THE 1873 NETWORK - RESPONDING TO THE SPE CONCEPT • Junior Mashanji The is Mr Mawere, are you not also an SPE ?? Like • Reply • 8 hours ago RESPONSE: 1. Thanks Junior. 2. I can only be something that is capable of existing. 3. I am not sure what the creature is and, therefore, it would be wrong for anyone to put me in a category that in its design and construction is incapable of making any sense. 4. You should appreciate the idea that informs the description as set out by Zhuwao. 5. Zhuwao obviously sitting on a self-created higher moral pedestal defines an SPE as: “a commercial and business-oriented individual who seeks to abuse access to political influence for personal and individual commercial and business benefits irrespective of the political and/or ideological damage that they inflict.” 6. When one unpacks this definition, it becomes evident that a lot more is required to improve not just financial but business and political literacy. 7. My comments on the definition are as follows: 7.1 The obvious starting point is to ascertain whether a commercial and business-oriented person does exist and if so what kind of animal is that person. According to Zhuwao, in creating human beings, God’s true purpose was to categorize them into silos i.e. one silo reserved for this kind of animal and one would assume for instance that another silo was reserved for politicians. 7.2 The last country to be created as an idea of men who came from different geographies was the United States of America. History will tell us that they felt compelled to invest in a declaration of independence. Zimbabwe was born as a nation-state from the womb of race-based oppression. The founding fathers made no declaration from which we can refer to for guidance in dealing with the conceptual and intellectual problems arising from what Zhuwao perceives to be an SPE. 7.3 To justify the independence of the USA from the colonial power, the listed all their grievances against King George III and proceeded to assert certain natural and legal rights, including a right to revolution. You will appreciate that Mandela’s Rivonia Speech when he said the following words, it is evident that he must have been inspired by the words contained in the American declaration of independence: “During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to this struggle of the African people. I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.” 7.4 Its purpose was to announce independence. The fact that they had to announce it, means that they took time to reflect on its purpose and what would happen as a consequence of acting on the declaration. Regrettably, many Africans wanted to be independent yet no real thought process seems to have been applied in respect of the day after the act. 7.5 It is the following extract from the declaration that is relevant in analysing Zhuwao’s definition: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” 7.6 What self-evident then is self-evident today that “all men are created equal” and, therefore, no man is created as a business let alone commercial oriented person. 7.7 What may escape Zhuwao and like-minded thinkers is that life is a stage that gives space to all its living beings. The stage may be sports, politics, business, religion, for instance, as the case may be, but the common denominator is that the actor is a human being. The human being can act on many stages in the same life. One day, he may be a student, the following day, the same person may be a doctor and the following day, the same person may be a father, CEO, politician depending on passion, gift and many other factors. 7.8 What then is a commercial and business oriented person? No such person exists for a businessperson is really an undertaker of a promise. The promise is to a potential customer. A businessperson is in the peoples’ business because it is only in the family of human beings that the concept of exchange of value takes a real form. In the animal kingdom, no cash exists precisely because there is no exchange of value. Money, a unit of exchange, takes a dominant place in human experiences because exchange of value makes one sell time in exchange of money and accepts money because it can be exchange for good and services. 7.9 Even a doctor has to be customer-centric. In the case of political actors, it is also the case that they derive their power from the governed who in any functioning democracy are consumers and, therefore, must be as vigilant as any consumer to ensure that they get value for their money. 7.10 So when one attempts to reduce human beings into one silo, it exposes the bankruptcy of the mind that informs that kind of idea. 7.11 The next concept introduced by Zhuwao is that this creature: “seeks to abuse access to political influence.” By using access in the negative sense an impression is created that this creature is inherently evil. The question that then emerges is why one would seek to abuse access and in any event what kind of access is being talked about. As stated above, a political actor by nature is also a human being who is essentially also in the peoples’ business and necessarily has to be accessible. No rational person would seek to access power for evil because any such power has to be used in the interests of the governed. By seeking to invest in this negative sentiment of people who choose to be in business, it is clear that the intention is to enable the few that are close to power to create a fence around the President so that the President is isolated and only relies on these people for direction and advice. 7.12 In fact, one is entitled to conclude that President Mugabe is a de facto prisoner for it has been and continues to be argued by his followers and close friends that he must stay away from business actors as they have the propensity to abuse him and his crew. This is the kind of rubbish that informs the term SPE. 7.13 To make matters worse, Zhuwao proceeds to state that the access so granted is intended to be used for personal and individual commercial and business benefits and as a result, any politician is warned to stay away from this animal. Mnangagwa is warned so is Mujuru to stay away from Mawere and Kaukonde, respectively. 7.14 You will appreciate that even Mugabe does not cease to be human simply because he is the President. It cannot be argued that what is being suggested by Zhuwao is that Mugabe should divorce his wife because as a businesswoman with interests in various activities she also poses a threat to democracy in that her unfettered access can also be used to advance he commercial and business interests yet in his definition of an SPE, the First Lady, for example, is conspicuously absent. Can it be argued convincingly that the First Lady is allergic to pursuing her interests and that her access to power is the only one that is in the national interest. 7.15 I am sure that even Mnangagwa has friends and family in business and yet it is now being suggested that there must be a litmus test invoked to ascertain who has the intention of abusing political access. It would appear that Zhuwao has arrogated the right to determine who is bona fide and who is not. All the people who are perceived to support the Mazoe Crush movement appear to be pre-qualified. This is the kind of danger that the founding fathers of the USA were alive to. Evidently, Zhuwao sees no evil in his conceptual design for it suits the incumbents whose close friends and family have had a different experience of the idea called Zimbabwe than the majority. 7.16 He then makes the point that this created creature called SPE not only abuses access for personal gain but is blind to the political and/or ideological damage that they inflict. 7.17 In the case of Kaukonde, it is argued that he has cost Mujuru the prestigious position of VP of the team Zimbabwe notwithstanding the fact that the titanic is sinking daily. It is also argued that Mnangagwa’s illustrious career as a trusted lieutenant of President Mugabe was damaged by his perceived role in SMM’s affairs. 7.18 He makes the point that the ideological credentials of ZANU-PF have been undermined by the so-called SPE. He does not define what this means in reality but it is evident that the purity of ZANU-PF’s ideology has been soiled principally two individuals i.e. Kaukonde and myself. 8 Based on the above, Zhuwao as the Chief Examiner, gives Kaukonde and myself first class marks as having been the first graduates and henceforth we must be known as National SPEs. I am sure as the pioneer, I am the Senior SPE using the language invented by Zhuwao. 9 To imagine that one can spend God’s valuable time thinking about this kind of nonsense must concern all of us who wish Zimbabwe and its people well. 10 Zhuwao then concludes by stating that an SPE is ideologically bankrupt, and devoid of ethics, morality and decency. 11 It would appear that you agree with this kind of perverted thinking.
Posted on: Sat, 27 Dec 2014 09:46:12 +0000