concessions to the MDC in the on-going talks until such a time that so-called illegal sanctions have been lifted.
What sanctions? ZANU -PF has desperately sought to use the '' sanctions'' red herring to confuse the people about what the global political agreement ( GPA) entails.Let the position be made abundantly clear that the MDC is not making any special and out-of- context demands at the on-going talks.What the MDC is simply demanding, and rightly so, is full and unconditional compliance with the GPA by all its signatories.Nothing more and nothing less.
For instance, Gideon Gono and Johannes Tomana's appointments by Mr.Robert Mugabe were done in flagrant violation of the terms and conditions of the GPA that was solemnised in Harare on 15 September, 2008.These two men's appoitments were effected in late 2008, several weeks after the signing of the GPA.The mere fact that the other signatories to the GPA were never consulted when Mr.Robert Mugabe made these appointments is clear and unmitigated violation of the political agreement.It is, therefore, preposterous, naive and ill-informed for anyone to argue that Gono and Tomana should not be considered as issues in the on-going talks by the negotiators from the three political parties who are signatories to the GPA.
ZANU PF is mortally and fatally wounded.They can only resurrect themselves by resorting to thuggery and violence as they did after the MDC resoundingly won the March 29, 2008 harmonised local government, parliamentary and presidential elections.Lest the people forget; Morgan Richard Tsvangirai thrashed Robert Mugabe in the March 29, 2008 presidential elections.
If democracy had been allowed to prevail, Morgan Richard Tsvangirai should, by electoral right, be the legitimate and lawful President of the Republic of Zimbabwe today. ZANU PF can huff and puff but the simple truth is that the people spoke on March 29, 2008.The people will speak again, more resoundingly this time, should free and fair elections be held held right now or at any time in the future.
Mr.Robert Mugabe has promised that elections will soon be held to determine who should run matters of state in our beautiful little country called Zimbabwe.The people cannot wait to show Mr.Robert Mugabe and his moribund and faction-ridden party that they prefer to have Morgan Tsvangirai and the MDC as their custodians in running Zimbabwe. ZANU PF has hopelessly failed to adapt to the dictates of modern -day developmental politics.It is not a matter of whether but rather, when ZANU PF will become extinct like the dinosaur.
Written by:
Senator Obert Gutu
It was a tragedy because of the sad atmosphere of deeply held factional positions and tribal politics that openly played themselves out at an occasion that was supposed to be a real and genuine political party congress.Sad because one could not avoid sensing the feeling of utter hopelessness, dejection and resignation amongst members of the Emmerson Mnangagwa faction who werely obviously outplayed and outmanouvred at this circus called a congress.
It was a comedy because of the sheer pleasure and comical relief one could get by simply observing grown-up men and women behaving in some very strange manner all in a desperate bid to push their factional agendas.Of course, there was comic relief in the use of electronic warfare in an attempt to push certain positions particularly the short message campaign using mobile telephone technology.This campaign was obviously aimed at influencing the delegates' choices during the plenary session at the congress.Alas,there was no plenary session at the congress! The whole act was stage-managed in such a manner that the genuine and legitimate concerns of the majority of the delegates were never entertained.That was vintage ZANU PF.
A political party congress should be an occasion to robustly debate and discuss a party's ideological ramifications as well as to design and articulate its development trajectory going forward.In addition,a congress should also be used as an occasion to choose a leadership that will be able to competently and effectively manage the party's affairs.Where there is need, as was obviously the case in ZANU PF, a new leadership ought to have been chosen to try to extricate the former ruling party from the political wilderness where it is now domiciled.
The fact that ZANU PF dismally failed to use its congress as an opportunity to renew and re-invigorate itself is clear testimony to the conclusion that the former ruling party is now completely damaged goods which no right-thinking consumer can willingly buy.For what can one say about a party that goes out of its way to thwart internal democracy in a bid to push the selfish and in some cases, openly tribalistic agenda, of some political heavyweights.
One may ask, why were the delegates prevented from making nominations from the floor ; even for candidates to occupy seats in the so-called presidium? Who knows what might have happened to the likes of John Nkomo and Simon Khaya Moyo if congress delegates had been granted their democratic right to nominate candidates from the floor.
It is quite possible that characters such as Oppah Muchinguri and Didymus Mutasa would have found themselves in the presidium if genuine democracy had been given a chance at the recently held ZANU PF congress.But we all know that democracy and ZANU -PF are like parallel lines ; they will never meet.If ZANU PF so effectively thwarts democracy at its own congress, how can any sane person,therefore, expect such a party to practise democracy in its dealings with other organisations; particularly competing political parties?
A political party that hopelessy fails to renew its old and tired leadership at a congress should never be given the mandate to govern any democratic nation.Zimbabwe is too special to be relegated to the realms of failed states such as Somalia.ZANU -PF has perfected the art of rule by the elders otherwise known as gerontocracy.
In any democratic and progressive nation,geriatrics are normally confined to less-demanding tasks and in some cases, they are even confined to retirement homes.We should certainly respect our deserving elders but then it will be utter recklessness to burden our elders with the onerous task of running the affairs of state.Unlike ZANU-PF, the MDC led by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has a youthfull and focused leadership who obviously have a cutting edge.These are people in the prime of their lives who have both the physical and mental energy to take Zimbabwe to the next level.
Some of the resolutions passed at the ZANU PF congress fly in the face of the spirit of inclusivity which should be the hallmark of the transitional government presently running Zimbabwe.For instance, the ZANU PF congress resolved that there should not be any more concessions to the MDC in the on-going talks until such a time that so-called illegal sanctions have been lifted.
What sanctions? ZANU -PF has desperately sought to use the '' sanctions'' red herring to confuse the people about what the global political agreement ( GPA) entails.Let the position be made abundantly clear that the MDC is not making any special and out-of- context demands at the on-going talks.What the MDC is simply demanding, and rightly so, is full and unconditional compliance with the GPA by all its signatories.Nothing more and nothing less.
For instance, Gideon Gono and Johannes Tomana's appointments by Mr.Robert Mugabe were done in flagrant violation of the terms and conditions of the GPA that was solemnised in Harare on 15 September, 2008.These two men's appoitments were effected in late 2008, several weeks after the signing of the GPA.The mere fact that the other signatories to the GPA were never consulted when Mr.Robert Mugabe made these appointments is clear and unmitigated violation of the political agreement.It is, therefore, preposterous, naive and ill-informed for anyone to argue that Gono and Tomana should not be considered as issues in the on-going talks by the negotiators from the three political parties who are signatories to the GPA.
ZANU PF is mortally and fatally wounded.They can only resurrect themselves by resorting to thuggery and violence as they did after the MDC resoundingly won the March 29, 2008 harmonised local government, parliamentary and presidential elections.Lest the people forget; Morgan Richard Tsvangirai thrashed Robert Mugabe in the March 29, 2008 presidential elections.
If democracy had been allowed to prevail, Morgan Richard Tsvangirai should, by electoral right, be the legitimate and lawful President of the Republic of Zimbabwe today. ZANU PF can huff and puff but the simple truth is that the people spoke on March 29, 2008.The people will speak again, more resoundingly this time, should free and fair elections be held held right now or at any time in the future.
Mr.Robert Mugabe has promised that elections will soon be held to determine who should run matters of state in our beautiful little country called Zimbabwe.The people cannot wait to show Mr.Robert Mugabe and his moribund and faction-ridden party that they prefer to have Morgan Tsvangirai and the MDC as their custodians in running Zimbabwe. ZANU PF has hopelessly failed to adapt to the dictates of modern -day developmental politics.It is not a matter of whether but rather, when ZANU PF will become extinct like the dinosaur.
Written by:
Senator Obert Gutu
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Hon.Senator Obert Gutu - A brief Profile
Born on the 20th of October 1962 at Gutu Mission Hospital,Mr Gutu is the senior and founding partner of the firm.He holds BL(Hons) and LLB degrees from the University of Zimbabwe. He was admitted to practise law in Zimbabwe in 1986.He is a member of the Law Society of Zimbabwe, and the International Bar Association. He is currently studing for a Master of Philosophy degree with the University of Zimbabwe and the title of the thesis is:-
THE RULE OF LAW IN POST-INDEPENDENT ZIMBABWE BETWEEN THE PERIOD 1980-2000: THE IMPLICATIONS OF THE OBSERVANCE AND NON-OBSERVANCE OF THE RULE OF LAW IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF CONSTITUTIONAL LAW.
Mr Gutu is a former public prosecutor having worked in the Ministry of Justice for two years. He is a director of two companies with interests in the retail business sector as well as the satellite television sector.
Amongst his hobbies, he counts, golf, karate and chess. He is a keen football fan supporting Caps United Football club on the local scene and Arsenal on the international scene.
Mr Gutu is also the Chairman of Unlimited Media Company (Private) Limited, the producer of a popular TV soap called Estate Blues.In June 2007 he was appointed chairman of the Food Standards Advisory Board of Zimbabwe.The FSAB is a 17 member board whose core function is to advise the Minister of Health and Child Welfare on all matters relating to food and food standards.His term of office runs until 31st of May 2010 and it can be renewed.
Mr Gutu is also one of the lawyers in Africa who have been engaged by the World Bank`s Doing Business project.He has prepared and submitted reports to the Monitoring and Analysis Unit Investment Climate Department (CICMA) IFC - The World Bank Group 1818 H Street,N. W., Washington DC. The project`s website is hosted at www.worldbank.org
In his spare time,Mr Gutu enjoys reading.He has a passion for reading and research and he has been invited,on several occassions,by local NGOs to present papers at workshops and serminars.He has presented papers at workshops organised by Transparency International Zimbabwe Chapter as well as Amnesty International Zimbabwe Chapter.Mr Gutu has written extensively on human rights and some of his articles have appeared on online publications such as www.newzimbabwe.com and www.zimdaily.com Some of his articles have also been published by the Zimbabwe Independent newspaper,one of Zimbabwe`s leading business weeklies.
Mr Gutu has provided legal advice to major corporate clients such as Telecel International,Transparency International,ACCA Global,ZESA Holdings (Private) Limited, Release Power Investments (Private) Limited, and Inter Ocean Aviation,a big aviation company based in Mauritius.
