Blessing Vava
 |
| Zimbabwe's Vice President General Chiwenga |
With a defective 'new' constitution, Zimbabwe
finds itself in a quandary with some pieces of legislation not working in sync
with the constitution. Suffice to say, the courts have never been that space to
meet justice especially on such delicate political matters in Zimbabwe.
Countless election court challenges since 2000 have not yielded favourable
outcomes that are against the electoral commission nor the incumbent. As if not
enough, the constitutional court passed a strange judgment that declared the
coup legal. While many rejoiced and embraced the coup, they forgot that the
problem with Zimbabwe was the system of governance used by Mugabe to be in
power for 37 years. Therefore, the coup was just a sideshow used to create
a veil of a ‘new dispensation’.
To the contrary the just
ended elections have sufficiently proved otherwise. I will try to break it down
to argue that Zimbabwe was never ready for an election before, firstly there
was a need to 'cure' the coup and to undertake the necessary political reforms
that inhibited the conduct of any credible electoral process. From the onset,
it looked quite impossible for a country which had experienced a military coup
to deliver a fair and credible election just after six months. It was just impossible. The games of play had not changed, the results we
eventually got were expected. Secondly, it was impossible to have a credible
election when the drivers of that coup were the ones now running the
government, determining the terms of participation. Thirdly, it was way too early for the country
to go into an election with the military heavily embedded in civilian politics,
state institutions and supposedly independent institutions like the Zimbabwe
Electoral Commission. The military involvement in civilian politics has had a
bearing on the outcome of the elections. Therefore, with this 'outcome' it will prove difficult to dislodge the 'military' government with elections only.
Zimbabwe’s
military –a new economic class
The military coup left a
bad precedent on our politics and thus the elections became a poisoned chalice.
Whilst I argued in November 2017 that
the events of the 17th had nothing to do with ‘restoring’ Zimbabwe into a
democracy my fears have been proven that it was nothing but a rearrangement of
chairs in the ZANU PF top table, with a 'military class project' which has now
taken over the party-state apparatus for its own distinct interests. From their involvement in the DRC war in 1997, the military elites have been pursuing self enriching interests. A report from the United Nations highlights how military elites enriched themselves from the vast mineral assets of the DRC, the exploitation of diamonds in Marange by military elites buttresses this point.
The military elites are now
firmly in charge of ZANU PF and the state and this might signal the end of
civilian politics in Zimbabwe. Thus, the
three events that followed the coup, namely the march and the elections and the
constitutional court ruling have legitimised a ‘democratic’ albeit a ‘military’
victory. The deployment of soldiers to
quell protests in Harare is a clear sign that we are in a military state. After
the shooting it was business as usual and the dust is almost settling. Thereafter,
we are likely going to see more repression and the closing of democratic space
under the ‘new dispensation.’
Mnangagwa, instituting a commission of inquiry to look into the 1 August shootings is just
a public relations exercise for Zimbabwe’s re-engagement efforts with the West.
The interview by British Prime Minister Theresa May is a confirmation of ED’s
overtures to ‘please’ the west. With that 'semblance' of legitimacy from a flawed
election and constitutional court ruling, the military elites are essentially
in control of the state in pursuance of their own distinct business interests. Reading through the ZANU PF manifesto and Zimbabwe is open for business mantra
is clear testimony that it is indeed full scale neo-liberal economics for the
thriving of monopoly business ’at the expense of real socio-economic trajectory
anchored around social democracy. What we are going to witness in the few
coming months/years is primitive accumulation of capital, an increase in the national debt, asset stripping and privatization of key public
institutions, and all this sums up Mnangagwa’s Zimbabwe is open for Business
mantra.
ZANU
PF reforming from the coup
The military elites
occupying strategic posts in government, namely Chiwenga, Vice President, and
SB Moyo, Foreign Affairs, Perrence Shiri lands. et al their game plan now is to
control (they are already) the economy at whatever expense for self-interests with
little to do with the development of the country. With the West, cosying up to
a stolen election and a cosmetic approach on how to deal with the 1 August
killings signals more difficult times for the opposition and civil society. Now
with the appointment of a ‘new’ cabinet many Zimbabweans, at least the active
social media users have been suggesting that it’s a positive step for the
country and that ED has struck the right chords. Others are hailing ED for what
they are terming, the ‘neutralization’ of the military in civilian politics.
They suggest that Chiwenga has been dealt a blow and that his power has now
been diluted. But the real essence to it
is that ZANU PF is reforming out of the coup to stay in power with a civilian
face but a military hold on the real political state apparatus. The new cabinet is another public relations stunt by Mnangagwa as he battles to win the hearts of both the international community and the locals. Those gullible enough will believe that power has shifted, the real wielders of power are the soldiers.
The revolutionary task for
the opposition going forward
The revolutionary task for
the opposition is to go back to the basics, go back to the people, and give
proper pro people alternatives, not their same neoliberal free market
suggestions as outlined in their SMART document. The neo-liberal policy discourse, as proposed by
both ZANU PF and MDC’s SMART curtails the vision for a caring society based on
human solidarity and dignity. I am still not convinced if the rallies are a strategic avenue in building a critical mass. In that regard i posit that the opposition still has a chance, the control local authorities in many cities should be their trump card in proving to the masses that they
are capable of governing.
But, the question is how do the
forces of democratic change broadly respond to the complex way in which the
military and ZANU PF are rebuilding some kind of legitimacy? The MDC of two
decades ago was powerful because it was anchored in the concrete socio-economic
struggles and democratic aspirations of the excluded and marginalised. The
question that the MDC must now answer is how do they develop a political
program that goes back to build long term sustainable political engagement which
translates into votes for the party and the leader. Therefore, the party needs to lay out a very concrete political program. #Godisinit is neither a political idea nor a political program, it excites a very limited but dangerously noisy thin strata. In the past, the inability of the MDC councillors and branches to
provide leadership to communities struggles has dealt a blow for the party in
its quest to mobilise the grassroots. Focus should be
on community/ issue - based mobilization to respond to the needs of those
communities as this will enable the movement to survive under difficult
conditions. And that means that the party’s representatives in local government
must equally desist from pushing for privatisation of basic services in their
towns as this will do more harm than good for the communities.
The party must address corruption amongst its ranks especially what we
have witnessed in local authorities were the opposition was in control. In conclusion,
the opportunity presented is that the party must maintain strong contact with
and in the confidence of the masses and that the primary mission of the party
is not to loot but to serve the masses.
Blessing Vava is based in Chipinge. He can be contacted on blessingvava@gmail.com
