THE Constitution of Zimbabwe, under Chapter 8, provides for the creation of
the judiciary. The head of the judiciary in Zimbabwe is the Chief Justice
and the judiciary forms one of the three organs of the State; the other two
being the executive and the legislature.
The doctrine of separation of powers basically ensures that State powers are
not concentrated in any one organ of the State. It is not uncommon however,
particularly in totalitarian regimes, to have State powers unduly
concentrated in the executive arm of the State with the legislature and the
judiciary only being weak and severely compromised institutions.
An independent judiciary is the cornerstone of a democratic nation. It
naturally follows that an independent and fearless judiciary is a necessary
instrument in upholding the rule of law and the observance of human rights.
On the other hand, a biased, partisan and corrupt judiciary is the nemesis
of a democratic dispensation.
History is abound with examples of how dictators normally ensure the
subjugation and subordination of the judiciary in their quest to hold onto
power and thus, bastardise the rule of law. The rule of law is defined as
the respect for a set of legal rules and procedures ultimately aimed at
conforming to the requirements of the observance of basic fundamental human
rights. It cannot be over emphasised, therefore, that a judiciary that is
biased, inefficient, corrupt and lacking in independence is the very
foundation for the decay of democracy values and the emergence of
totalitarianism.
By deliberately providing for the establishment of the three organs of the
State, the Constitution of Zimbabwe sought to provide a system of checks and
balances where no one organ of the State should dominate and indeed,
frustrate the other.
The absence of an independent and fearless judiciary inevitably encourages
the supremacy of the law of the jungle i.e. where might is right. This is a
primitive and chaotic state of affairs where the guiding principle is the
survival of the fittest or put alternatively; the survival and economic
domination of the politically well-connected. Indeed, it is the antithesis
of the rule of law when the law of the jungle is left to rule the roost.
It is a fact that the world's most politically stable and economically
vibrant nations are invariably those that have a fearless and independent
judiciary. A judiciary that is emasculated tends to be weak, biased and
corrupt. Such a judiciary will be a purveyor of injustice, oppression and
general misrule.
In Zimbabwe, we should never allow our judiciary to be compromised and also
to be seen to be prone to abuse by politicians and some other such
characters who are keen to push forward their undemocratic agendas. A
judiciary which fails to fearlessly articulate, defend and uphold the basic
human rights of citizens is a betrayal of the people. Such a judiciary
inevitably becomes a catalyst to the sustenance of a dictatorship.
An independent and fearless judiciary should go out of its way to prove that
everyone is equal before the law. Such a judiciary should instil the
people's confidence in the legal system of Zimbabwe and it should be
uncompromising when it comes to the upholding and enforcement of the rule of
law.
Recently, the country witnessed a very sad and unfortunate development in
which all the learned magistrates in Manicaland province refused to preside
over the criminal trial of the Minister of Justice mainly because a certain
named top government official had threatened all the magistrates with
unspecified harm and had also accused the magistrates of being members of a
certain opposition party.
Surely, such a state of affairs is a very sad indictment on the level of
fear that is found in some members of the judiciary. How then can we talk
about the rule of law in Zimbabwe when magistrates in the whole province of
Manicaland were so afraid of presiding over the criminal trial of the
Minister of Justice? This is a shame!
An independent and fearless judiciary is the main champion of justice and
fairness. It is the ultimate authority for the enforcement and observance of
human rights and the rule of law. A judiciary that takes ages to deal with
election petitions inevitably compromises its integrity and its impartiality
in the minds of all right-thinking people. A judiciary that slavishly take
sides with the whims and designs of the executive arm of the State at the
expense of the enforcement of basic human rights is a disgrace to the
generality of Zimbabweans.
All court cases, be they politically connected or not; deserve to be handled
with speed, efficiency, competence and extreme impartiality. A situation
were litigants wait for unduly long periods of time before their cases are
heard and finalised, particularly in election petitions, is a negation of
the people's fundamental human rights. Justice delayed is justice denied.
Because of the overwhelming importance of the judiciary in a democratic
dispensation, judicial officers should be persons of unquestionable
integrity, competence and professionalism. It is my humble view that there
should be a rigorous screening and selection process before someone is
appointed to the judiciary; particularly to the High Court and Supreme Court
benches.
We might have to learn from the example of South Africa where all persons
ear marked for appointment as judges have to appear before a parliamentary
committee as part of the screening process. The parliamentary committee
consists of members from all political parties represented in Parliament.
This committee scrutinises and debates the suitability of candidates before
they can be appointed to a high judicial office such as to be a High Court
judge, Supreme Court of Appeal judge or a judge of the Constitutional Court.
Preferably, therefore, only persons who have an illustrious and outstanding
record in any relevant legal context, should be appointed to a high judicial
office.
Judicial officers should shun corruption. A corrupt judiciary is extremely
dangerous for it can be abused and manipulated by powerful and influential
people; including the fabulously rich and the politically well-connected.
The example of the Kenyan judiciary is apt. Not too long ago, the Chief
Justice and twenty three other senior judges in Kenya had to resign after
findings from the Ringera Report were presented to President Kibaki. The
Ringera Report contained damning details of corruption and abuse of power
within the Kenyan judiciary.
The majority of the judges implicated in corrupt dealings opted to resign
rather than to be probed by a tribunal as recommended by the Honourable
Justice Ringera's report.
Judicial officers in Zimbabwe should view the Ringera report as a warning
signal. The time shall soon come when all incompetent, inefficient and
corrupt officers will face the music. The people are angry. Very, very
angry!
Obert Chaurura Gutu is a Gutu & Chikowero lawyer. He can be contacted on
e-mail gutulaw@mweb.co.zw
Monday, October 11, 2010
Luxury goods duty directive illegal?
STATUTORY Instrument 80A of 2007 is more fully known as the Customs and Excise (Designation of Luxury Items) Notice, 2007.
This Statutory Instrument was promulgated by the Minister of Finance in terms of Section 115(2) of the Customs and Excise Act (Chapter 23:02).
The regulations came into effect on April 5, 2007. Basically, the Statutory Instrument provides a list of goods that will attract customs duty and value added tax in US dollars, Euros or any other currency denominated under the Exchange Control (General) Order, 1996 i.e. Statutory Instrument 110 of 1996 upon the importation of the said goods into Zimbabwe.
Every resident of Zimbabwe as well as every non-resident person who imports the designated so called luxury items into Zimbabwe shall be liable to pay customs duty and value added tax in foreign currency. The list of such designated goods is long and it varies from the importation of flue-cured tobacco, cigarettes, trunks, suitcases, handbags, wooden kitchen ware, table ware, electric blankets, tubes, pipes, motor vehicles, mattresses etc.