THE RULE OF LAW IN POST-INDEPENDENT ZIMBABWE BETWEEN THE PERIOD 1980-2000: THE IMPLICATIONS OF THE OBSERVANCE AND NON-OBSERVANCE OF THE RULE OF LAW IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF CONSTITUTIONAL LAW.
Mr Gutu is a former public prosecutor having worked in the Ministry of Justice for two years. He is a director of two companies with interests in the retail business sector as well as the satellite television sector.
Amongst his hobbies, he counts, golf, karate and chess. He is a keen football fan supporting Caps United Football club on the local scene and Arsenal on the international scene.
Mr Gutu is also the Chairman of Unlimited Media Company (Private) Limited, the producer of a popular TV soap called Estate Blues.In June 2007 he was appointed chairman of the Food Standards Advisory Board of Zimbabwe.The FSAB is a 17 member board whose core function is to advise the Minister of Health and Child Welfare on all matters relating to food and food standards.His term of office runs until 31st of May 2010 and it can be renewed.
Mr Gutu is also one of the lawyers in Africa who have been engaged by the World Bank`s Doing Business project.He has prepared and submitted reports to the Monitoring and Analysis Unit Investment Climate Department (CICMA) IFC - The World Bank Group 1818 H Street,N. W., Washington DC. The project`s website is hosted at www.worldbank.org
In his spare time,Mr Gutu enjoys reading.He has a passion for reading and research and he has been invited,on several occassions,by local NGOs to present papers at workshops and serminars.He has presented papers at workshops organised by Transparency International Zimbabwe Chapter as well as Amnesty International Zimbabwe Chapter.Mr Gutu has written extensively on human rights and some of his articles have appeared on online publications such as www.newzimbabwe.com and www.zimdaily.com Some of his articles have also been published by the Zimbabwe Independent newspaper,one of Zimbabwe`s leading business weeklies.
Mr Gutu has provided legal advice to major corporate clients such as Telecel International,Transparency International,ACCA Global,ZESA Holdings (Private) Limited, Release Power Investments (Private) Limited, and Inter Ocean Aviation,a big aviation company based in Mauritius.
ZANU( PF) has to dismantle terror machinery before new elections can be held
” The hardest lesson of my life has come to me late.It is that a nation can win freedom without its people becoming free.I am a Zimbabwean patriot and an African patriot too.I refuse to accept that we cannot do better than we have so far done, or to reach for easy excuse that all our mistakes are simply a colonial inheritance that can conveniently be blamed on the invaders.”
I have quoted these words from the book , THE STORY OF MY LIFE, by Joshua Nkomo,simply to illustrate that true freedom as envisaged by the founding mothers and fathers of this great nation called Zimbabwe still has to be accomplished.Freedom is not simply about holding regular elections no matter how uneven and biased the political playing field is.
A nation cannot be free when the majority of its inhabitants live in debilitating poverty, fear and repression.It is a complete negation of freedom to have a set-up where might is right and where those who possess and control the coercive power of the State ride roughshod over the basic and fundamental human rights of the weak and poor majority.
It is a fact that since 1980, elections have been regularly held in Zimbabwe.It is equally true that the majority,if not all of these electoral
contests, have been marred by violence, intimidation, thuggery and outright vote rigging.Invariably, most electoral results in Zimbabwe have been
contested mainly because the process that gave rise to these elections was fundamentally flawed and as a result, the results of these elections were always a fertile ground for contestation.
The problem we have in this country is that our politics, since the attainment of independence on April 18, 1980, have always been the politics of power retention at whatever cost.
What has always mattered is whether the political establishment, as ushered in at independence, had been preserved and retained intact; political power, economic privileges and all.Everything else was subordinated to this primary instinct of power retention.As a result, the dominant political players, during every electoral contest, would throw all caution to the wind and go for the jugular to ensure that, ultimately, they always retained political power and hence, their privileged economic status as well.This is where we got it all wrong.
In a democracy, elections should give the voters an opportunity to freely
decide who should be entrusted with the duty of running matters of the
State.Put alternatively, any election that fails to accord the voters an
opportunity to freely choose their political leaders is but a sham
election.Do I hear someone talking about the farcical June 27, 2008
presidential election run-off in Zimbabwe? That internationally discredited
sham of an election is an unmitigated example of how not to run a free and
fair election.
My main fear is that I always see the ghost of June 27,
2008.If not thoroughly exorcised, this ghost will come back to haunt us
come the next elections in Zimbabwe.Just mark my words. The situation on the
ground in Zimbabwe today, in my humble view, is still far from being
suitable for the holding of a free amd fair election any time soon.
Whilst we
now have a semblance of political stability and some measure of tranquility,
I actually view this as a false dawn..Benith this facade of peace and
tranquility lies the lethal ghost of political intolerance and deeply
entrenched mistrust and bitterness.
We seem to be living in a fool’s paradise
where, unfortunately, some of us have chosen to bury their heads in the
sand, ostrich style, and somehow hope that our politics will just get
themselves right without any deliberate and conscious effort to heal the
nation.Sometimes, I wonder what has happened to the Organ on National
Healing and Integration.Can somebody please tell me whether or not this
organ is still in existence and functional?
Only a deranged mind can dispute the fact that the MDC led by Morgan
Tsvangirai is the most popular political party in Zimbabwe at this
juncture.
This fact has been proven by various scientific surveys too
numerous to mention in this short essay.As sure as the sun rises in the east
and sets in the west, Morgan Tsvangirai and the MDC will win, resoundingly,
any free and fair election held in Zimbabwe today, tomorrow or at any time
in the near future.What is in serious doubt is whether power will be
transferred to Morgan Tsvangirai and the MDC if they win an election; as
they will sure do.
For once, I would be uncharacteristically defeatist and
openly declare that even if Morgan Tsvangirai and the MDC were to win the
next elections, it will be a real nightmare for them to obtain total
transfer of power from the remnants of the securocrats who still retain a
tenacious hold on the coersive instruments of State power today.
That is the
real tragedy we have in Zimbabwe at this juncture in our political
history.We have never experienced a situation where power has been
transferred from one political party to another after the holding of
elections.We are just used to the holding of generally discredited, violent
and rigged elections where the result is manipulated and the people’s voice
is cheated.If this cancerous political disease is not completely cured,
Zimbabwe will always be mired in debilitating political problems which
will, inevitably, adversely impact on the economic turnaround that all of us
are so keen to embark upon.
The instruments of terror and repression are still intact throughout
Zimbabwe.Those militias and other State actors who violated and tormented
the nation between March and June 2008 are still roaming free.What guarantee
is there that these merchants of terror will not be let loose again, in the
event that another election is called for today? My argument is that there
is no use in holding an election in circumstances where the people’s will
will be manipulated and also, never be respected.
It has been a long walk to
freedom in Zimbabwe.The terror machinery, manufactured, nurtured and
sustained by the former ruling party, ZANU PF, has not yet been
dismantled.Holding an election under these circumstances would be like
taking a lamb to the slaughter.We should not use our peace-loving people as
canon fodder.
I have quoted these words from the book , THE STORY OF MY LIFE, by Joshua Nkomo,simply to illustrate that true freedom as envisaged by the founding mothers and fathers of this great nation called Zimbabwe still has to be accomplished.Freedom is not simply about holding regular elections no matter how uneven and biased the political playing field is.
A nation cannot be free when the majority of its inhabitants live in debilitating poverty, fear and repression.It is a complete negation of freedom to have a set-up where might is right and where those who possess and control the coercive power of the State ride roughshod over the basic and fundamental human rights of the weak and poor majority.
It is a fact that since 1980, elections have been regularly held in Zimbabwe.It is equally true that the majority,if not all of these electoral
contests, have been marred by violence, intimidation, thuggery and outright vote rigging.Invariably, most electoral results in Zimbabwe have been
contested mainly because the process that gave rise to these elections was fundamentally flawed and as a result, the results of these elections were always a fertile ground for contestation.
The problem we have in this country is that our politics, since the attainment of independence on April 18, 1980, have always been the politics of power retention at whatever cost.
What has always mattered is whether the political establishment, as ushered in at independence, had been preserved and retained intact; political power, economic privileges and all.Everything else was subordinated to this primary instinct of power retention.As a result, the dominant political players, during every electoral contest, would throw all caution to the wind and go for the jugular to ensure that, ultimately, they always retained political power and hence, their privileged economic status as well.This is where we got it all wrong.
In a democracy, elections should give the voters an opportunity to freely
decide who should be entrusted with the duty of running matters of the
State.Put alternatively, any election that fails to accord the voters an
opportunity to freely choose their political leaders is but a sham
election.Do I hear someone talking about the farcical June 27, 2008
presidential election run-off in Zimbabwe? That internationally discredited
sham of an election is an unmitigated example of how not to run a free and
fair election.
My main fear is that I always see the ghost of June 27,
2008.If not thoroughly exorcised, this ghost will come back to haunt us
come the next elections in Zimbabwe.Just mark my words. The situation on the
ground in Zimbabwe today, in my humble view, is still far from being
suitable for the holding of a free amd fair election any time soon.
Whilst we
now have a semblance of political stability and some measure of tranquility,
I actually view this as a false dawn..Benith this facade of peace and
tranquility lies the lethal ghost of political intolerance and deeply
entrenched mistrust and bitterness.
We seem to be living in a fool’s paradise
where, unfortunately, some of us have chosen to bury their heads in the
sand, ostrich style, and somehow hope that our politics will just get
themselves right without any deliberate and conscious effort to heal the
nation.Sometimes, I wonder what has happened to the Organ on National
Healing and Integration.Can somebody please tell me whether or not this
organ is still in existence and functional?
Only a deranged mind can dispute the fact that the MDC led by Morgan
Tsvangirai is the most popular political party in Zimbabwe at this
juncture.
This fact has been proven by various scientific surveys too
numerous to mention in this short essay.As sure as the sun rises in the east
and sets in the west, Morgan Tsvangirai and the MDC will win, resoundingly,
any free and fair election held in Zimbabwe today, tomorrow or at any time
in the near future.What is in serious doubt is whether power will be
transferred to Morgan Tsvangirai and the MDC if they win an election; as
they will sure do.
For once, I would be uncharacteristically defeatist and
openly declare that even if Morgan Tsvangirai and the MDC were to win the
next elections, it will be a real nightmare for them to obtain total
transfer of power from the remnants of the securocrats who still retain a
tenacious hold on the coersive instruments of State power today.
