Can Zanu-PF invent the future? October 17, 2013 Blogs, Local News, Reason Wafawarova Zanu-PF is founded on the leadership of a people who have in the past suffered immense colonial injustices, and among them is President Mugabe — a man who can be compared to someone who has survived a perilous disease, and then devotes all his energies to vaccine research, becoming along the way a luminary in the medical field. The conviction in the founding nationalists from whose efforts Zanu-PF emerged can hardly be doubted, and the principled stance President Mugabe is today reputed for across the world is only an extension of the founding principles of the anti-colonial movement that gave birth to the party that today is the governing administration in Zimbabwe. For one to be successful in a revolution two very important aspects have to be observed. Firstly one has to understand fully the things they are fighting about. You cannot successfully wage a war against imperialism when your understanding of that concept is scant, and precisely that is why President Mugabe has a hard task finding comrades among the many members of his revolutionary party. Secondly one has to be convinced that what they are fighting for is just. A revisit to the land reform era will show a petit bourgeoisie middle class that trudged along with the program in apparent doubt that the process was just — only to clandestinely sneak in for the sweetest part of the benefits once it became clear that indeed land was being taken back — sadly muscling out the proletariat that had borne the unjust humiliation of being portrayed as barbarous monsters unfit to inhabit this planet in the 21st century. In the name of financial capacity they largely parceled among themselves what they classified as the A2 commercial farmers, relegating most of the foot soldiers of the land reclamation process to the A1 farming plots, all in the name of limited financial capacity. Was this decision an invention of the future for Zimbabwe or the perpetuation of a camouflaged past? It is futile to wage a struggle as a pretext, as a lever, or as a weapon to acquire power. The mask cannot last, and its demise is unavoidable. This is why the principle of justice must forever guide the land reform and the indigenisation policies — justice not only against the colonial beneficiary, but justice for all the people of Zimbabwe. The Community Share Schemes cannot be a pretext for a few to enrich themselves, and so shouldn’t be the Employee Share Schemes. That is not the way to invent the future for Zimbabwe. It is a perpetuation of the capitalist domination that gave us the colonial injustices we openly loathe in all our political rhetoric. It is a very bad thing for someone to get involved in a struggle alongside the masses in order to acquire for oneself a position of power, or some privileged post in any of the institutions associated with the people’s revolution. Posts must be filled on the basis of the need to organize effectively, and not on the basis of who desires most the material benefits that come with those posts. Zanu-PF is a revolutionary party whose criteria for leadership is a straitjacket. One needs to be convinced that they are capable of fighting, that they are courageous enough to fight not only for themselves but above all for all others. There has been, there is, and there will always be those people that come to the revolutionary party showing great determination to wage a fight, and they impressively show that they know how to go about it, only to falter once the personal benefits stop coming their way. Patronage cadres are not uncommon in any revolution, and these are those among our leaders who have artificially manufactured impressive roots in the struggle, erecting a wall of invincibility around themselves, and making it imperative for all others to observe the supremacy of the chef culture. A slight detailed look at these people will quickly show that these people are cut off from the popular masses. Often they use fawned generosity to hoodwink their victims — a generosity that does not exactly make them revolutionaries. When a revolution has been hijacked by patronage cadres principled cadres suffer great losses. They are frustrated as it becomes apparent that their commitment and hard work is unappreciated, unsupported, unwanted even. Honest sacrifices are rewarded with breathtaking ungratefulness, and with time the principled cadre is eliminated as patronage cadres insulate themselves with their own kind. It is like the noble intended charity industry. The nobility of charity work cannot be doubted, just like it is not easy to oppose the nobility of justice in any revolution. But some international aid volunteers find themselves in awkward positions where their sincerity is grossly betrayed by the actions of those whose motives are far removed from the declared intentions of charity. Only those leaders who have bothered to immerse with the masses know how to answer the questions that arise in a revolution, only them know how to take decisions capable of solving problems associated with the needs of the people. The Zanu-PF manifesto was quite impressive, and no doubt it must be credited for the July 31 vote, alongside the slumber of a completely clueless competitor. However, that manifesto is in itself