Opinion / Columnist
Zimbabweans must not pin hope on ANC
10 Sep 2020 at 07:10hrs | Views
THE African National Congress (ANC) has dispatched a six-member delegation of its national executive committee to have bilateral discussions with the leadership of Zanu-PF. The world of former liberation movements is so secretive that it is difficult to tell with certainty what is going on.
One easy way is to simply dismiss the delegation as a solidarity squad on a mission to save a sister party and sink the citizens' aspirations. I choose to take a different view. The actors and nature of the delegation possibly reveal the ANC's current thinking about the crisis.
- The very act of dispatching a high-powered delegation to Zimbabwe amid the COVID-19 pandemic is an indication that the ANC is not satisfied by Zanu-PF's narratives that there is no crisis in Zimbabwe but just difficulties. In their view, it seems Zanu-PF is being dishonest if not lying about the nature, breadth and depth of Zimbabwe's problems. If the ANC was satisfied that there is no crisis, then they could not have bothered to send such a high-level delegation.
- The ANC has refused to be cowed by the aggressiveness of Zanu-PF in the past month. They have sent the very same characters that were publicly denounced by Zanu-PF.
- ANC seems to now appreciate that there is militarisation of the State and society in Zimbabwe especially after the military coup of November 14, 2017.
- The deployment of Gwede Mantashe, the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, shows that the ANC is prepared to subtly show its leverage points. Zanu-PF cannot deny that there is an energy crisis in the country.
- The ANC now probably understands that Zimbabwe has an institutionalised problem of State-sponsored violence and gross human rights violations.
- The ANC also probably understands that Zimbabwe's international isolation is hurting the country and the region.
- The inclusion of Enoch Godongwana, the ANC chairperson of the NEC on economic transformation, shows that it appreciates that the economic crisis is deepening and there seems to be no solution in sight to the structural regression.
- ANC understands the practical constraints.
- ANC is not there to do any political bidding for opposition.
One easy way is to simply dismiss the delegation as a solidarity squad on a mission to save a sister party and sink the citizens' aspirations. I choose to take a different view. The actors and nature of the delegation possibly reveal the ANC's current thinking about the crisis.
- The very act of dispatching a high-powered delegation to Zimbabwe amid the COVID-19 pandemic is an indication that the ANC is not satisfied by Zanu-PF's narratives that there is no crisis in Zimbabwe but just difficulties. In their view, it seems Zanu-PF is being dishonest if not lying about the nature, breadth and depth of Zimbabwe's problems. If the ANC was satisfied that there is no crisis, then they could not have bothered to send such a high-level delegation.
- The ANC has refused to be cowed by the aggressiveness of Zanu-PF in the past month. They have sent the very same characters that were publicly denounced by Zanu-PF.
- ANC seems to now appreciate that there is militarisation of the State and society in Zimbabwe especially after the military coup of November 14, 2017.
- The deployment of Gwede Mantashe, the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, shows that the ANC is prepared to subtly show its leverage points. Zanu-PF cannot deny that there is an energy crisis in the country.
- The ANC now probably understands that Zimbabwe has an institutionalised problem of State-sponsored violence and gross human rights violations.
- The ANC also probably understands that Zimbabwe's international isolation is hurting the country and the region.
- The inclusion of Enoch Godongwana, the ANC chairperson of the NEC on economic transformation, shows that it appreciates that the economic crisis is deepening and there seems to be no solution in sight to the structural regression.
- ANC understands the practical constraints.
- ANC is not there to do any political bidding for opposition.
Source - newsday
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