That is the
real tragedy we have in Zimbabwe at this juncture in our political
history.We have never experienced a situation where power has been
transferred from one political party to another after the holding of
elections.We are just used to the holding of generally discredited, violent
and rigged elections where the result is manipulated and the people’s voice
is cheated.If this cancerous political disease is not completely cured,
Zimbabwe will always be mired in debilitating political problems which
will, inevitably, adversely impact on the economic turnaround that all of us
are so keen to embark upon.
The instruments of terror and repression are still intact throughout
Zimbabwe.Those militias and other State actors who violated and tormented
the nation between March and June 2008 are still roaming free.What guarantee
is there that these merchants of terror will not be let loose again, in the
event that another election is called for today? My argument is that there
is no use in holding an election in circumstances where the people’s will
will be manipulated and also, never be respected.
It has been a long walk to
freedom in Zimbabwe.The terror machinery, manufactured, nurtured and
sustained by the former ruling party, ZANU PF, has not yet been
dismantled.Holding an election under these circumstances would be like
taking a lamb to the slaughter.We should not use our peace-loving people as
canon fodder.
Zimbabweans Cannot Wait To Show Mugabe The Door
The recently held ZANU PF congress was indeed an exercise in futility. In some of my previous articles that covered the moribund state of the former ruling party, I have repeatedly stated that ZANU PF is mortally wounded to such an extent that only a miracle can save it from inevitable electoral annihilation by the resurgent and vibrant MDC led by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai.
During the past week, the nation was subjected to some form of tragi-comedy styled the ZANU PF 5th People’s Congress. It was a tragedy because of the sad atmosphere of deeply held factional positions and tribal politics that openly played themselves out at an occasion that was supposed to be a real and genuine political party congress.
Sad because one could not avoid sensing the feeling of utter hopelessness, dejection and resignation amongst members of the Emmerson Mnangagwa faction who were obviously outplayed and outmanouvred at this circus called a congress.
It was a comedy because of the sheer pleasure and comical relief one could get by simply observing grown-up men and women behaving in some very strange manner all in a desperate bid to push their factional agendas. Of course, there was comic relief in the use of electronic warfare in an attempt to push certain positions particularly the short message campaign using mobile telephone technology.
This campaign was obviously aimed at influencing the delegates’ choices during the plenary session at the congress. Alas, there was no plenary session at the congress! The whole act was stage-managed in such a manner that the genuine and legitimate concerns of the majority of the delegates were never entertained. That was vintage ZANU PF.
A political party congress should be an occasion to robustly debate and discuss a party’s ideological ramifications as well as to design and articulate its development trajectory going forward. In addition, a congress should also be used as an occasion to choose a leadership that will be able to competently and effectively manage the party’s affairs.
Where there is need, as was obviously the case in ZANU PF, a new leadership ought to have been chosen to try to extricate the former ruling party from the political wilderness where it is now domiciled. The fact that ZANU PF dismally failed to use its congress as an opportunity to renew and re-invigorate itself is clear testimony to the conclusion that the former ruling party is now completely damaged goods which no right-thinking consumer can willingly buy.
For what can one say about a party that goes out of its way to thwart internal democracy in a bid to push the selfish and in some cases, openly tribalistic agenda, of some political heavyweights. One may ask, why were the delegates prevented from making nominations from the floor; even for candidates to occupy seats in the so-called presidium? Who knows what might have happened to the likes of John Nkomo and Simon Khaya Moyo if congress delegates had been granted their democratic right to nominate candidates from the floor.
It is quite possible that characters such as Oppah Muchinguri and Didymus Mutasa would have found themselves in the presidium if genuine democracy had been given a chance, but we all know that democracy and ZANU -PF are like parallel lines; they will never meet. If ZANU PF so effectively thwarts democracy at its own congress, how can any sane person, therefore, expect such a party to practise democracy in its dealings with other organisations; particularly competing political parties?
A political party that hopelessly fails to renew its old and tired leadership at a congress should never be given the mandate to govern any democratic nation. Zimbabwe is too special to be relegated to the realms of failed states such as Somalia. ZANU -PF has perfected the art of rule by the elders otherwise known as gerontocracy.
In any democratic and progressive nation, geriatrics are normally confined to less-demanding tasks and in some cases, they are even confined to retirement homes.
We should certainly respect our deserving elders but then it will be utter recklessness to burden our elders with the onerous task of running the affairs of state. Unlike ZANU-PF, the MDC led by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has a youthful and focused leadership who obviously have a cutting edge. These are people in the prime of their lives who have both the physical and mental energy to take Zimbabwe to the next level.
Some of the resolutions passed at the ZANU PF congress fly in the face of the spirit of inclusivity which should be the hallmark of the transitional government presently running Zimbabwe. For instance, the ZANU PF congress resolved that there should not be any more concessions to the MDC in the on-going talks until such a time that so-called illegal sanctions have been lifted. What sanctions? ZANU -PF has desperately sought to use the ”sanctions” red herring to confuse the people about what the global political agreement ( GPA) entails.
Let the position be made abundantly clear that the MDC is not making any special and out-of- context demands at the on-going talks. What the MDC is simply demanding, and rightly so, is full and unconditional compliance with the GPA by all its signatories. Nothing more and nothing less. For instance, Gideon Gono and Johannes Tomana’s appointments by Mr. Robert Mugabe were done in flagrant violation of the terms and conditions of the GPA that was solemnised in Harare on 15 September, 2008.
These two men’s appointments were effected in late 2008, several weeks after the signing of the GPA. The mere fact that the other signatories to the GPA were never consulted when Mr. Robert Mugabe made these appointments is clear and unmitigated violation of the political agreement.
It is, therefore, preposterous, naive and ill-informed for anyone to argue that Gono and Tomana should not be considered as issues in the on-going talks by the negotiators from the three political parties who are signatories to the GPA.
ZANU PF is mortally and fatally wounded. They can only resurrect themselves by resorting to thuggery and violence as they did after the MDC resoundingly won the March 29, 2008 harmonised local government, parliamentary and presidential elections.
Lest the people forget; Morgan Richard Tsvangirai thrashed Robert Mugabe in the March 29, 2008 presidential elections. If democracy had been allowed to prevail, Morgan Richard Tsvangirai should, by electoral right, be the legitimate and lawful President of
the Republic of Zimbabwe today.
ZANU PF can huff and puff but the simple truth is that the people spoke on March 29, 2008. The people will speak again, more resoundingly this time, should free and fair elections be held held right now or at any time in the future.
Mr. Robert Mugabe has promised that elections will soon be held to determine who should run matters of state in our beautiful little country called Zimbabwe. The people cannot wait to show Mr. Robert Mugabe and his moribund and faction-ridden party that they prefer to have Morgan Tsvangirai and the MDC as their custodians in running Zimbabwe. ZANU PF has hopelessly failed to adapt to the dictates of modern day developmental politics. It is not a matter of whether but rather, when ZANU PF will become extinct like the dinosaur. Senator Obert Gutu
During the past week, the nation was subjected to some form of tragi-comedy styled the ZANU PF 5th People’s Congress. It was a tragedy because of the sad atmosphere of deeply held factional positions and tribal politics that openly played themselves out at an occasion that was supposed to be a real and genuine political party congress.
Sad because one could not avoid sensing the feeling of utter hopelessness, dejection and resignation amongst members of the Emmerson Mnangagwa faction who were obviously outplayed and outmanouvred at this circus called a congress.
It was a comedy because of the sheer pleasure and comical relief one could get by simply observing grown-up men and women behaving in some very strange manner all in a desperate bid to push their factional agendas. Of course, there was comic relief in the use of electronic warfare in an attempt to push certain positions particularly the short message campaign using mobile telephone technology.
This campaign was obviously aimed at influencing the delegates’ choices during the plenary session at the congress. Alas, there was no plenary session at the congress! The whole act was stage-managed in such a manner that the genuine and legitimate concerns of the majority of the delegates were never entertained. That was vintage ZANU PF.
A political party congress should be an occasion to robustly debate and discuss a party’s ideological ramifications as well as to design and articulate its development trajectory going forward. In addition, a congress should also be used as an occasion to choose a leadership that will be able to competently and effectively manage the party’s affairs.
Where there is need, as was obviously the case in ZANU PF, a new leadership ought to have been chosen to try to extricate the former ruling party from the political wilderness where it is now domiciled. The fact that ZANU PF dismally failed to use its congress as an opportunity to renew and re-invigorate itself is clear testimony to the conclusion that the former ruling party is now completely damaged goods which no right-thinking consumer can willingly buy.
For what can one say about a party that goes out of its way to thwart internal democracy in a bid to push the selfish and in some cases, openly tribalistic agenda, of some political heavyweights. One may ask, why were the delegates prevented from making nominations from the floor; even for candidates to occupy seats in the so-called presidium? Who knows what might have happened to the likes of John Nkomo and Simon Khaya Moyo if congress delegates had been granted their democratic right to nominate candidates from the floor.
It is quite possible that characters such as Oppah Muchinguri and Didymus Mutasa would have found themselves in the presidium if genuine democracy had been given a chance, but we all know that democracy and ZANU -PF are like parallel lines; they will never meet. If ZANU PF so effectively thwarts democracy at its own congress, how can any sane person, therefore, expect such a party to practise democracy in its dealings with other organisations; particularly competing political parties?
A political party that hopelessly fails to renew its old and tired leadership at a congress should never be given the mandate to govern any democratic nation. Zimbabwe is too special to be relegated to the realms of failed states such as Somalia. ZANU -PF has perfected the art of rule by the elders otherwise known as gerontocracy.
In any democratic and progressive nation, geriatrics are normally confined to less-demanding tasks and in some cases, they are even confined to retirement homes.
We should certainly respect our deserving elders but then it will be utter recklessness to burden our elders with the onerous task of running the affairs of state. Unlike ZANU-PF, the MDC led by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has a youthful and focused leadership who obviously have a cutting edge. These are people in the prime of their lives who have both the physical and mental energy to take Zimbabwe to the next level.