The lawful and legal currency of Zimbabwe is the Zimbabwe dollar. Thus, prices of goods and services within Zimbabwe shall be denominated in Zimbabwean dollars unless there is a lawful exception to the contrary. My understanding and interpretation of section 115(2) of the Customs and Excise Act does not imply that the Minister of Finance has the relevant legislative authority to promulgate regulations that make it mandatory for customs duty and value added tax in Zimbabwe to be paid in foreign currency for a certain category of so-called luxury goods.
Section 6 of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Act (Chapter 22:15) clearly states that some of the main functions of the Reserve Bank are to regulate Zimbabwe's monetary system as well as to achieve and maintain the stability of the Zimbabwe dollar. The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Act also unequivocally states that the legal tender in Zimbabwe shall be the Zimbabwean dollar.
In terms of Section 47 of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Act, the Minister of Finance is empowered to formulate the exchange rate policy of Zimbabwe in consultation with the board of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe and in doing so, the Minister shall ensure that the exchange rate policy is consistent with the objectives of the monetary policy of Zimbabwe.
It therefore, logically follows that it is clearly unlawful for the Minister of Finance to promulgate subsidiary legislation the main effect of which is to impose the payment of customs duty and value added tax in foreign currency upon the importation of so-called luxury goods into Zimbabwe. The writer cannot find any legal basis upon which the Minister of Finance can promulgate regulations whose other effect is to virtually dollarise the payment of customs duty and value added tax in Zimbabwe.
The lawful currency in Zimbabwe is our very own Zimbabwean dollar and not the US dollar, the British pound sterling, the Euro and/or any other foreign currency for that matter. Even the Banking Act (Chapter 24:20) does not give the Minister of Finance the legal authority to effect a partial dollarisation of the Zimbabwean economy. What the Minister of Finance can lawfully do in terms of the laws of our country is to formulate the exchange rate policy and this does not mean that he can also promulgate that in certain circumstances; customs duty and value added tax payable in Zimbabwe shall be paid in foreign currency.
The Minister of Finance should not be allowed to dollarise a portion of business transactions in Zimbabwe through the back door. Whilst I appreciate that scarce foreign currency should not be used to import luxury goods into Zimbabwe, the Minister of Finance is still legally bound to follow the laws of the country and hence; he should not promulgate subsidiary legislation is clearly unlawful and that does not derive any legality from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Act (Chapter 22:15), the Customs and Excise Act (Chapter 23:02), the Banking Act (Chapter 24:20), the Finance Act (Chapter 23:04) or even from the Constitution of Zimbabwe.
Statutory Instrument 80A of 2007 will inevitably lead to the escalation of the prices of motor vehicles, furniture and most of the goods that are listed in the schedule to the Statutory Instrument. It is a fact that most goods are being imported into Zimbabwe mainly because one cannot find competitively priced alternatives locally and/or goods are simply not available in the country any more.
Thus; the majority of our people are left with no other alternative but to import goods such as second hand motor vehicles simply because locally-assembled brand new motor vehicles and even second hand vehicles are hardly available. Whilst I do not profess any expertise in the field of economics, I can safely state that what our economy needs are far reaching measures to resuscitate the ailing manufacturing and industrial sectors.
We should come up with economic policies that promote efficient and sustainable import substitution activities. I have always wondered why we have to import cigarettes into Zimbabwe instead of simply resuscitating the tobacco farming and tobacco manufacturing sectors. Instead of our people having to resort to the importation of second hand Japanese motor vehicles, we could simply initiate viable policies to resuscitate Willowvale Mazda Motor Industries and ensure that those vehicles are easily available locally. Such a policy will obviously create massive employment opportunities and indeed; our comatose economy can be easily revived.
To the extent that Statutory Instrument 80A of 2007 is inconsistent with the relevant laws of Zimbabwe, it can therefore be successfully challenged in a court of law. As long as the Zimbabwe dollar remains the only legal and lawful tender within the borders of our country, Statutory Instrument 80A of 2007 cannot therefore successfully withstand a legal challenge in a competent court of law.
Obert Chaurura Gutu is a Zimbabwean lawyer and writes form Harare
This Statutory Instrument was promulgated by the Minister of Finance in terms of Section 115(2) of the Customs and Excise Act (Chapter 23:02).
The regulations came into effect on April 5, 2007. Basically, the Statutory Instrument provides a list of goods that will attract customs duty and value added tax in US dollars, Euros or any other currency denominated under the Exchange Control (General) Order, 1996 i.e. Statutory Instrument 110 of 1996 upon the importation of the said goods into Zimbabwe.
Every resident of Zimbabwe as well as every non-resident person who imports the designated so called luxury items into Zimbabwe shall be liable to pay customs duty and value added tax in foreign currency. The list of such designated goods is long and it varies from the importation of flue-cured tobacco, cigarettes, trunks, suitcases, handbags, wooden kitchen ware, table ware, electric blankets, tubes, pipes, motor vehicles, mattresses etc.
The lawful and legal currency of Zimbabwe is the Zimbabwe dollar. Thus, prices of goods and services within Zimbabwe shall be denominated in Zimbabwean dollars unless there is a lawful exception to the contrary. My understanding and interpretation of section 115(2) of the Customs and Excise Act does not imply that the Minister of Finance has the relevant legislative authority to promulgate regulations that make it mandatory for customs duty and value added tax in Zimbabwe to be paid in foreign currency for a certain category of so-called luxury goods.
Section 6 of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Act (Chapter 22:15) clearly states that some of the main functions of the Reserve Bank are to regulate Zimbabwe's monetary system as well as to achieve and maintain the stability of the Zimbabwe dollar. The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Act also unequivocally states that the legal tender in Zimbabwe shall be the Zimbabwean dollar.
In terms of Section 47 of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Act, the Minister of Finance is empowered to formulate the exchange rate policy of Zimbabwe in consultation with the board of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe and in doing so, the Minister shall ensure that the exchange rate policy is consistent with the objectives of the monetary policy of Zimbabwe.
It therefore, logically follows that it is clearly unlawful for the Minister of Finance to promulgate subsidiary legislation the main effect of which is to impose the payment of customs duty and value added tax in foreign currency upon the importation of so-called luxury goods into Zimbabwe. The writer cannot find any legal basis upon which the Minister of Finance can promulgate regulations whose other effect is to virtually dollarise the payment of customs duty and value added tax in Zimbabwe.