a great test to the leadership quality in the revolutionary party, and the real devil is the implementation of the programmes in the manifesto. This writer comes from Masvingo Province, a region that gave Zanu-PF 26 out of 26 seats — even affording the revolutionary party the luxury to turn down the people’s choice in Bikita West, this writer’s own home area. Harare is convinced that its opinion supersedes that of Bikita West villagers, and that thinking is not uncommon. In that area our idea of a member of parliament is like someone we send to Harare to make sure that he comes back with solutions to our many poverty-related challenges. But Harare sees things differently. Harare thinks our representatives must have an endorsement of Harare thinking, a superior blessing of a Harare nature. Harare sees things this way in the politics of Zanu-PF, the MDC, the NCA and of any other political party the country may ever have. Thomas Sankara tells a story of villagers who put all that they ever had together and gave all to a man they selected to go to Ouagadougou so he could buy foodstuffs to avert a famine that was wrecking havoc in the village. The man cycled on his bike for many kilometres until he got to the capital. On arrival he had a brutal encounter with heartless city thugs who stole his bike and all the money the villagers had given him. In despair the man committed suicide. Not even a single reporter was interested in his story, not even one person in Ouagadougou lost sleep over the fate of this man. To them it was just another dead body of an unidentified man, and they dug a hole and gave him a pauper’s burial. Ouagadougou went on about its business with its usual zest, totally indifferent, and even ignorant of this little drama. In the mean time hundreds of villagers awaited in vain for the happy return of a man they believed would give them another lease of life. He never came back, and Ouagadougou never bothered to make them know what had happened. Is Harare any different today? How much of the hope of our rural people has been robbed and murdered by the city political thugs? How much of the hope of our rural people has been thwarted by the city politicians so indifferent to, and even ignorant of the dire needs of the rural populace? What is Harare doing to Joseph Chinotimba when he says his rural people in Buhera are being devoured by mysterious hyenas resorting to human meat in the wake of their own version of famine? Harare gives Chinotimba a raucous laugh of scorn, and Harare’s media reckons it is all enjoyable fun. Harare thinks in Chinotimba there lies the arbiter of failure on the part of Zanu-PF, not because Chinotimba has failed the people of Buhera, but because Chinotimba does not carry himself in a Harare like manner — does not impress the typical Hararean. But does anyone have a right to turn their back on our rural people until such a time their vote is wanted? Can we invent any future with this mentality? We are too used to this idea of politicians that only mention the names of rural traditional leaders when they feel they need to court the rural vote, totally demeaning the role of these traditional leaders by every one of all of their other actions. It is good to be part of Zanu-PF or the MDC. They are the main political parties in the country, so they have some vital unique experience they give. But it is important that one avoids at all cost to be one of the rats in the corridors of these political parties. It is easy to fall into the political complicity that drives the injustice facing the ordinary party member at the bottom of things. There is this disgusting acquiescence that reduces the problems faced by the people to a verbal and theoretical sparring match between politicians who apparently confuse eloquence for commitment to duty. When you see politicians in parliament or in cabinet you get the impression that these are serious people, but the only serious thing about most of our politicians is their commitment to personal privileges. The future of Zimbabwe is in the success of the country’s economy, and Zanu-PF must of necessity commit to improving the livelihoods of the ordinary person. The pro-people policies are well in place, but they need a serious leadership ready to make the sacrifices that come with the success of such revolutionary visions. It is possible for Zanu-PF to invent the future out of the injustices of yesterday, but the question is whether Zanu-PF has the commitment and capacity to invent such a future for the people of Zimbabwe. Imperialism and its sanctions are as no better an excuse for failure than the devil is for lack of holiness. Holiness derives its nobility from the existence of an evil force called the devil, and economic success for Zimbabwe derives its sweetness from the defeat of both imperialism and its sanctions. Gone must be the day that political failures expect to be glorified for wielding the sanctions card as an excuse for failure to deliver. If one cannot succeed in the wake of sanctions then they have no business in the Zimbabwe politics of today. They have to do the honourable thing — ship out. Zimbabwe we are one and together we will overcome. It is homeland or death!! Reason Wafawarova is a political writer based in Sydney, Australia.
Posted on: Thu, 17 Oct 2013 03:19:24 +0000