Some of the resolutions passed at the ZANU PF congress fly in the face of the spirit of inclusivity which should be the hallmark of the transitional government presently running Zimbabwe. For instance, the ZANU PF congress resolved that there should not be any more concessions to the MDC in the on-going talks until such a time that so-called illegal sanctions have been lifted. What sanctions? ZANU -PF has desperately sought to use the ”sanctions” red herring to confuse the people about what the global political agreement ( GPA) entails.
Let the position be made abundantly clear that the MDC is not making any special and out-of- context demands at the on-going talks. What the MDC is simply demanding, and rightly so, is full and unconditional compliance with the GPA by all its signatories. Nothing more and nothing less. For instance, Gideon Gono and Johannes Tomana’s appointments by Mr. Robert Mugabe were done in flagrant violation of the terms and conditions of the GPA that was solemnised in Harare on 15 September, 2008.
These two men’s appointments were effected in late 2008, several weeks after the signing of the GPA. The mere fact that the other signatories to the GPA were never consulted when Mr. Robert Mugabe made these appointments is clear and unmitigated violation of the political agreement.
It is, therefore, preposterous, naive and ill-informed for anyone to argue that Gono and Tomana should not be considered as issues in the on-going talks by the negotiators from the three political parties who are signatories to the GPA.
ZANU PF is mortally and fatally wounded. They can only resurrect themselves by resorting to thuggery and violence as they did after the MDC resoundingly won the March 29, 2008 harmonised local government, parliamentary and presidential elections.
Lest the people forget; Morgan Richard Tsvangirai thrashed Robert Mugabe in the March 29, 2008 presidential elections. If democracy had been allowed to prevail, Morgan Richard Tsvangirai should, by electoral right, be the legitimate and lawful President of
the Republic of Zimbabwe today.
ZANU PF can huff and puff but the simple truth is that the people spoke on March 29, 2008. The people will speak again, more resoundingly this time, should free and fair elections be held held right now or at any time in the future.
Mr. Robert Mugabe has promised that elections will soon be held to determine who should run matters of state in our beautiful little country called Zimbabwe. The people cannot wait to show Mr. Robert Mugabe and his moribund and faction-ridden party that they prefer to have Morgan Tsvangirai and the MDC as their custodians in running Zimbabwe. ZANU PF has hopelessly failed to adapt to the dictates of modern day developmental politics. It is not a matter of whether but rather, when ZANU PF will become extinct like the dinosaur. Senator Obert Gutu
MDC Disengagement could result in Divorce
“Any lawyer will tell you that if a letter of demand is flagrantly ignored by the person to whom it is sent, appropriate legal action should ensue forthwith.”
The global political agreement (GPA) solemnised in Harare amidst pomp and ceremony has been anything but a happy marriage. Marriages of convenience are never known for their bliss and harmony, especially where a young and vibrant political party such as the MDC goes into a marriage of convenience with a tired and faction-ridden party such as ZANU(PF).
The MDC and ZANU (PF) are fundamentally and structurally dissimilar. Whilst the MDC is a movement that believes in a genuine democratic dispensation where the leadership of the party is accountable to its membership and is never allowed to degenerate into a one-person band, ZANU(PF) has a tradition of being a commandeering and top-down political party where the ” big man” syndrome is deeply entrenched.
ZANU (PF) is an organisation where any form of alternative thinking is ruthlessly clamped down and denounced as sell-out and/or neo-imperialist machinations. Whilst the MDC is forward-looking in its ideology and easily encourages robust debate amongst its membership, ZANU(PF) is deeply stuck in history and rather than engage the future and move forward, this party spends precious energy and time ”
celebrating” its past glory and eulogizing its former heroes; both living and dead, regardless of the apparent fact that some of these ” heroes” have since mutated into rabid tyrants who viciously clamp down upon any form of dissent; real or imagined. Such is the tragedy of ZANU(PF) that only a miracle can save it from inevitable disintegration and collapse.
The MDC’s decision to dis-engage from ZANU(PF) and not from the inclusive government is instructive. To some of us who have been carefully monitoring events in the inclusive government as they happened, we were not at all surprised by this bold and courageous decision. We had seen it coming. Mindful of the inherent mistrust typical of all forced marriages, we appreciated that a battered and habitually abused spouse in any unhappy forced marriage will, at some point in time, cry foul and seek to assert his/her rights vis-a-vis the abusive partner.
Put alternatively, the MDC tolerance threshold for continued abuse by ZANU(PF) was not going to last forever. The mere fact that eight months after the signing of the GPA, the contracting parties are still haggling over outstanding issues such as the Gono and Tomana appointments and the sharing of governors’ posts was in itself a symptom of a very unhappy and unstable political co-habitation.
Without mutual trust, love and affection in a marriage, divorce attorneys should always be ready to file the necessary papers at court.
I must confess that personally I was very pleased with the decision taken by the MDC to dis-engage from ZANU(PF) until such a time that all the afore-mentioned outstanding issues have been conclusively resolved. The MDC won the Parliamentary elections that were held on March 29, 2008. Morgan Tsvangirai beat Robert Mugabe hands down during the Presidential elections that were held the same day.
I will not dignify the electoral farce that took place on June 27, 2008 by making a substantive comment on it suffice to state that even the most die-hard ZANU(PF) supporters would agree that the June 27, 2008 run-off election ” result” will not be accepted as a genuine and free expression of the people’s will even in violence-ridden and lawless Somalia.
As expected, some latter-day opportunists and turncoat political ” analysts” have wasted no time in condemning the MDC decision to dis-engage from ZANU(PF) in both the Cabinet and the Council of Ministers. What these individuals seem not to appreciate is that the MDC has not walked out of the inclusive government. The MDC has simply given notice to their hostile and unco-operative partner in the inclusive government, ZANU(PF), that unless they start honouring their obligations honestly and honourably, divorce summons will sure be issued sooner rather than later.
In the practice of law, what the MDC has done is tantamount to issuing a strongly worded letter of demand. Any lawyer worth his/her salt will tell you that if a letter of demand is flagrantly ignored by the person to whom it is sent, appropriate legal action should ensue forthwith. Thus, ZANU(PF) will languish in a fool’s paradise if they think that the MDC is just playing mind games.
For some strange reason, all the twenty five (25) articles of the GPA do not specifically provide for any dissolution mechanism of the agreement. But this does not and should not be taken to mean that the GPA is cast in stone and can, therefore, not be dissolved. It can. Upon good and sufficient cause being shown and proved by any contracting party, any agreement (and this includes the GPA) can be terminated. I am not by any stretch of the imagination suggesting that the GPA should be terminated.
All I am submitting is that the GPA cannot be allowed to hang around the neck of the MDC like some kind of the Sword of Damocles. As a social democratic party, the MDC is busy consulting its supporters and Zimbabweans in general to decide whether or not this unhappy marriage called the inclusive government should be allowed to continue subsisting. The consultative process is on-going. The people will ultimately decide. This again shows the democratic and people-driven credentials of the MDC.
Some misguided senior civil servants who are still nursing a hangover of the expired ZANU (PF) political hegemony have gone ahead to mislead the nation by announcing that it will be business as usual in the inclusive government, even if the MDC has dis-engaged from ZANU(PF) in the Cabinet and the Council of Ministers.
It is this type of denialism that has been the hallmark of ZANU(PF)’ s descent into a deeply unpopular and rag tag organisation that is loosely held together by bitterly opposed and largely, tribalistic factions. Without the MDC under the astute leadership of Morgan Tsvangirai, Zimbabwe cannot be taken any further on the democratisation and socio-economic development fronts. ZANU(PF) is beyond redemption and indeed, all right-thinking and genuinely patriotic Zimbabweans locate the salvation of this great country in the MDC and not in ZANU(PF).
Constitutionally, executive authority in Zimbabwe shall vest in the President, the Prime Minister and the Cabinet. How ZANU (PF) dreams of turning around the fortunes of this country without the involvement of the MDC simply boggles the mind. They can continue with this ostrich mentality as they have done in the past.
The consequences are there for everyone to witness. However, the good news is that both SADC and the AU are not as naive as some ZANU(PF) apologists would want the nation to believe. These two organisations are acutely aware of the crisis that Zimbabwe has gone into because of the MDC decision to dis-engage from ZANU(PF), and they are already working frantically to ensure that the inclusive government experiment in Zimbabwe is not aborted.
The MDC decision to dis-engage from ZANU(PF) in both the cabinet and the council of ministers is a well thought-out political decision. This a strategic game plan that ranks amongst some of the major masterstrokes in contemporary world politics. It is an act of sheer political genius. And behind the scenes, ZANU(PF) is panicking.
Senator Obert Gutu
The global political agreement (GPA) solemnised in Harare amidst pomp and ceremony has been anything but a happy marriage. Marriages of convenience are never known for their bliss and harmony, especially where a young and vibrant political party such as the MDC goes into a marriage of convenience with a tired and faction-ridden party such as ZANU(PF).
The MDC and ZANU (PF) are fundamentally and structurally dissimilar. Whilst the MDC is a movement that believes in a genuine democratic dispensation where the leadership of the party is accountable to its membership and is never allowed to degenerate into a one-person band, ZANU(PF) has a tradition of being a commandeering and top-down political party where the ” big man” syndrome is deeply entrenched.
ZANU (PF) is an organisation where any form of alternative thinking is ruthlessly clamped down and denounced as sell-out and/or neo-imperialist machinations. Whilst the MDC is forward-looking in its ideology and easily encourages robust debate amongst its membership, ZANU(PF) is deeply stuck in history and rather than engage the future and move forward, this party spends precious energy and time ”
celebrating” its past glory and eulogizing its former heroes; both living and dead, regardless of the apparent fact that some of these ” heroes” have since mutated into rabid tyrants who viciously clamp down upon any form of dissent; real or imagined. Such is the tragedy of ZANU(PF) that only a miracle can save it from inevitable disintegration and collapse.
The MDC’s decision to dis-engage from ZANU(PF) and not from the inclusive government is instructive. To some of us who have been carefully monitoring events in the inclusive government as they happened, we were not at all surprised by this bold and courageous decision. We had seen it coming. Mindful of the inherent mistrust typical of all forced marriages, we appreciated that a battered and habitually abused spouse in any unhappy forced marriage will, at some point in time, cry foul and seek to assert his/her rights vis-a-vis the abusive partner.