The lawful currency in Zimbabwe is our very own Zimbabwean dollar and not the US dollar, the British pound sterling, the Euro and/or any other foreign currency for that matter. Even the Banking Act (Chapter 24:20) does not give the Minister of Finance the legal authority to effect a partial dollarisation of the Zimbabwean economy. What the Minister of Finance can lawfully do in terms of the laws of our country is to formulate the exchange rate policy and this does not mean that he can also promulgate that in certain circumstances; customs duty and value added tax payable in Zimbabwe shall be paid in foreign currency.
The Minister of Finance should not be allowed to dollarise a portion of business transactions in Zimbabwe through the back door. Whilst I appreciate that scarce foreign currency should not be used to import luxury goods into Zimbabwe, the Minister of Finance is still legally bound to follow the laws of the country and hence; he should not promulgate subsidiary legislation is clearly unlawful and that does not derive any legality from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Act (Chapter 22:15), the Customs and Excise Act (Chapter 23:02), the Banking Act (Chapter 24:20), the Finance Act (Chapter 23:04) or even from the Constitution of Zimbabwe.
Statutory Instrument 80A of 2007 will inevitably lead to the escalation of the prices of motor vehicles, furniture and most of the goods that are listed in the schedule to the Statutory Instrument. It is a fact that most goods are being imported into Zimbabwe mainly because one cannot find competitively priced alternatives locally and/or goods are simply not available in the country any more.
Thus; the majority of our people are left with no other alternative but to import goods such as second hand motor vehicles simply because locally-assembled brand new motor vehicles and even second hand vehicles are hardly available. Whilst I do not profess any expertise in the field of economics, I can safely state that what our economy needs are far reaching measures to resuscitate the ailing manufacturing and industrial sectors.
We should come up with economic policies that promote efficient and sustainable import substitution activities. I have always wondered why we have to import cigarettes into Zimbabwe instead of simply resuscitating the tobacco farming and tobacco manufacturing sectors. Instead of our people having to resort to the importation of second hand Japanese motor vehicles, we could simply initiate viable policies to resuscitate Willowvale Mazda Motor Industries and ensure that those vehicles are easily available locally. Such a policy will obviously create massive employment opportunities and indeed; our comatose economy can be easily revived.
To the extent that Statutory Instrument 80A of 2007 is inconsistent with the relevant laws of Zimbabwe, it can therefore be successfully challenged in a court of law. As long as the Zimbabwe dollar remains the only legal and lawful tender within the borders of our country, Statutory Instrument 80A of 2007 cannot therefore successfully withstand a legal challenge in a competent court of law.
Obert Chaurura Gutu is a Zimbabwean lawyer and writes form Harare
Unpacking Constitution Amendment 19
ZIMBABWE - HARARE - On Thursday November 27, 2008, the negotiators from the three negotiating parties initialled their signatures to the draft of the Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment (No. 19).
The agreed draft is now in the public domain.
It is inevitable that the majority of Zimbabweans both within the country and in the Diaspora, would like to gain an insight into how exactly the power-sharing agreement that was solemnized on September 15, 2008 in Harare;
dovetails with the provisions of the Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment (No. 19) agreed draft.
I take my hat off to all the negotiating parties; for the arduous task which they undertook over a period of almost eighteen months!
More particularly, I would like to acknowledge the sterling and brilliant intellectual effort that was displayed by the two negotiators from my own party;
Honourable Tendai Biti and Honourable Elton Mangoma.
The Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment (No. 19) draft agreed to by the negotiating parties in South Africa on November 27, 2008 makes very interesting reading.
A close analysis of the draft will show that the powers of the imperial presidency that are presently held by Robert Mugabe are going to be severely curtailed, once the draft amendment is promulgated into law.
The powers of the President, in terms of the agreed draft of the Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment (No. 19), will be briefly as follows: nstitution of
a) to chair cabinet;
b) to exercise executive authority;
c) to exercise his/her powers subject to the provisions of the Constitution;
d) subject to the Constitution, to declare war and make peace;
e) subject to the Constitution, to proclaim and terminate martial law;
f) to grant pardons, respites, substitute less severe punishment and suspend or remit sentences, on the advice of cabinet;
g) to chair the National Security Council;
h) to appoint service/executive commissions in terms of the Constitution and in consultation with the Prime Minister;
i) in consultation with the Prime Minister, to make key appointments the President is required to make under and in terms of the Constitution or any act of Parliament;
j) may, acting in consultation with the Prime Minister, dissolve Parliament.
The afore-mentioned functions of the President are, inter alia, the main duties and powers of the President after the promulgation of the agreed draft of Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment (No. 19).
A striking feature of the new-look presidential powers is the fact that the new President will not have virtual carte blanche to do whatever he pleases as is the current position.
The current powers of the President are so overwhelming and all-embracing so much so that they make the President a de facto monarch. Naturally, the overwhelming and unchequered powers of the current President have inevitably led to the mutation of the President into some form of tyrant; who is literally a power unto himself.
The introduction of the office of the Prime Minister, as envisaged by the Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment (No. 19) agreed draft, has the net effect of diluting and mitigating the hitherto imperial powers of the President. Briefly, the main duties and functions of the Prime Minister are as follows:
a) to chair the Council of Ministers and in this respect, the Prime Minister is the deputy chairperson of cabinet;
b) to exercise executive authority;
c) to oversee the formulation of government policies by the cabinet;
d) to ensure that the policies formulated by cabinet are implemented by the entirety of government;
e) to ensure that the Ministers develop appropriate implementation plans to give effect to the policies decided by cabinet; in this regard, the Ministers will report to the Prime Minister on all issues relating to the implementation of government policies and plans;
f) to chair a Council of Ministers consisting of all the cabinet ministers. The Council of Ministers shall assess the implementation all cabinet ministers decisions, assist the Prime Minister to attend to matter of co-ordination in the government, enable the Prime Minister to receive briefings from the cabinet committees and generally to make progress reports to cabinet on matters related to the periodic review mechanism;
g) the Prime Minister shall be a member of the National Security Council and he shall report to the President and Parliament regularly.
The powers of the Prime Minister, as envisaged by the Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment (No. 19) agreed draft, are quite substantial. It is my respectful submission that should the agreed draft be promulgated as it is, Zimbabwe will have virtually two centres of power inasfaras the executive arm of the State is concerned.
These centres of power will be vested in the office of the President as well as in the office of the Prime Minister. Whether or not it will be practicable and workable to have two centres of power in the all- inclusive government remains to be seen .Only time will tell.
An analysis of the Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment (No. 19) agreed draft also shows that a new Section is to be inserted, after Section 114, to the present Constitution of Zimbabwe.
