By Blessing Vava
February 9, 2017, marked the ninth anniversary since
the adoption of the Zimbabwe People’s Charter. The Charter, being a product of
wide consultations with the masses throughout the country was debated and produced
by the more than 3 000 representatives of workers, students, churches,
business, women and youth organisations.
Fundamentally, a critical interpretation of the People’s
Charter is based on the view that Zimbabwe, since colonialism, has remained a
country lacking the rule of law, a country characterised by the militarisation
of arms of the state and government.
The People’s Charter, therefore, calls for the
establishment of a social democratic Zimbabwe, in which the people are
guaranteed safety and security and a lawful environment free from human rights
violations and impunity. It still occupies an important role in our politics.
It seems, however, that when the Charter came into
existence, there seemed to be a de facto
obligation on the civic society and all social movements and struggling to
transform Zimbabwe to define at some point their position vis-a-vis the
Charter.
The first major meeting of the stakeholders was called
for in 2011, only as a means of defining their position with regards to the
Charter. It was also a meeting aimed at charting a way forward and that the
civil society and social movements would be able to establish ‘our’ identity in
the Zimbabwean body politics.
It was also that meeting that the Committee of thePeople’s Charter (CPC) was conceived as a political, economic, social and
democratic accountability mechanism established in the interests of the people
of Zimbabwe.
Its main aim was to bring the Zimbabwean government of
the day to account in relation to the national economy, gender equality, youth
empowerment, a democratic political environment, free and fair elections,
constitutional reform, media freedom and Zimbabwe’s national value system, as
aptly espoused in the Charter.
Moreso, defining a position vis-a-vis the Charter
involves more than its simple endorsement or rejection. In a way, the Charter
can be interpreted as an ambiguous document, despite its pithiness and simple
language.
The range of possible meanings contained within the
Charter has resulted in it being interpreted in a variety of ways ‑ though sometimes
contradictory. However, such semantic disputes are by no means politically
inconsequential, as they involve fundamental theoretical and strategic
questions.
It is the meaning of the constitutional reform clauses
of the People’s Charter that generated immense dispute to date. These call for
a new Constitution of Zimbabwe, which must be produced by a people-driven,
participatory process.
The debate on constitutional reform brewed a lot of
contradictions in the civil society, as they jostled to be part of the constitutional
reform process by the coalition government starting in 2009.
In Article XI of the Global Political Agreement, the
rejection of the Charter was imminent, as the civil society movement
unashamedly endorsed such clauses in direct contradiction to the dictates of
the Charter.
A snapshot of the Charter’s demands on the
Constitutional reform are as follows: “The
People shall have a constitutional reform process, which is characterised by
the following: -Comprehensive consultation with the people of Zimbabwe wherein
they are guaranteed freedom of expression and information, association and
assembly. The collection of the views of the people and their compilation into
a draft constitution that shall be undertaken by an All-Stakeholders'
Commission composed of representatives of government, parliament, political
parties, civil society, labour, business and the church with a gender and
minority balance.”
I would argue that not many civil society
organisations accorded the Charter any pertinence to their struggles to date
and from the outset never perceived the Charter as relevant to its exigencies.
The signing and adoption of the Charter in 2008 was a
realisation from the civic movement that there was a need in our democratic
struggle to have a framework of ideals, aspirations to attain the revolutionary
struggle. But we reflect on the fact that a few months after the many
organisations appended their signatures to the Charter, the struggle veered off
the road, as the collective movement faced its biggest test.
Clearly, I should highlight that some of the key
components of the People’s Charter were neglected both when the elections came
and at the consummation of the coalition government.
While acknowledging the shortfalls on the
constitutional reform process, the civic movement and prodemocracy movements
capitulated on the electoral framework, as expounded by the Charter.
While the ink in March 2008 had not dried up, the civic
movement’s shortcomings were exposed by the 'strategic' move to openly declare
allegiance and campaigning for the MDC led by Morgan Tsvangirai in an election
that fell short of the demands of the Charter.
Section 2 of the Charter acknowledged that “all elections in Zimbabwe remain
illegitimate and without merit until undertaken under a new democratic and
people-driven constitution, Equal access to the media. One independent,
impartial, accountable and well-resourced electoral management body. A process
of delimitation, which is free from political control, which is accurate, fair,
transparent and undertaken with full public participation. A continually
updated and accurate voters' roll, which is open and accessible to all.
Transparent and neutral location of polling stations, agreed to through a
national consultative process devoid of undue ruling or opposition party and
government influence, which are accessible to all including those with special
needs”.
The 2008 election never met an inch of that demand and
this partly explains the five-week delay in the announcement of the presidential
results.
As Lenin would say, that at all times, the
revolutionary organisation must maintain political independence, I posit that
it was, therefore, wrong for the civic movement to abandon freshly conceived the
principles on the altar of political convenience.
Also key is the debate around the national economy,
and the Charter calls for people-centered economic planning that guarantees
social and economic rights.
It enunciates the state’s responsibilities to “initiate public programmes to build
schools, hospitals, houses, dams and roads and create jobs and above all
equitable access to and distribution of national resources for the benefit of
all people of Zimbabwe”.
Such demands are non-negotiable until they are
realised.
The current government’s populist economic framework in guised is guised
as centred around a pro-poor initiative while in reality it is pushing
oligarchic capitalism, is certainly not attainable and befitting for our
people, emerging from the background of an equally skewed colonial legacy.
To this day, the Charter remains the beacon of hope
and the clearest statement in the struggle for a better Zimbabwe.
The People’s Charter is, indeed, a revolutionary
programme for the masses, which could have gained significant gains for the
masses.
Consequently, an admission should be made that key
components of the People’s Charter were neglected in the transition to an
inclusive government.
The social movements, working class, the youth, the
church, the women, whose signatures were appended to the People’s Charter,
illustrates its weight and, therefore, it should never be undermined or
misinterpreted.
It is a living document, a People’s Manifesto that
belongs to the people of Zimbabwe and that will never change anytime soon.
Essentially, what needs to be done going forward is
interrogation and robust engagement of the tactics we take towards the total
attainment of the People’s Charter objectives until it is envisaged. The
current struggles should embrace the Charter as a living manifesto that will
transform our society for the better.
Therefore, the civic society should remain
independent, and never should we compromise on the aims and aspirations laid
out in the People’s Charter. It still remains a revolutionary programme that is
rooted in the people with a clear mandate.
The Charter acknowledges that: “All people in Zimbabwe live in a society characterised by the
tolerance of divergent views, cultures or religions, honesty, integrity and
common concern for the welfare of all. All people in Zimbabwe are guaranteed
safety and security, and a lawful environment free from human rights violations
and impunity.”
As a result, we must have a conscious strategy. We
must be disciplined, mobilise, train and educate the young and new comrades in
our social and political movements. It can only be by recruiting and
ideological training that will help the movement remain focused.
The work of the civil society and social movements
should not be haphazard, but rather systematic and consciously laid out. We
cannot run away from the People’s Charter, as it basically provides us
adequately with that framework. The task at hand is to reach out to the lowest
members of our society and eventually win the broadest masses.
As we celebrate the nine years since the adoption of
the Charter, we have not totally failed; despite that yes, there have been
detours, breakdowns, and accidents, but never has the ultimate trajectory and
the aim of achieving the democratic revolution been lost.
Let us continue to work, intensifying our engagement
with the grassroots until we achieve the objectives of the People’s Charter.
Long live the People’s Charter! Long live Zimbabwe!
Blessing VuvuzelaVava is a staunch defender of the Peoples Charter. He is based in Chipinge and
can be contacted on blessingvava@gmail.com