Put alternatively, the MDC tolerance threshold for continued abuse by ZANU(PF) was not going to last forever. The mere fact that eight months after the signing of the GPA, the contracting parties are still haggling over outstanding issues such as the Gono and Tomana appointments and the sharing of governors’ posts was in itself a symptom of a very unhappy and unstable political co-habitation.
Without mutual trust, love and affection in a marriage, divorce attorneys should always be ready to file the necessary papers at court.
I must confess that personally I was very pleased with the decision taken by the MDC to dis-engage from ZANU(PF) until such a time that all the afore-mentioned outstanding issues have been conclusively resolved. The MDC won the Parliamentary elections that were held on March 29, 2008. Morgan Tsvangirai beat Robert Mugabe hands down during the Presidential elections that were held the same day.
I will not dignify the electoral farce that took place on June 27, 2008 by making a substantive comment on it suffice to state that even the most die-hard ZANU(PF) supporters would agree that the June 27, 2008 run-off election ” result” will not be accepted as a genuine and free expression of the people’s will even in violence-ridden and lawless Somalia.
As expected, some latter-day opportunists and turncoat political ” analysts” have wasted no time in condemning the MDC decision to dis-engage from ZANU(PF) in both the Cabinet and the Council of Ministers. What these individuals seem not to appreciate is that the MDC has not walked out of the inclusive government. The MDC has simply given notice to their hostile and unco-operative partner in the inclusive government, ZANU(PF), that unless they start honouring their obligations honestly and honourably, divorce summons will sure be issued sooner rather than later.
In the practice of law, what the MDC has done is tantamount to issuing a strongly worded letter of demand. Any lawyer worth his/her salt will tell you that if a letter of demand is flagrantly ignored by the person to whom it is sent, appropriate legal action should ensue forthwith. Thus, ZANU(PF) will languish in a fool’s paradise if they think that the MDC is just playing mind games.
For some strange reason, all the twenty five (25) articles of the GPA do not specifically provide for any dissolution mechanism of the agreement. But this does not and should not be taken to mean that the GPA is cast in stone and can, therefore, not be dissolved. It can. Upon good and sufficient cause being shown and proved by any contracting party, any agreement (and this includes the GPA) can be terminated. I am not by any stretch of the imagination suggesting that the GPA should be terminated.
All I am submitting is that the GPA cannot be allowed to hang around the neck of the MDC like some kind of the Sword of Damocles. As a social democratic party, the MDC is busy consulting its supporters and Zimbabweans in general to decide whether or not this unhappy marriage called the inclusive government should be allowed to continue subsisting. The consultative process is on-going. The people will ultimately decide. This again shows the democratic and people-driven credentials of the MDC.
Some misguided senior civil servants who are still nursing a hangover of the expired ZANU (PF) political hegemony have gone ahead to mislead the nation by announcing that it will be business as usual in the inclusive government, even if the MDC has dis-engaged from ZANU(PF) in the Cabinet and the Council of Ministers.
It is this type of denialism that has been the hallmark of ZANU(PF)’ s descent into a deeply unpopular and rag tag organisation that is loosely held together by bitterly opposed and largely, tribalistic factions. Without the MDC under the astute leadership of Morgan Tsvangirai, Zimbabwe cannot be taken any further on the democratisation and socio-economic development fronts. ZANU(PF) is beyond redemption and indeed, all right-thinking and genuinely patriotic Zimbabweans locate the salvation of this great country in the MDC and not in ZANU(PF).
Constitutionally, executive authority in Zimbabwe shall vest in the President, the Prime Minister and the Cabinet. How ZANU (PF) dreams of turning around the fortunes of this country without the involvement of the MDC simply boggles the mind. They can continue with this ostrich mentality as they have done in the past.
The consequences are there for everyone to witness. However, the good news is that both SADC and the AU are not as naive as some ZANU(PF) apologists would want the nation to believe. These two organisations are acutely aware of the crisis that Zimbabwe has gone into because of the MDC decision to dis-engage from ZANU(PF), and they are already working frantically to ensure that the inclusive government experiment in Zimbabwe is not aborted.
The MDC decision to dis-engage from ZANU(PF) in both the cabinet and the council of ministers is a well thought-out political decision. This a strategic game plan that ranks amongst some of the major masterstrokes in contemporary world politics. It is an act of sheer political genius. And behind the scenes, ZANU(PF) is panicking.
Senator Obert Gutu
Poor governance & rampant corruption and not ”illegal” sanctions are the main cause of Zimbabwe’s economic decay
Denialism is always a convenient tool for most if not all dictatorships throughout the history of mankind.Even if Adolf Hitler was alive today,he
will vehemently deny that his expansionist and fascist policies in Europe
were a direct cause of the Second World War.
If Idi Amin was alive today,he
will give you a wide grin and declare that he is the best thing to ever
happen to Uganda.Students of history and political science are quite
accustomed to the denialist tendencies of all dictatorships and thus; they
are not at all surprised when ZANU-PF religiously blames Zimbabwe’s economic
stagnation and general socio-political trepidation on so-called ”illegal”
sanctions imposed on the country by Britain and her western allies.
ZANU-PF
zealots and propagandists will not tell you about the autocratic and
klepocratic style of governance that their party has perfected over the
years.They will be conveniently silent about the complete disaster that has
been the hallmark of their brand of land ” reform”.In equal measure,they
will not explain to you why the so-called Look East policy has been such an
unmitigated disaster.Talk about ”regime change” and these same ZANU-PF
apologists and sycophants will go into a trance and shout their voices
hoarse; declaring that they are a ” revolutionary” party that should rule
Zimbabwe until thy Kingdom come!
But what they will not tell you is why
their ” friends” in the East never seem to take them seriously. They will
also not tell you what they mean,exactly, by the term ” regime change”.
Regime change is a perfectly lawful,legitimate and democratic aspiration of
any mass political party in any country.
Political parties basically compete
for political power and thus; there is absolutely nothing wrong for any
political party in Zimbabwe or anywhere else for that matter,to seek to form
the next government through peacefull,lawfull,democratic and constitutional
means. If a political party doesnot aspire for regime change then it is not
a serious and ambitious political organisation.Put simply,therefore,there is
nothing criminal and/or treasonous for a political party to seek to change
the incumbent government through democratic and constitutional means.That is
regime change.
In recent weeks, the issue of sanctions has been very topical
again.Infact,this particular issue is literally threatening to tear the
inclusive government into pieces.We have heard ZANU-PF vehemently declaring
that, as a political party,they have since fully complied with all their
obligations in terms of the global political agreement that was solemnised
on September 15,2008 in Harare.This political party is,instead,blaming the
MDC led by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai for failing to play ball by not
calling for the lifting of so-called illegal sanctions imposed on the
country by Britain,the US and their allies.
In my humble opinion,this is what
I call errant nonsense.I have repeatedly argued that Morgan Tsvangirai does
not run Britain; neither does he run the United States nor Australia.For any
sane person to, therefore, expect Morgan Tsvangirai to instruct these
countries to lift the restrictive personal measures that they imposed on
certain ZANU-PF personalities simply boggles the mind.
If some people opt to
conduct their political affairs like warlords and die-hard fascists then who
is Tsvangirai to help these kind of people to have their cake and eat it? If
the same group of people seeks to derail the democratisation process by
deliberately delaying the constitution-making process,then why should they
demand to be treated as royalty when their very actions are the exact
antithesis of the democratisation agenda? If it takes more than
two months to consider the names of individuals selected to sit on the
Zimbabwe Media Commission before setting up the said Commission,then
who,exactly, has imposed sanctions on the innocent and suffering people of
Zimbabwe?
So much has also been said and written about the Zimbabwe Democracy and
Economic Recovery Act ( ZIDERA) that was passed by the US Congress in
December 2001.What surprises some of us is that no attempt has ever been
made by the ZANU-PF propagandists to clarify,chapter and verse,how exactly
ZIDERA has caused Zimbabwe’s economy to collapse and its agriculture
industry to plumet to such humi\liating levels where we have to import 400 000 tonnes of maize this season
from a tiny country called Malawi.With or without ZIDERA these propagandists
should be told that Zimbabwe has accumulated more than US$5 billion in both
domestic and foreign debt.
They should also be advised that Zimbabwe’s voting
rights in the IMF were suspended because of her failure to service her debt
and clear her arrears.And how does ZIDERA impact on Zimbabwe’s failure to
service her indebtness?
How did this indebtedness arise in the first place?
Where is the money? Who used it and for what purpose(s)? When Zimbabwe
chose to waste her hard-earned financial and material resources in the DRC
during the so-called Operation Sovereign Legitimacy,how did ZIDERA
influence this absurd military escapade?
Furthermore,what tangible
benefits,if any, did Zimbabwe derive from her military adventurism in the
Congo? It is misguided military adventurism such as the Congo operation and
not the so-called ” illegal” sanctions, that accelerated Zimbabwe’s
economic meltdown.We have heard that a certain man who heads the Reserve
Bank of Zimbabwe boasts of being a ” sanctions” buster.Really; if this
gentleman has managed to be a successfull sanctions buster why is that the
Zimbabwe economy literally imploded during his tenure at the Reserve Bank?
There are surely more questions than answers.
ZANU-PF’s stubborn refusal to agree to the swearing in of Roy Bennett as a
deputy minister is hardly anything to surprise anyone who has studied the
modus operandi of this party.Similarly,the refusal to share the
gubernatorial posts is typical of this party; always indicating left and
then suddenly turning right.The real reason why ZANU-PF is unreasonably
refusing to fully consummate the GPA is mainly because they realise that the
MDC, led by Morgan Tsvangirai, is becoming so immensely popular each and
every day that ZANU-PF has got a snowball’s chance in hell of ever winning a
free and fair election in Zimbabwe.The reluctance by ZANU-PF to fully
consumate this clearly loveless and almost forced marriage is informed by
the desire for self-preservation.ZANU-PF is properly advised that their
continued
stay in power can only be sustained by holding back the train of
democratisation.But then they have to learn from the lessons of
history.Surely,the former ruling party can fool some of the people some of
the time but they will never manage to fool all the people all of the
time.The day of reckoning is nigh.