The new Section 115 to the Constitution of Zimbabwe will basically deal with the transitional provisions; arising from the power-sharing agreement signed on 15 September, 2008 by the principals of the three political parties represented in Parliament.
For the avoidance of doubt, Schedule 8 to the Constitution will now clearly define the term “after consultation”. This means that the person required to consult before arriving at a decision makes the consultation but is not bound by the advice or opinion given by the person so consulted.
On the other hand, the term “in consultation” means that the person required to consult before arriving at a decision arrives at the decision after securing the agreement or consent of the person so consulted.
Put simply, Schedule 8 will clearly provide that the executive authority of the inclusive government shall vest in, and be shared among the President, the Prime Minister and the cabinet.
Gone will be the days where the President will wield overwhelming and overriding powers on his own; literally without any serious checks and balances. It is a truism that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely!
Another very significant aspect of the Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment (No. 19) agreed draft is the new look section 57 of the Constitution. This will create a committee to be known as the Committee on Standing Rules and Orders consisting of:
a) the Speaker
b) the President of the Senate;
c) the Deputy Speaker;
d) the Deputy President of the Senate;
e) members appointed by the Speaker and the President of the Senate from their respective houses of Parliament which shall include the leader of government business, the leader of the opposition and the chief whips; and
f) members elected by each House of Parliament.
The Speaker is the chairperson of the Committee on Standing Rules and Orders and the President of the Senate is to be its deputy chairperson.
The Committee on Standing Rules and Orders is a very powerful organ. For instance, the chairperson of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) shall be appointed by the President after consultation with the Judicial Service Commission and the Committee on Standing Rules and Orders.
The Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission, consisting of at least four and not more than nine members, shall be appointed by the President in consultation with the Committee on Standing Rules and Orders.
The Committee on Standing Rules and Orders shall play a very far-reaching and significant role in the appointment of all major service and constitutional commissions.
This effectively curtails the hitherto all- embracing powers of the President when it comes to the appointment of organs such as the Public Service Commission, the Judicial Service Commission, the Police Service Commission and the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission.
Indeed, the Committee on Standing Rules and Orders, as envisaged by the Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment (No. 19) agreed draft, will also play a very significant role in the appointment of senior diplomats and senior civil servants.
In a previous article that I recently wrote, I submitted that power- sharing is never an easy thing to do. More particularly, it will be very difficult to have two centres of executive power in the same country. I have no apology in submitting that a power-sharing government is never the most ideal set-up to run an effective government.
Be that as it may, it appears that at this juncture in the political history of Zimbabwe, a power-sharing government is perhaps the best option to pursue. However, this arrangement should be short-lived because in essence, it is a negation of the will of the people of Zimbabwe as expressed in the March 29, 2008 harmonised elections.
Advertisement
Morgan Tsvangirai, as the clear winner of the credible Presidential election race that was conducted on March 29, 2008, in all fairness, should be given an opportunity to run Zimbabwe unhindered by the shackles and serious shortcomings and ambiguities contained in the power-sharing agreement solemnised on September 15, 2008 in Harare.
It is without doubt that Zimbabwe needs a new people-driven and people-centred Constitution. The power-sharing set up should indeed be a temporary arrangement that should not last for too long a time.
Electoral losers should not be granted political power through the back door. Going forward, a new look Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) should consist of men and women of absolute integrity who should be able to administer fair, credible and impartial elections.
Surely, an electoral commission that takes five weeks to announce the results of an election is an insult to the intelligence of all right-thinking people! The entire Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) ought to have resigned as a result of this shocking and unprecedented manifestation of bias, ineptitude and gross incompetence.
The agreed draft is now in the public domain.
It is inevitable that the majority of Zimbabweans both within the country and in the Diaspora, would like to gain an insight into how exactly the power-sharing agreement that was solemnized on September 15, 2008 in Harare;
dovetails with the provisions of the Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment (No. 19) agreed draft.
I take my hat off to all the negotiating parties; for the arduous task which they undertook over a period of almost eighteen months!
More particularly, I would like to acknowledge the sterling and brilliant intellectual effort that was displayed by the two negotiators from my own party;
Honourable Tendai Biti and Honourable Elton Mangoma.
The Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment (No. 19) draft agreed to by the negotiating parties in South Africa on November 27, 2008 makes very interesting reading.
A close analysis of the draft will show that the powers of the imperial presidency that are presently held by Robert Mugabe are going to be severely curtailed, once the draft amendment is promulgated into law.
The powers of the President, in terms of the agreed draft of the Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment (No. 19), will be briefly as follows: nstitution of
a) to chair cabinet;
b) to exercise executive authority;
c) to exercise his/her powers subject to the provisions of the Constitution;
d) subject to the Constitution, to declare war and make peace;
e) subject to the Constitution, to proclaim and terminate martial law;
f) to grant pardons, respites, substitute less severe punishment and suspend or remit sentences, on the advice of cabinet;
g) to chair the National Security Council;
h) to appoint service/executive commissions in terms of the Constitution and in consultation with the Prime Minister;
i) in consultation with the Prime Minister, to make key appointments the President is required to make under and in terms of the Constitution or any act of Parliament;
j) may, acting in consultation with the Prime Minister, dissolve Parliament.
The afore-mentioned functions of the President are, inter alia, the main duties and powers of the President after the promulgation of the agreed draft of Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment (No. 19).
A striking feature of the new-look presidential powers is the fact that the new President will not have virtual carte blanche to do whatever he pleases as is the current position.
The current powers of the President are so overwhelming and all-embracing so much so that they make the President a de facto monarch. Naturally, the overwhelming and unchequered powers of the current President have inevitably led to the mutation of the President into some form of tyrant; who is literally a power unto himself.
The introduction of the office of the Prime Minister, as envisaged by the Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment (No. 19) agreed draft, has the net effect of diluting and mitigating the hitherto imperial powers of the President. Briefly, the main duties and functions of the Prime Minister are as follows:
a) to chair the Council of Ministers and in this respect, the Prime Minister is the deputy chairperson of cabinet;
b) to exercise executive authority;
c) to oversee the formulation of government policies by the cabinet;
d) to ensure that the policies formulated by cabinet are implemented by the entirety of government;
e) to ensure that the Ministers develop appropriate implementation plans to give effect to the policies decided by cabinet; in this regard, the Ministers will report to the Prime Minister on all issues relating to the implementation of government policies and plans;
f) to chair a Council of Ministers consisting of all the cabinet ministers. The Council of Ministers shall assess the implementation all cabinet ministers decisions, assist the Prime Minister to attend to matter of co-ordination in the government, enable the Prime Minister to receive briefings from the cabinet committees and generally to make progress reports to cabinet on matters related to the periodic review mechanism;
g) the Prime Minister shall be a member of the National Security Council and he shall report to the President and Parliament regularly.
