Before he left for Zimbabwe to officially open the Agricultural Show, South African President and current SADC chairperson, Jacob Zuma, had raised the hopes of desperate Zimbabweans scattered all over the world by promising to look into ‘deviances’ in the implementation of the Global Political Agreement that could render the unity government unworkable.
Fortunately, that promise was made by ANC secretary general, Gwede Mantashe, on behalf of the South African government.
Zuma’s capitulation and subsequent abdication on that promise can justify his Judas kiss. He never said it himself.
As if on cue, ZANU (PF)’s spin doctors had, prior to his visit, already gone into overdrive in the Zimbabwean press, denuding any wishful thinking pinning expectancy on Zuma to read the riot act to Mugabe.
“Mr. Zuma won’t be coming to judge Zimbabweans but to get appraisal on our progress after opening the show,” they ranted.
And how correct they were!
Zimbabwe has long passed the point where sane people can be optimistic that its myriad of problems can be solved by another African leader.
It has become evident that Zimbabwe is a unique case, and its citizenry is held to ransom by its failure to act with common purpose to face the threatening political tide.
That failure has culminated in the populace placing hope and faith in dubious characters masquerading as political parties, Members of Parliament, ministers, and to some extent, friendly neighbouring countries.
Morgan Tsvangirai is learning to swim from the deep end. The GNU fiasco was imposed on his country by some dotards in SADC.
Tsvangirai is hard done by having underpaid workers and a deprived peasantry as allies behind his quest for democratic reform. With a totally bankrupt country the end has never been this far from realisation.
Not only that, Tsvangirai also carries baggage of dubious persons who were elected on his party’s ticket forming part of the cabinet, and they have been hogging the limelight for reasons related to criminal activity.
Tsvangirai’s continuous complaints about selective persecution of his party members by a ministry that he leads as a co-minister goes a long way to show that the myth that his party was beyond reproach is all but a ruse.
Prof Jonathan Moyo, the former minister of information in Mugabe’s government, writing in The Herald of 25 August 2009 in an article titled “Demystifying Mutambara”, shed light on the fragile unity government and the MDC’s ministers’ recent actions.
Minister of Housing, Fidelis Mhashu, went back to Zimbabwe from South Africa with stitches on his head, courtesy of South African hooligans who had paid him a nocturnal visit and attacked him while he was on a clandestine rendezvous with exiled businessman, Mutumwa Mawere.
Subsequent denials about his visit and whether it was within his ministerial mandate to visit Mawere without informing the South African authorities were neither here nor there.
The mysterious visit to South Africa shed light on how the ministers are carving out fortunes for themselves at the expense of the populace who have placed so much faith in them to deliver while they make do with a US$150 pittance per month.
Another from the MDC is before the courts on the shameful charge of pilfering a cell phone and another is in the dock for rape. The bottom line is that the unity government is saddled with a bunch of miscreants who were lucky at the polls.
Placing total faith in such individuals will surely prolong the misery of the people unless they identify the societal monsters the system created, and face them head on.
Having gone on a begging mission to the West, Tsvangirai was ridiculed by the paltry change he raised from the purported champions of democracy.
That they treated him with indifference is not disguised by their treatment of ZANU (PF) ministers he had travelled with. Expecting the government, without any resources, to deliver miracles on the economy is nothing short of expecting a woman to conceive and bear like a self-pollinating Paw Paw tree.
Another cholera epidemic is brewing while doctors are on strike over pay. A cash injection to the health ministry would have proved that the West is sincere about Zimbabwe’s plight.
Mugabe’s indifference to this unfolding drama is frightening. He has dug in on the appointments of the Reserve Bank governor and attorney general. Gideon Gono was central to the collapse of the economy with his hypocritical belief in printing money, while Tomana controls the courts, apparently to prosecute MDC activists.
Mugabe is playing the game well. His strategy is to frustrate Tsvangirai’s efforts also tarnishing his political image. The failure by the MDC to bring any meaningful change to the country favours ZANU (PF) which is working flat out to achieve just that.
Tsvangirai seems to be taking this transitional arrangement too seriously. Pointers show that these tactics might backfire on him. It has to be impressed upon him to focus on the upcoming election that will usher in a legitimate government. His party has to prepare for this with its credibility intact. Mistakes they will make during this trial government will be fodder that ZANU (PF) will use to campaign against them.
Gono was recently in the news again defending the local currency’s merits. After dollarisation of the economy, the man has found himself with a job, but nothing to do.
Having admitted to raiding people’s accounts during Zimbabwe’s heady days of hyper-inflation, the man has no shame holding on to a job he should have voluntarily relinquished to help his country recover.
His policies and actions have left a dent of generational proportions that will haunt the victims of his actions.
ZANU (PF) is not only brutal towards edifices of dissent. Much as they hate Britain, they want the travel bans that were imposed on them waived as a precursor to fulfilling some GNU obligations.
Mugabe’s inner circle is adamant that MDC should play a role in the removal of sanctions against them. Having mended a sort of peace with such deadly political ‘euthanasia’, Tsvangirai should have known what was at stake for his party.
The only solution that looks viable for Zimbabweans is a new constitution. Already, Mugabe has thrown spanners in the works by insisting that the process be premised on a dubious draft they had agreed with MDC at the height of their tensions.
That stance should be resisted by all and sundry. The wording of the new constitution should reflect the will of the people and it should not be borrowed from existing documents or copied from other states.
A new home grown charter should endeavour to strip all the powers that have been given to one individual through nineteen constitutional amendments to rule out checks and balances.
That chance presents the best opportunity for the people to reclaim their dignity and determine their destiny. It has to be nurtured to ensure that it won’t be hijacked again. The last time the charter issue was tackled, it degenerated into a farce when the protagonists tried to ramrod a shoddy piece of legislation on the people.
Political power has always been a harbinger of national instability in Zimbabwe. Coupled with the centralisation of power and patronage systems derived from the Marxist Leninist years, it has been long coming to realise that Mugabe built a fortress around himself that is difficult to bring down.
He is a cunning schemer who manages to smile because he can bribe his detractors with national wealth. After years of cultivating a beggar through populist gestures, he still has the clout to hoodwink people into endorsing his eccentric schemes with a single truckload of grain. With three quarters of the population officially peasants, Mugabe has a loyal constituency that panders to his whims whenever he calls.
Neighbouring countries will not understand the gravity of homemade problems, so they won’t be able to offer quick fixes to entrenched vices. The people must believe in themselves to do something and stand up for what they believe in. It is harder to fight for democracy against one of your own, and Zimbabweans should know that it is not the SADC, AU, USA or the UN who will help them. The people should have faith in themselves.