For as long as the GPA is not fully consumated ZANU-PF can be assured that
the rest of the world will always view the new political dispensation with
extreme caution and circumspection.Surely,if a die-hard hardcore and violent
criminal tells you that he is fully rehabilitated it would be folly to take
his word on the face of it.
You will have to wait and observe that the
hardcore criminal has genuinely reformed and that he has abandoned his
nefarious ways.To date,ZANU-PF has hardly managed to convince the doubting
world that it has become a rehabilitated political party that can be trusted
with pursuing a democratisation agenda; in keeping with the letter and
spirit of the GPA.
No matter how much they will talk about the so-called ”
illegal” sanctions,if they fail to honestly and in utmost good faith,fully
consumate the GPA, then the status quo shall prevail.
Those characters who
are prohibited from travelling to New York,London,Paris,Sydney and some
other western cities will only see those cities on television and /or in
their dreams.This is the cold hard fact that they should learn to live
with.Indeed,poor governance and rampant corruption and not the so-called ”
illegal” sanctions are the main and direct cause of Zimbabwe’s economic
malaise and a generalised democratic deficit.
will vehemently deny that his expansionist and fascist policies in Europe
were a direct cause of the Second World War.
If Idi Amin was alive today,he
will give you a wide grin and declare that he is the best thing to ever
happen to Uganda.Students of history and political science are quite
accustomed to the denialist tendencies of all dictatorships and thus; they
are not at all surprised when ZANU-PF religiously blames Zimbabwe’s economic
stagnation and general socio-political trepidation on so-called ”illegal”
sanctions imposed on the country by Britain and her western allies.
ZANU-PF
zealots and propagandists will not tell you about the autocratic and
klepocratic style of governance that their party has perfected over the
years.They will be conveniently silent about the complete disaster that has
been the hallmark of their brand of land ” reform”.In equal measure,they
will not explain to you why the so-called Look East policy has been such an
unmitigated disaster.Talk about ”regime change” and these same ZANU-PF
apologists and sycophants will go into a trance and shout their voices
hoarse; declaring that they are a ” revolutionary” party that should rule
Zimbabwe until thy Kingdom come!
But what they will not tell you is why
their ” friends” in the East never seem to take them seriously. They will
also not tell you what they mean,exactly, by the term ” regime change”.
Regime change is a perfectly lawful,legitimate and democratic aspiration of
any mass political party in any country.
Political parties basically compete
for political power and thus; there is absolutely nothing wrong for any
political party in Zimbabwe or anywhere else for that matter,to seek to form
the next government through peacefull,lawfull,democratic and constitutional
means. If a political party doesnot aspire for regime change then it is not
a serious and ambitious political organisation.Put simply,therefore,there is
nothing criminal and/or treasonous for a political party to seek to change
the incumbent government through democratic and constitutional means.That is
regime change.
In recent weeks, the issue of sanctions has been very topical
again.Infact,this particular issue is literally threatening to tear the
inclusive government into pieces.We have heard ZANU-PF vehemently declaring
that, as a political party,they have since fully complied with all their
obligations in terms of the global political agreement that was solemnised
on September 15,2008 in Harare.This political party is,instead,blaming the
MDC led by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai for failing to play ball by not
calling for the lifting of so-called illegal sanctions imposed on the
country by Britain,the US and their allies.
In my humble opinion,this is what
I call errant nonsense.I have repeatedly argued that Morgan Tsvangirai does
not run Britain; neither does he run the United States nor Australia.For any
sane person to, therefore, expect Morgan Tsvangirai to instruct these
countries to lift the restrictive personal measures that they imposed on
certain ZANU-PF personalities simply boggles the mind.
If some people opt to
conduct their political affairs like warlords and die-hard fascists then who
is Tsvangirai to help these kind of people to have their cake and eat it? If
the same group of people seeks to derail the democratisation process by
deliberately delaying the constitution-making process,then why should they
demand to be treated as royalty when their very actions are the exact
antithesis of the democratisation agenda? If it takes more than
two months to consider the names of individuals selected to sit on the
Zimbabwe Media Commission before setting up the said Commission,then
who,exactly, has imposed sanctions on the innocent and suffering people of
Zimbabwe?
So much has also been said and written about the Zimbabwe Democracy and
Economic Recovery Act ( ZIDERA) that was passed by the US Congress in
December 2001.What surprises some of us is that no attempt has ever been
made by the ZANU-PF propagandists to clarify,chapter and verse,how exactly
ZIDERA has caused Zimbabwe’s economy to collapse and its agriculture
industry to plumet to such humi\liating levels where we have to import 400 000 tonnes of maize this season
from a tiny country called Malawi.With or without ZIDERA these propagandists
should be told that Zimbabwe has accumulated more than US$5 billion in both
domestic and foreign debt.
They should also be advised that Zimbabwe’s voting
rights in the IMF were suspended because of her failure to service her debt
and clear her arrears.And how does ZIDERA impact on Zimbabwe’s failure to
service her indebtness?
How did this indebtedness arise in the first place?
Where is the money? Who used it and for what purpose(s)? When Zimbabwe
chose to waste her hard-earned financial and material resources in the DRC
during the so-called Operation Sovereign Legitimacy,how did ZIDERA
influence this absurd military escapade?
Furthermore,what tangible
benefits,if any, did Zimbabwe derive from her military adventurism in the
Congo? It is misguided military adventurism such as the Congo operation and
not the so-called ” illegal” sanctions, that accelerated Zimbabwe’s
economic meltdown.We have heard that a certain man who heads the Reserve
Bank of Zimbabwe boasts of being a ” sanctions” buster.Really; if this
gentleman has managed to be a successfull sanctions buster why is that the
Zimbabwe economy literally imploded during his tenure at the Reserve Bank?
There are surely more questions than answers.
ZANU-PF’s stubborn refusal to agree to the swearing in of Roy Bennett as a
deputy minister is hardly anything to surprise anyone who has studied the
modus operandi of this party.Similarly,the refusal to share the
gubernatorial posts is typical of this party; always indicating left and
then suddenly turning right.The real reason why ZANU-PF is unreasonably
refusing to fully consummate the GPA is mainly because they realise that the
MDC, led by Morgan Tsvangirai, is becoming so immensely popular each and
every day that ZANU-PF has got a snowball’s chance in hell of ever winning a
free and fair election in Zimbabwe.The reluctance by ZANU-PF to fully
consumate this clearly loveless and almost forced marriage is informed by
the desire for self-preservation.ZANU-PF is properly advised that their
continued
stay in power can only be sustained by holding back the train of
democratisation.But then they have to learn from the lessons of
history.Surely,the former ruling party can fool some of the people some of
the time but they will never manage to fool all the people all of the
time.The day of reckoning is nigh.
For as long as the GPA is not fully consumated ZANU-PF can be assured that
the rest of the world will always view the new political dispensation with
extreme caution and circumspection.Surely,if a die-hard hardcore and violent
criminal tells you that he is fully rehabilitated it would be folly to take
his word on the face of it.
You will have to wait and observe that the
hardcore criminal has genuinely reformed and that he has abandoned his
nefarious ways.To date,ZANU-PF has hardly managed to convince the doubting
world that it has become a rehabilitated political party that can be trusted
with pursuing a democratisation agenda; in keeping with the letter and
spirit of the GPA.
No matter how much they will talk about the so-called ”
illegal” sanctions,if they fail to honestly and in utmost good faith,fully
consumate the GPA, then the status quo shall prevail.
Those characters who
are prohibited from travelling to New York,London,Paris,Sydney and some
other western cities will only see those cities on television and /or in
their dreams.This is the cold hard fact that they should learn to live
with.Indeed,poor governance and rampant corruption and not the so-called ”
illegal” sanctions are the main and direct cause of Zimbabwe’s economic
malaise and a generalised democratic deficit.
National healing impossible without truth reconciliation commision
Hatred and intolerance inevitably give rise to anger,bitterness and resentment in both the victim and the perpetrator.Zimbabwe is a nation most of whose inhabitants are boiling with anger,resentment and bitterness across the political divide.This great country has had the singular misfortune of remaining in denial and choosing to pretend that everything in the country is going on just fine and that let us simply let bygones be bygones.
Although I am no expert in psychology,I can safely state that the majority of Zimbabweans,both living in the country and in the Diaspora, are in need of genuine and professional counselling to enable them to effectively heal from the post-traumatic stress disorder that was largely caused by years of a violent armed struggle that ultimately gave rise to our independence on April 18, 1980.Things didnot get any better soon after independence because the Matelebeland and Midlands massacres,which can accurately be described as genocide,took place between 1983 and 1987.
When the old ZANU(PF) and ZAPU merged into one party after the signing of the Unity Accord on December 22,1987,no attempt whatsover was made by the government to formally heal the nation by adopting policies that would have helped in genuinely pacifying the nation and also in trying to ensure that the primitive culture of violence and political intolerance that was the hallmark of the Gukurahundi era was completely eradicated from our midst.After the signing of the Unity Accord,we all remained in denial and pretended that the country was now ”united” and also that bygones should be bygones.
Put alternatively,as a nation,we dismally failed to locate the real reasons behind the horror of Gukurahundi and also failed to interrogate the simmering hatred between both the victims and the perpetrators of the Gukurahundi genocidal massacres.That was a fatal mistake on the part of the government as later events would prove in the political history of Zimbabwe.
In this article,it is not my intention to open old wounds and thus seek to incite hate and retribution.If anything,I am motivated by the desire to escape from denialism and to confront,head-on,the problems that we are facing as we desperately clamour to heal our nation and to forge a new dispensation of peace and harmony in our great motherland.I am mindfull of the fact that there is a new Ministry of National Healing in the inclusive government.
I am also acutely aware that this ministry is headed by three full-time ministers of State whose core mandate is to drive the National Healing Organ and also to ensure that the culture of political violence and intolerance is wholly eradicated from our national politics.
I am also aware that July 24,25 and 26 have been gazetted as the three days dedicated to national healing,reconciliation and integration.Infact,this was published in the Government Gazette Extraordinary dated July 15, 2009,General Notice 92 of 2009.It is my respectfull submission that these three days dedicated to national healing will not change much in terms of cultivating,nurturing and sustaining a new culture of tolerance and mutual respect in our political discourse.