The powers of the Prime Minister, as envisaged by the Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment (No. 19) agreed draft, are quite substantial. It is my respectful submission that should the agreed draft be promulgated as it is, Zimbabwe will have virtually two centres of power inasfaras the executive arm of the State is concerned.
These centres of power will be vested in the office of the President as well as in the office of the Prime Minister. Whether or not it will be practicable and workable to have two centres of power in the all- inclusive government remains to be seen .Only time will tell.
An analysis of the Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment (No. 19) agreed draft also shows that a new Section is to be inserted, after Section 114, to the present Constitution of Zimbabwe.
The new Section 115 to the Constitution of Zimbabwe will basically deal with the transitional provisions; arising from the power-sharing agreement signed on 15 September, 2008 by the principals of the three political parties represented in Parliament.
For the avoidance of doubt, Schedule 8 to the Constitution will now clearly define the term “after consultation”. This means that the person required to consult before arriving at a decision makes the consultation but is not bound by the advice or opinion given by the person so consulted.
On the other hand, the term “in consultation” means that the person required to consult before arriving at a decision arrives at the decision after securing the agreement or consent of the person so consulted.
Put simply, Schedule 8 will clearly provide that the executive authority of the inclusive government shall vest in, and be shared among the President, the Prime Minister and the cabinet.
Gone will be the days where the President will wield overwhelming and overriding powers on his own; literally without any serious checks and balances. It is a truism that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely!
Another very significant aspect of the Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment (No. 19) agreed draft is the new look section 57 of the Constitution. This will create a committee to be known as the Committee on Standing Rules and Orders consisting of:
a) the Speaker
b) the President of the Senate;
c) the Deputy Speaker;
d) the Deputy President of the Senate;
e) members appointed by the Speaker and the President of the Senate from their respective houses of Parliament which shall include the leader of government business, the leader of the opposition and the chief whips; and
f) members elected by each House of Parliament.
The Speaker is the chairperson of the Committee on Standing Rules and Orders and the President of the Senate is to be its deputy chairperson.
The Committee on Standing Rules and Orders is a very powerful organ. For instance, the chairperson of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) shall be appointed by the President after consultation with the Judicial Service Commission and the Committee on Standing Rules and Orders.
The Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission, consisting of at least four and not more than nine members, shall be appointed by the President in consultation with the Committee on Standing Rules and Orders.
The Committee on Standing Rules and Orders shall play a very far-reaching and significant role in the appointment of all major service and constitutional commissions.
This effectively curtails the hitherto all- embracing powers of the President when it comes to the appointment of organs such as the Public Service Commission, the Judicial Service Commission, the Police Service Commission and the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission.
Indeed, the Committee on Standing Rules and Orders, as envisaged by the Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment (No. 19) agreed draft, will also play a very significant role in the appointment of senior diplomats and senior civil servants.
In a previous article that I recently wrote, I submitted that power- sharing is never an easy thing to do. More particularly, it will be very difficult to have two centres of executive power in the same country. I have no apology in submitting that a power-sharing government is never the most ideal set-up to run an effective government.
Be that as it may, it appears that at this juncture in the political history of Zimbabwe, a power-sharing government is perhaps the best option to pursue. However, this arrangement should be short-lived because in essence, it is a negation of the will of the people of Zimbabwe as expressed in the March 29, 2008 harmonised elections.
Advertisement
Morgan Tsvangirai, as the clear winner of the credible Presidential election race that was conducted on March 29, 2008, in all fairness, should be given an opportunity to run Zimbabwe unhindered by the shackles and serious shortcomings and ambiguities contained in the power-sharing agreement solemnised on September 15, 2008 in Harare.
It is without doubt that Zimbabwe needs a new people-driven and people-centred Constitution. The power-sharing set up should indeed be a temporary arrangement that should not last for too long a time.
Electoral losers should not be granted political power through the back door. Going forward, a new look Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) should consist of men and women of absolute integrity who should be able to administer fair, credible and impartial elections.
Surely, an electoral commission that takes five weeks to announce the results of an election is an insult to the intelligence of all right-thinking people! The entire Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) ought to have resigned as a result of this shocking and unprecedented manifestation of bias, ineptitude and gross incompetence.
Morgan Tsvangirai: A True And Consistent Patriot
ZIMBABWE - HARARE - Robert Mugabe, ZANU(PF) and the State-controlled media in Zimbabwe have never made a secret of their rabid, delusional and paranoid hatred and contempt for the leader of the largest and most popular political party in Zimbabwe at the moment, Morgan Richard Tsvangirai.
Imperical evidence and indeed; even a random survey in Zimbabwe today will confirm that the Movement for Democratic Change, led by Morgan Tsvangirai, is the most popular political party.
Tsvangirai's detractors are largely motivated by primitive hatred coupled with a debilitating misunderstanding of what exactly drives Morgan Tsvangirai to be Zimbabwe's most popular political leader presently.
Day in, day out Zimbabweans are subjected to crude and course anti-Tsvangirai propaganda by the State-controlled Zimpapers and the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Holdings.
Acres of space are devoted to demonising Tsvangirai in both The Herald and The Chronicle newspapers daily.
Radio and television news bulletins on the State-controlled ZBH are incomplete without mentioning some disparaging remarks about Morgan Tsvangirai in particular and the MDC in general.
The news bulletins are super-charged with hate language levelled against Tsvangirai and the MDC. All the suffering being endured by the people of Zimbabwe is caused by Tsvangirai and his '' masters'' i.e. Britain, the USA and other Western countries!
Even the scourge of cholera that is ravaging the nation has been brought about by the biological warfare being waged against Zimbabwe by Gordon Brown!
What errant nonsense! Of course, only an intellectually challenged person will believe the crude and amateurish propaganda churned out incessantly against Morgan Tsvangirai by Mugabe and his cronies.
Zimbabwe is in its present desperate socio-economic and political state largely because of Mugabe's unparalleled system of misgorvenance, patronage, rampant and unmitigated corruption and general disrespect and contempt for the observance of basic human rights.
But Mugabe and his cronies will tell you that Zimbabwe has virtually collapsed because of Western -imposed sanctions instigated by Tsvangirai and the MDC. They will not tell you why Zimbabwe is still a net exporter of food; ten years after the advent of the land reform program.
They will not tell you why they are crying out for balance of payment support from Western -sponsored financial institutions such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund when they seem to hate '' imperialists'' so much.
Mugabe and his delusional propagandists will not tell you why they have dismally failed to come up with viable and sustainable import substitution policies as was done by the racist regime of Ian Smith during UDI. They will not tell you why the so-called Look East policy has been such a resounding failure.
The State-controlled media has desperately sought to portray Morgan Tsvangirai as the main architect of the people's suffering. They routinely refer to him as a Western puppet and the nemesis of patriotism. What a shame! To the contrary, Morgan Tsvangirai is a true and consistent patriot of Zimbabwe.
He symbolises the humiliating suffering of the ordinary Zimbabwean people. A suffering brought about by the excesses of a kleptocratic, corrupt, brutal and insensitive regime run by Robert Mugabe and his cronies.
The Tsvangirai brand has proved to be almost invincible. The more Mugabe and his crude propagandists such as George Charamba, Tafataona Mahoso, Maxwell Hove, Judith Makwanya, Caesar Zvayi, Reuben Barwe etc desperately try to denigrate the Morgan Tsvangirai brand the more popular and loved Tsvangirai becomes! In a very ironic sense, Mugabe's propagandists have inadvertently played a part in building and moulding the Tsvangirai brand.
Put it simply, a patriot is a person who loves his/her country and zealously guards its welfare. With this definition in mind, who, between Tsvangirai and Mugabe, is a true patriot? Mugabe's policies of using brute and primitive force to suppress the activities of opposition political parties and human rights defenders has led to Zimbabwe being the pariah and failed State that it is today.
Surely, a nation in which at least half of the population is in need of food aid, ten years after embarking upon a land reform program; is a failed state. A nation with an unemployment rate of over 80% is a failed state.
A nation that virtually survives on hand outs from such '' small'' nations like Namibia and Botswana is a failed state. And all this has nothing to do with Morgan Tsvangirai.
Advertisement
Tsvangirai is a selfless, dedicated and brave leader who has had the guts to stand up to Mugabe and to tell him that enough is enough!
Tsvangirai's vision for Zimbabwe easily resonates with the toiling masses of Zimbabwe. He is their beacon of hope in a situation of virtual hopelessness.
Tsvangirai thus becomes the popular and much loved leader that he is today in Zimbabwe. Mugabe's propaganda against Morgan Tsvangirai and the MDC has galvanised the MDC into becoming a very formidable political party in Zimbabwe.
Under the leadership of Robert Mugabe, ZANU (PF) has mutated into becoming a violent and reactionary political party; a party that has dismally failed to periodically renew its leadership; a party that is still locked up in history.
A party that has failed to engage the future. A party that is now a pathetic shadow of the former revolutionary force that it used to be.
On the other hand, Morgan Tsvangirai and the MDC represent the present and the future of Zimbabwean politics. Tsvangirai is not and has never been a puppet and a sell-out.
The people know the truth about this Zimbabwean hero. The people spoke on March 29, 2008 and they will continue to speak on each and every given opportunity. Morgan is the ONE!
Senator Obert Gutu is a trained lawyer, member of the MDC National Legal Committee as well as the MDC National Information Committee. He is also the MDC Chief Whip in the Senate. He can be contacted on gutulaw@mweb.co.zw
Imperical evidence and indeed; even a random survey in Zimbabwe today will confirm that the Movement for Democratic Change, led by Morgan Tsvangirai, is the most popular political party.
Tsvangirai's detractors are largely motivated by primitive hatred coupled with a debilitating misunderstanding of what exactly drives Morgan Tsvangirai to be Zimbabwe's most popular political leader presently.
Day in, day out Zimbabweans are subjected to crude and course anti-Tsvangirai propaganda by the State-controlled Zimpapers and the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Holdings.
Acres of space are devoted to demonising Tsvangirai in both The Herald and The Chronicle newspapers daily.
Radio and television news bulletins on the State-controlled ZBH are incomplete without mentioning some disparaging remarks about Morgan Tsvangirai in particular and the MDC in general.
The news bulletins are super-charged with hate language levelled against Tsvangirai and the MDC. All the suffering being endured by the people of Zimbabwe is caused by Tsvangirai and his '' masters'' i.e. Britain, the USA and other Western countries!
Even the scourge of cholera that is ravaging the nation has been brought about by the biological warfare being waged against Zimbabwe by Gordon Brown!
What errant nonsense! Of course, only an intellectually challenged person will believe the crude and amateurish propaganda churned out incessantly against Morgan Tsvangirai by Mugabe and his cronies.
Zimbabwe is in its present desperate socio-economic and political state largely because of Mugabe's unparalleled system of misgorvenance, patronage, rampant and unmitigated corruption and general disrespect and contempt for the observance of basic human rights.
But Mugabe and his cronies will tell you that Zimbabwe has virtually collapsed because of Western -imposed sanctions instigated by Tsvangirai and the MDC. They will not tell you why Zimbabwe is still a net exporter of food; ten years after the advent of the land reform program.
They will not tell you why they are crying out for balance of payment support from Western -sponsored financial institutions such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund when they seem to hate '' imperialists'' so much.
Mugabe and his delusional propagandists will not tell you why they have dismally failed to come up with viable and sustainable import substitution policies as was done by the racist regime of Ian Smith during UDI. They will not tell you why the so-called Look East policy has been such a resounding failure.
The State-controlled media has desperately sought to portray Morgan Tsvangirai as the main architect of the people's suffering. They routinely refer to him as a Western puppet and the nemesis of patriotism. What a shame! To the contrary, Morgan Tsvangirai is a true and consistent patriot of Zimbabwe.
He symbolises the humiliating suffering of the ordinary Zimbabwean people. A suffering brought about by the excesses of a kleptocratic, corrupt, brutal and insensitive regime run by Robert Mugabe and his cronies.
The Tsvangirai brand has proved to be almost invincible. The more Mugabe and his crude propagandists such as George Charamba, Tafataona Mahoso, Maxwell Hove, Judith Makwanya, Caesar Zvayi, Reuben Barwe etc desperately try to denigrate the Morgan Tsvangirai brand the more popular and loved Tsvangirai becomes! In a very ironic sense, Mugabe's propagandists have inadvertently played a part in building and moulding the Tsvangirai brand.
Put it simply, a patriot is a person who loves his/her country and zealously guards its welfare. With this definition in mind, who, between Tsvangirai and Mugabe, is a true patriot? Mugabe's policies of using brute and primitive force to suppress the activities of opposition political parties and human rights defenders has led to Zimbabwe being the pariah and failed State that it is today.
Surely, a nation in which at least half of the population is in need of food aid, ten years after embarking upon a land reform program; is a failed state. A nation with an unemployment rate of over 80% is a failed state.