To me,the gazetting of these three days is a mere academic exercise that will do very little,if anything at all,in healing our hurting nation.We certainly need to do more than just gazetting days of national healing.National healing is a very complex operation and I am afraid to say that the Ministry of National Healing has hardly done anything in spearheading the national healing process.
A few workshops and conferences have been held in some posh hotels and holiday resorts here and there.To my knowledge,no concrete programme of action has been agreed upon and rolled out for the nation to appreciate the relevance and usefullness of the Ministry of National Healing.A lot needs to be done.
The people of Zimbabwe,as I have already alluded to above,are still hurting; dating back from the days of the armed liberation struggle.I have talked to a few liberation war veterans and I was shocked to find out that none of them ever received professional counselling after the attainment of independence in 1980.
This despite the fact that these gallant sons and daughters were routinely subjected to extreme incidents of violence and rampant human rights abuses during the war.Some of them were severely tortured by the racist colonial military machine.Most,if not all these veterans of the struggle bear emotional,physical and psychological scars that may never heal during their lifetime.
The culture of politically-motivated violence and intolerance has been allowed to thrive in post-independent Zimbabwe.I still recall the violence and intolerance that was exhibited before and immediately after the 1985 general elections.I was a young lodger living somewhere in Chitungwiza and I vividly remember seeing the household goods of perceived ZAPU supporters lining the streets of Zengeza 2 after ZANU(PF) supporters had thrown out the items of household property onto the streets.
I still remember being forced to attend ZANU(PF) meetings in Zengeza 3.My landlord would tell us to attend these meetings or else he would be victimised and his house might be destroyed.Today,in the 21st century,this culture,unfortunately,still obtains in Zimbabwe.We all remember what happened after ZANU(PF) was humiliated by the MDC during the harmonised elections held on March 29, 2008.
Between March 29, 2008 and June 27,2008,the whole of Zimbabwe was under siege.Men.women,the elderly and even little children were force-marched to attend ZANU(PF) ” pungwes” throughout the country.Even motorists were forced to display ZANU(PF) campaign materials inside their motor vehicles.Little wonder,therefore,that the ZANU(PF) candidate ” won” the one-man Presidential election run-off by 85,5% on June 27,2008!
My argument is that to date,we have not sought to scientifically manage the process of national healing.The mere creation of a government ministry of national healing does not and will not help in genuinely and permanently healing the nation.
Until such a time that we escape from our denialist approach to the issue of national healing, Zimbabwe will be gripped by another wave of political violence and intolerance come election time.The Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace(CCJP) commissioned a study into the Gukurahundi massacres.I have kept a copy of the CCJP report and it makes chilling reading.Nothing was done by the government as a follow-up to the CCJP report.
The Chihambakwe Commission report into the Gukurahundi genocide was never made public.We remain in denial.We cannot heal our nation by sweeping dirt under the carpet.What Zimbabwe needs, and needs urgently,is a truth and reconciliation commission that will enable the perpetrators of genocide and political violence to come out in the open; confess and repent.
This will definately get a buy-in from the victims of genocide and political violence.We should learn from the experience of our neighbour,South Africa.There is no denying the fact that the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in South Africa played a crucial role in moulding that rainbow nation.
As I have already stated,I am not advocating revenge and retribution.No.I am simply stating that there can never be genuine national healing in Zimbabwe as long as the perpetrators of genocide and political violence are roaming the streets free to this day; with noone calling upon them to formally come forward,repent and ask for forgiveness.Without the establishment of a properly constituted Truth and Reconcilation Commission,the Ministry of National Healing will remain a white elephant.
Although I am no expert in psychology,I can safely state that the majority of Zimbabweans,both living in the country and in the Diaspora, are in need of genuine and professional counselling to enable them to effectively heal from the post-traumatic stress disorder that was largely caused by years of a violent armed struggle that ultimately gave rise to our independence on April 18, 1980.Things didnot get any better soon after independence because the Matelebeland and Midlands massacres,which can accurately be described as genocide,took place between 1983 and 1987.
When the old ZANU(PF) and ZAPU merged into one party after the signing of the Unity Accord on December 22,1987,no attempt whatsover was made by the government to formally heal the nation by adopting policies that would have helped in genuinely pacifying the nation and also in trying to ensure that the primitive culture of violence and political intolerance that was the hallmark of the Gukurahundi era was completely eradicated from our midst.After the signing of the Unity Accord,we all remained in denial and pretended that the country was now ”united” and also that bygones should be bygones.
Put alternatively,as a nation,we dismally failed to locate the real reasons behind the horror of Gukurahundi and also failed to interrogate the simmering hatred between both the victims and the perpetrators of the Gukurahundi genocidal massacres.That was a fatal mistake on the part of the government as later events would prove in the political history of Zimbabwe.
In this article,it is not my intention to open old wounds and thus seek to incite hate and retribution.If anything,I am motivated by the desire to escape from denialism and to confront,head-on,the problems that we are facing as we desperately clamour to heal our nation and to forge a new dispensation of peace and harmony in our great motherland.I am mindfull of the fact that there is a new Ministry of National Healing in the inclusive government.
I am also acutely aware that this ministry is headed by three full-time ministers of State whose core mandate is to drive the National Healing Organ and also to ensure that the culture of political violence and intolerance is wholly eradicated from our national politics.
I am also aware that July 24,25 and 26 have been gazetted as the three days dedicated to national healing,reconciliation and integration.Infact,this was published in the Government Gazette Extraordinary dated July 15, 2009,General Notice 92 of 2009.It is my respectfull submission that these three days dedicated to national healing will not change much in terms of cultivating,nurturing and sustaining a new culture of tolerance and mutual respect in our political discourse.
To me,the gazetting of these three days is a mere academic exercise that will do very little,if anything at all,in healing our hurting nation.We certainly need to do more than just gazetting days of national healing.National healing is a very complex operation and I am afraid to say that the Ministry of National Healing has hardly done anything in spearheading the national healing process.
A few workshops and conferences have been held in some posh hotels and holiday resorts here and there.To my knowledge,no concrete programme of action has been agreed upon and rolled out for the nation to appreciate the relevance and usefullness of the Ministry of National Healing.A lot needs to be done.
The people of Zimbabwe,as I have already alluded to above,are still hurting; dating back from the days of the armed liberation struggle.I have talked to a few liberation war veterans and I was shocked to find out that none of them ever received professional counselling after the attainment of independence in 1980.
This despite the fact that these gallant sons and daughters were routinely subjected to extreme incidents of violence and rampant human rights abuses during the war.Some of them were severely tortured by the racist colonial military machine.Most,if not all these veterans of the struggle bear emotional,physical and psychological scars that may never heal during their lifetime.
The culture of politically-motivated violence and intolerance has been allowed to thrive in post-independent Zimbabwe.I still recall the violence and intolerance that was exhibited before and immediately after the 1985 general elections.I was a young lodger living somewhere in Chitungwiza and I vividly remember seeing the household goods of perceived ZAPU supporters lining the streets of Zengeza 2 after ZANU(PF) supporters had thrown out the items of household property onto the streets.
I still remember being forced to attend ZANU(PF) meetings in Zengeza 3.My landlord would tell us to attend these meetings or else he would be victimised and his house might be destroyed.Today,in the 21st century,this culture,unfortunately,still obtains in Zimbabwe.We all remember what happened after ZANU(PF) was humiliated by the MDC during the harmonised elections held on March 29, 2008.
Between March 29, 2008 and June 27,2008,the whole of Zimbabwe was under siege.Men.women,the elderly and even little children were force-marched to attend ZANU(PF) ” pungwes” throughout the country.Even motorists were forced to display ZANU(PF) campaign materials inside their motor vehicles.Little wonder,therefore,that the ZANU(PF) candidate ” won” the one-man Presidential election run-off by 85,5% on June 27,2008!
My argument is that to date,we have not sought to scientifically manage the process of national healing.The mere creation of a government ministry of national healing does not and will not help in genuinely and permanently healing the nation.
Until such a time that we escape from our denialist approach to the issue of national healing, Zimbabwe will be gripped by another wave of political violence and intolerance come election time.The Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace(CCJP) commissioned a study into the Gukurahundi massacres.I have kept a copy of the CCJP report and it makes chilling reading.Nothing was done by the government as a follow-up to the CCJP report.
The Chihambakwe Commission report into the Gukurahundi genocide was never made public.We remain in denial.We cannot heal our nation by sweeping dirt under the carpet.What Zimbabwe needs, and needs urgently,is a truth and reconciliation commission that will enable the perpetrators of genocide and political violence to come out in the open; confess and repent.
This will definately get a buy-in from the victims of genocide and political violence.We should learn from the experience of our neighbour,South Africa.There is no denying the fact that the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in South Africa played a crucial role in moulding that rainbow nation.
As I have already stated,I am not advocating revenge and retribution.No.I am simply stating that there can never be genuine national healing in Zimbabwe as long as the perpetrators of genocide and political violence are roaming the streets free to this day; with noone calling upon them to formally come forward,repent and ask for forgiveness.Without the establishment of a properly constituted Truth and Reconcilation Commission,the Ministry of National Healing will remain a white elephant.
A New Constitution : Rock upon which a Prosperous Zimbabwe Should be Built
Zimbawe’s myriad problems are rooted in the defective and undemocratic constitution that was bequethed to us by our former colonial masters at Lancaster House,London,in December 1979 ultimately giving rise to our independence on April 18,1980.The deficiencies of the Lancaster House Constitution,which has been amended a record nineteen (19) times in less than thirty years,clearly gave rise to the serious democratic deficit that has been haunting our motherland since independence.
A constitution is the country’s supreme law and thus,it must be crafted with the best interests of the country at heart.A constitution is a solemn document that binds a nation together ; attempting to achieve national cohesion amidst competing interests that ordinarily arise in circumstances of ethnic,cultural,social and racial diversity.Weak constitutions invariably give rise to dysfunctional nations that are always torn apart by political rivalries,economic stagnation and generalised social deprivation.
The on-going constitution-making process should mark a defining moment in the history of Zimbabwe.We should sieze this opportunity to exhibit our maturity as a nation state and also to prove to the entire universe that Zimbabweans are able to craft a new democratic constitution for themselves and by themselves.A lot has been said about the present constitution-making process,both good and bad and it shall not be the intention of this article to blame-apportion and/or to seek to take sides with anyone or any organisation.
We shoud always look at the bigger picture for our country.We are crafting the supreme law of Zimbabwe for ourselves,for our children,for our grandchildren and indeed,for posterity.History will judge us very harshly if we miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to take part in the drafting of our own home-grown constitution.When we refer to a home-grown constitution it would be folly on our part if we choose to bury our heads in the sand and pretend that we should not learn from the experiences of other countries that have crafted their own democratic constitutions before us.
Learning has no barriers and wisdom cannot and will never be confined within the geographical borders of any one country,Zimbabwe included.I was dumb-founded by the furor that was caused by a certain group of legislators when the Parliamentary Select Committee on the Constitution indicated that they had intended to invite Cyril Ramaphosa and a certain Rwandese legislator to be guest speakers at the first all-stakeholders conference that opens in Harare on Monday, July 13, 2009.This group of legislators went into a frenzy at the joint Parliamentary caucus that was held in the House of Assembly chambers on Monday,July 6, 2009.They huffed and puffed ; punching their fists furiously in the air and swearing that no ” foreigners” should be involved in our constitution-making process.As I sat next to Honourable John Nyamande in the Lower House chambers during that joint caucus,I silently wondered as to what had befallen our collegues.Their boisterous oppostion to any attempt to invite Ramaphosa and the Rwandese legislator clearly and unfortunately betrayed their lack of knowledge of the crucial need to tape from the wisdom of our brothers and sisters within Africa when it comes to how exactly we can craft our own unique Zimbabwean and democratic constitution.People who want to acquire knowledge never hesitate to share ideas with other people; even foreigners.
There is no denying the fact that Cyril Ramaphosa is an accomplished lawyer,politician,negotiator and businessman.The role that he played in the moulding of the 1996 Constitution of South Africa is well-documented in the annals of African history.To invite such a celebrated individual to be one of the guest speakers at the first all-stakeholders conference is certainly not to reduce our constitution-making process into a ” foreign” dominated exercise.Going forward,I sincerely hope and trust that this group of legislators will broaden their intellectual horizon and appreciate that there is absolutely nothing wrong from learning from the relevant experiences of other people on the African continent.After all,that is what Pan-Africanism is all about.
In certain political circles,there has also been a concerted effort to mislead the people regarding the Kariba Draft of September 2007.The Kariba Draft was not people-driven.It was the culmination of negotiations amongst three political parties i.e.the two MDC formations and ZANU(PF).It is true that Tendai Biti,Patrick Chinamasa and Welshman Ncube appended their signatures on every page of the Kariba Draft.But then this doesnot mean that the Kariba Draft is acceptable to the people simply because the representatives of three political parties signed the document.
Zimbabwe is indeed bigger than the MDC and ZANU(PF) combined.Put differently,it doesnot mean that every Zimbabwean is a member of either ZANU(PF) or the two MDC formations.The Kariba Draft was exclusively authored by politicians and to that extent,it is anything but people-driven.People have been fed lies about the true input of the Kariba Draft.A myopic attempt has been desperately made to state that the Global Political Agreement( GPA) that was solemnised in Harare on September 15,2008 makes the Kariba Draft the ” reference” document for the new constitution.This is a lie.A blue lie.Nowhere in Article 6 of the GPA is it unequivocally stated that the Kariba Draft should be the ONLY reference document for the constitution-making process.
For the record,Article 6 of the GPA states that : ” It is the fundamental right and duty of the Zimbabwean people to make a constitution BY THEMSELVES and FOR THEMSELVES.” Surely,one doesnot have to be an expert in constitutional law to appreciate the input of Article 6 of the GPA! Some politicians, in a desperate attempt to serve their own selfish and parochial interests, have sought to impose the Kariba Draft on the people.The truth of the matter is that this will not work.Zimbabweans are a clever people.They know that it is their duty and right to draft a democratic constitution for themselves.Any attempt to force the Kariba Draft down the people’s throats will be thunderously resisted.It will not succeed.
Every Zimbabwean,throughout the 1938 wards across the country,should be given an opportunity to give his/her input regarding what they want to see included in a new constitution.Zimbabweans in the Diaspora should also be involved in the constitution-making process.All civil society organisations,including the National Constitutional Assembly(NCA), should also be involved in this historic process.The people of Zimbabwe must own the constitution-making process.
I am reliably informed that an independent chairperson will be appointed to steer the process after the first all-stakeholders conference in an attempt to remove the notion that presently,the process is driven and thus,controlled, by politicians.In the unlikely event that the constitution-making process is aborted, it simply means that Zimbabwe will remain a pariah state.We cannot afford to let this golden opportunity escape us.We owe it to future generations.Without a new democratic and people-driven constitution,Zimbabwe is doomed.
Editor’s note: Obert Gutu is the MDC Senator for Chisipite and a member of the party’s National Legal Committee.
A constitution is the country’s supreme law and thus,it must be crafted with the best interests of the country at heart.A constitution is a solemn document that binds a nation together ; attempting to achieve national cohesion amidst competing interests that ordinarily arise in circumstances of ethnic,cultural,social and racial diversity.Weak constitutions invariably give rise to dysfunctional nations that are always torn apart by political rivalries,economic stagnation and generalised social deprivation.
The on-going constitution-making process should mark a defining moment in the history of Zimbabwe.We should sieze this opportunity to exhibit our maturity as a nation state and also to prove to the entire universe that Zimbabweans are able to craft a new democratic constitution for themselves and by themselves.A lot has been said about the present constitution-making process,both good and bad and it shall not be the intention of this article to blame-apportion and/or to seek to take sides with anyone or any organisation.
We shoud always look at the bigger picture for our country.We are crafting the supreme law of Zimbabwe for ourselves,for our children,for our grandchildren and indeed,for posterity.History will judge us very harshly if we miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to take part in the drafting of our own home-grown constitution.When we refer to a home-grown constitution it would be folly on our part if we choose to bury our heads in the sand and pretend that we should not learn from the experiences of other countries that have crafted their own democratic constitutions before us.
Learning has no barriers and wisdom cannot and will never be confined within the geographical borders of any one country,Zimbabwe included.I was dumb-founded by the furor that was caused by a certain group of legislators when the Parliamentary Select Committee on the Constitution indicated that they had intended to invite Cyril Ramaphosa and a certain Rwandese legislator to be guest speakers at the first all-stakeholders conference that opens in Harare on Monday, July 13, 2009.This group of legislators went into a frenzy at the joint Parliamentary caucus that was held in the House of Assembly chambers on Monday,July 6, 2009.They huffed and puffed ; punching their fists furiously in the air and swearing that no ” foreigners” should be involved in our constitution-making process.As I sat next to Honourable John Nyamande in the Lower House chambers during that joint caucus,I silently wondered as to what had befallen our collegues.Their boisterous oppostion to any attempt to invite Ramaphosa and the Rwandese legislator clearly and unfortunately betrayed their lack of knowledge of the crucial need to tape from the wisdom of our brothers and sisters within Africa when it comes to how exactly we can craft our own unique Zimbabwean and democratic constitution.People who want to acquire knowledge never hesitate to share ideas with other people; even foreigners.
There is no denying the fact that Cyril Ramaphosa is an accomplished lawyer,politician,negotiator and businessman.The role that he played in the moulding of the 1996 Constitution of South Africa is well-documented in the annals of African history.To invite such a celebrated individual to be one of the guest speakers at the first all-stakeholders conference is certainly not to reduce our constitution-making process into a ” foreign” dominated exercise.Going forward,I sincerely hope and trust that this group of legislators will broaden their intellectual horizon and appreciate that there is absolutely nothing wrong from learning from the relevant experiences of other people on the African continent.After all,that is what Pan-Africanism is all about.
In certain political circles,there has also been a concerted effort to mislead the people regarding the Kariba Draft of September 2007.The Kariba Draft was not people-driven.It was the culmination of negotiations amongst three political parties i.e.the two MDC formations and ZANU(PF).It is true that Tendai Biti,Patrick Chinamasa and Welshman Ncube appended their signatures on every page of the Kariba Draft.But then this doesnot mean that the Kariba Draft is acceptable to the people simply because the representatives of three political parties signed the document.
Zimbabwe is indeed bigger than the MDC and ZANU(PF) combined.Put differently,it doesnot mean that every Zimbabwean is a member of either ZANU(PF) or the two MDC formations.The Kariba Draft was exclusively authored by politicians and to that extent,it is anything but people-driven.People have been fed lies about the true input of the Kariba Draft.A myopic attempt has been desperately made to state that the Global Political Agreement( GPA) that was solemnised in Harare on September 15,2008 makes the Kariba Draft the ” reference” document for the new constitution.This is a lie.A blue lie.Nowhere in Article 6 of the GPA is it unequivocally stated that the Kariba Draft should be the ONLY reference document for the constitution-making process.
For the record,Article 6 of the GPA states that : ” It is the fundamental right and duty of the Zimbabwean people to make a constitution BY THEMSELVES and FOR THEMSELVES.” Surely,one doesnot have to be an expert in constitutional law to appreciate the input of Article 6 of the GPA! Some politicians, in a desperate attempt to serve their own selfish and parochial interests, have sought to impose the Kariba Draft on the people.The truth of the matter is that this will not work.Zimbabweans are a clever people.They know that it is their duty and right to draft a democratic constitution for themselves.Any attempt to force the Kariba Draft down the people’s throats will be thunderously resisted.It will not succeed.
Every Zimbabwean,throughout the 1938 wards across the country,should be given an opportunity to give his/her input regarding what they want to see included in a new constitution.Zimbabweans in the Diaspora should also be involved in the constitution-making process.All civil society organisations,including the National Constitutional Assembly(NCA), should also be involved in this historic process.The people of Zimbabwe must own the constitution-making process.
I am reliably informed that an independent chairperson will be appointed to steer the process after the first all-stakeholders conference in an attempt to remove the notion that presently,the process is driven and thus,controlled, by politicians.In the unlikely event that the constitution-making process is aborted, it simply means that Zimbabwe will remain a pariah state.We cannot afford to let this golden opportunity escape us.We owe it to future generations.Without a new democratic and people-driven constitution,Zimbabwe is doomed.
Editor’s note: Obert Gutu is the MDC Senator for Chisipite and a member of the party’s National Legal Committee.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)