A nation that virtually survives on hand outs from such '' small'' nations like Namibia and Botswana is a failed state. And all this has nothing to do with Morgan Tsvangirai.
Advertisement
Tsvangirai is a selfless, dedicated and brave leader who has had the guts to stand up to Mugabe and to tell him that enough is enough!
Tsvangirai's vision for Zimbabwe easily resonates with the toiling masses of Zimbabwe. He is their beacon of hope in a situation of virtual hopelessness.
Tsvangirai thus becomes the popular and much loved leader that he is today in Zimbabwe. Mugabe's propaganda against Morgan Tsvangirai and the MDC has galvanised the MDC into becoming a very formidable political party in Zimbabwe.
Under the leadership of Robert Mugabe, ZANU (PF) has mutated into becoming a violent and reactionary political party; a party that has dismally failed to periodically renew its leadership; a party that is still locked up in history.
A party that has failed to engage the future. A party that is now a pathetic shadow of the former revolutionary force that it used to be.
On the other hand, Morgan Tsvangirai and the MDC represent the present and the future of Zimbabwean politics. Tsvangirai is not and has never been a puppet and a sell-out.
The people know the truth about this Zimbabwean hero. The people spoke on March 29, 2008 and they will continue to speak on each and every given opportunity. Morgan is the ONE!
Senator Obert Gutu is a trained lawyer, member of the MDC National Legal Committee as well as the MDC National Information Committee. He is also the MDC Chief Whip in the Senate. He can be contacted on gutulaw@mweb.co.zw
A New Zimbabwe cries out for national healing
ZIMBABWE - HARARE - 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 does not support the MDC it does not 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 cronyism, 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 foundation of 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.
Hot ZimDaily Forum Topic Today - If you were Morgan Tsvangirai, what would you do?
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.
Advertisement
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.
Senator Obert Gutu can be contacted on gutulaw@mweb.co.zw
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 does not support the MDC it does not 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 cronyism, 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 foundation of 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.
Hot ZimDaily Forum Topic Today - If you were Morgan Tsvangirai, what would you do?
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.
Advertisement
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.
Senator Obert Gutu can be contacted on gutulaw@mweb.co.zw
A New Zimbabwe cries out for national healing
ZIMBABWE - HARARE - 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.
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 does not support the MDC it does not 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 cronyism, 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 foundation of 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.
Hot ZimDaily Forum Topic Today - If you were Morgan Tsvangirai, what would you do?
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.
Advertisement
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.
As a people, we Zimbabweans are naturally very loving, accomodative, tolerant, generous and patriotic.
Senator Obert Gutu is the MDC Senator for Chisipite. He is a trained Lawyer, member of the MDC National Legal Committee as well as the MDC National Information Committee.
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 does not support the MDC it does not 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 cronyism, 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 foundation of 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.
Hot ZimDaily Forum Topic Today - If you were Morgan Tsvangirai, what would you do?
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.
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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.
As a people, we Zimbabweans are naturally very loving, accomodative, tolerant, generous and patriotic.
Senator Obert Gutu is the MDC Senator for Chisipite. He is a trained Lawyer, member of the MDC National Legal Committee as well as the MDC National Information Committee.
Monday, October 4, 2010
My vision of a new Zimbabwe
I was a 17-year-old boy in Lower Six at Fletcher High School in Gweru when Zimbabwe attained independence from Britain on April 18, 1980.
I will never forget the euphoria, excitement and sheer delirium that gripped the whole nation on that day.
The mere fact that the global reggae icon, Robert Nesta Marley, played at Rufaro Stadium on the eve of independence just goes to show the level of attention and expectation that was placed on the new independent republic of Zimbabwe by the entire world.
For we all know that wherever Bob Marley staged a show, the global mainstream media would stick to him like glue.
Such was the legend called Bob Marley. May his departed soul rest in eternal peace!
It has been 30 years since Zimbabwe took her place among the sovereign nations of the world.
I am now a grown-up man with a family and in this article I will attempt to provide a post-mortem of Zimbabwe post-April 1980.The diagnosis is most unpleasant.
I would be lying were I to state that Zimbabwe has successfully navigated her national affairs in the three decades since independence.
In fact, in more ways than one, as a nation, we have taken several steps backwards since 1980.
CONTINUES BELOW
Instead of fostering a spirit of oneness and nationhood since April 1980, we allowed a culture of greed, intolerance, ineptitude, cronyism, laziness and corruption to firmly take root in our motherland.
Merit, forthrightness, decency, hard work and honesty were deliberately subordinated to patronage, tribalism, regionalism and villageism.
Instead of embracing the whole of Zimbabwe as one unit deserving of a holistic approach on the development agenda, certain parts of the country, particularly the Matabeleland provinces, were selectively treated and as a result, these provinces remain largely underdeveloped to date.
I am not a messenger of tribalism when I boldly state that it is a national scandal that 30 years after independence, the Zambezi water project (which would have transformed the Matabeleland region into a lush green zone by now), has still not seen the light of day.
I am not a harbinger of alarm and despondency when I boldly state that 30 years after independence, most major roads in Matabeleland are still untarred and most infrastructure is still desolate and dilapidated.
Certainly, it is not the so-called “illegal” sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe by Britain and her allies that have led to the backwardness of most rural areas outside the Mashonaland provinces.
We cannot afford to bury our heads in the sand and say that everything is okay when it is anything but.
For too long, Zimbabwe has been swayed to live in a fool’s paradise.
We have been bombarded with propaganda aimed at misconstruing and distorting the country’s political history, particularly the history of the liberation struggle.
Cowards, criminals and war deserters have been painted as gallant fighters and defenders of Zimbabwe’s nationhood.
People who escaped into the Americas and the rest of Europe, purportedly to further their studies while the real heroes and heroines were sweating it out in the bushes during the liberation war, are now masquerading as the “owners” of the revolution.
This shameless bunch of no-hopers even has the tenacity of describing some of us who were barely in our teens as the war of liberation reached its peak, as cowards and “sellouts”.
The converse is, in fact, true.
It is this greedy bunch of cowards and pretenders that has sold out our nationhood as Zimbabweans.
It is this greedy bunch, some of whom returned from overseas with fake doctorates from some dubious universities, who have spared no opportunity to loot public resources and to generally run down hitherto very profitable and well-administered parastatals.
The case of the Zimbabwe United Passenger Company (Zupco) is a classic and unmitigated example of how this hopeless bunch of greedy and corrupt pretenders has run down State institutions.
I have studied the political and life story of one of my foremost heroes and role models, Joshua Nkomo.
I have studied his autobiography Joshua Nkomo,The Story of My Life.
From this book (which should be a must-read for all Zimbabwean patriots), I got to understand how and why most of the real heroes of Zimbabwe’s liberation struggle will remain unsung.
In emotionally charged language, the late gallant Father of the Nation, Joshua Nkomo, narrates how his vision of a free and democratic Zimbabwe that shunned racism and tribalism, was shattered by some of his colleagues whose sole agenda seemed to be power retention at whatever cost.
When the departed national hero narrates how he was forced to escape into exile dressed as a woman in 1983, I feel so sad, so despondent that a tear or two will run down my cheeks.
This is how Zimbabwe lost the plot.
We were focusing on personalities instead of on issues and the broader national agenda.
For some of us, where you come from counts for nothing when it comes to matters of national good governance.
Whether you are Karanga, Kalanga, Zezuru or Ndebele, I do not give a hoot.
What I want is a leader who perceives Zimbabwe on a broad and holistic national prospectus.
This is why Joshua Nkomo will forever remain my hero and role model but I am neither Kalanga nor Ndebele.
I am a New African.
I despise Afro-pessimism with a passion.
I also denounce tribalism, racism, regionalism and villageism.
I will not be locked up in history, live in the past and forget to engage the future.
I will not waste my time lambasting people whose political beliefs and ethos do not dovetail with my own.
I will strive to cultivate tolerance of opposing views.
Instead of using machetes and knobkerries to mobilise support for my political convictions, I would rather use verbal engagement and debate to propagate what I believe in.
I am a New African.
And I cannot wait to march to a New Zimbabwe where I will find real change.
Obert Gutu is a practicing lawyer based in Harare.
I will never forget the euphoria, excitement and sheer delirium that gripped the whole nation on that day.
The mere fact that the global reggae icon, Robert Nesta Marley, played at Rufaro Stadium on the eve of independence just goes to show the level of attention and expectation that was placed on the new independent republic of Zimbabwe by the entire world.
For we all know that wherever Bob Marley staged a show, the global mainstream media would stick to him like glue.
Such was the legend called Bob Marley. May his departed soul rest in eternal peace!
It has been 30 years since Zimbabwe took her place among the sovereign nations of the world.
I am now a grown-up man with a family and in this article I will attempt to provide a post-mortem of Zimbabwe post-April 1980.The diagnosis is most unpleasant.
I would be lying were I to state that Zimbabwe has successfully navigated her national affairs in the three decades since independence.
In fact, in more ways than one, as a nation, we have taken several steps backwards since 1980.
CONTINUES BELOW
Instead of fostering a spirit of oneness and nationhood since April 1980, we allowed a culture of greed, intolerance, ineptitude, cronyism, laziness and corruption to firmly take root in our motherland.
Merit, forthrightness, decency, hard work and honesty were deliberately subordinated to patronage, tribalism, regionalism and villageism.
Instead of embracing the whole of Zimbabwe as one unit deserving of a holistic approach on the development agenda, certain parts of the country, particularly the Matabeleland provinces, were selectively treated and as a result, these provinces remain largely underdeveloped to date.
I am not a messenger of tribalism when I boldly state that it is a national scandal that 30 years after independence, the Zambezi water project (which would have transformed the Matabeleland region into a lush green zone by now), has still not seen the light of day.
I am not a harbinger of alarm and despondency when I boldly state that 30 years after independence, most major roads in Matabeleland are still untarred and most infrastructure is still desolate and dilapidated.
Certainly, it is not the so-called “illegal” sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe by Britain and her allies that have led to the backwardness of most rural areas outside the Mashonaland provinces.
We cannot afford to bury our heads in the sand and say that everything is okay when it is anything but.
For too long, Zimbabwe has been swayed to live in a fool’s paradise.
We have been bombarded with propaganda aimed at misconstruing and distorting the country’s political history, particularly the history of the liberation struggle.
Cowards, criminals and war deserters have been painted as gallant fighters and defenders of Zimbabwe’s nationhood.
People who escaped into the Americas and the rest of Europe, purportedly to further their studies while the real heroes and heroines were sweating it out in the bushes during the liberation war, are now masquerading as the “owners” of the revolution.
This shameless bunch of no-hopers even has the tenacity of describing some of us who were barely in our teens as the war of liberation reached its peak, as cowards and “sellouts”.
The converse is, in fact, true.
It is this greedy bunch of cowards and pretenders that has sold out our nationhood as Zimbabweans.
It is this greedy bunch, some of whom returned from overseas with fake doctorates from some dubious universities, who have spared no opportunity to loot public resources and to generally run down hitherto very profitable and well-administered parastatals.
The case of the Zimbabwe United Passenger Company (Zupco) is a classic and unmitigated example of how this hopeless bunch of greedy and corrupt pretenders has run down State institutions.
I have studied the political and life story of one of my foremost heroes and role models, Joshua Nkomo.
I have studied his autobiography Joshua Nkomo,The Story of My Life.
From this book (which should be a must-read for all Zimbabwean patriots), I got to understand how and why most of the real heroes of Zimbabwe’s liberation struggle will remain unsung.
In emotionally charged language, the late gallant Father of the Nation, Joshua Nkomo, narrates how his vision of a free and democratic Zimbabwe that shunned racism and tribalism, was shattered by some of his colleagues whose sole agenda seemed to be power retention at whatever cost.
When the departed national hero narrates how he was forced to escape into exile dressed as a woman in 1983, I feel so sad, so despondent that a tear or two will run down my cheeks.
This is how Zimbabwe lost the plot.
We were focusing on personalities instead of on issues and the broader national agenda.
For some of us, where you come from counts for nothing when it comes to matters of national good governance.
Whether you are Karanga, Kalanga, Zezuru or Ndebele, I do not give a hoot.
What I want is a leader who perceives Zimbabwe on a broad and holistic national prospectus.
This is why Joshua Nkomo will forever remain my hero and role model but I am neither Kalanga nor Ndebele.
I am a New African.
I despise Afro-pessimism with a passion.
I also denounce tribalism, racism, regionalism and villageism.
I will not be locked up in history, live in the past and forget to engage the future.
I will not waste my time lambasting people whose political beliefs and ethos do not dovetail with my own.
I will strive to cultivate tolerance of opposing views.
Instead of using machetes and knobkerries to mobilise support for my political convictions, I would rather use verbal engagement and debate to propagate what I believe in.
I am a New African.
And I cannot wait to march to a New Zimbabwe where I will find real change.
Obert Gutu is a practicing lawyer based in Harare.
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