Rekindling the Civic Soul of Zimbabwe

Year 2015 and Zimbabwe finds itself once again on dire straights. The perils facing our nation are manifold, and not at all unfamiliar. Zimbabwe has grappled with grave problems in its tumultuous past; racial oppression and colonialism, politically motivated violence, and a failed economy and a failing state. However, in the face of these glaring injustices and seemingly insurmountable challenges, the Zimbabwean society has always found a way to organise and respond to the tempests that the harsh socio-political environment has hurled its way. To the Gukurahundi tragedies civic society's response was the intervention of Church leaders and lawyers in documenting the atrocities that occurred. During Operation Muramabtsvina the church was influential again in housing displaced persons. During the post 2000 decade of economic and state crash, brave civic and political organisations sprung up to give a reasonable alternative voice to the one party dogma that had plagued the nation.  

In 2015 poverty is again raring its ugly head. Zimbabwe's Major municipalities are sprawling with a growing class of vendors, as citizens are trying to cope with unbelievable unemployment levels. The Politics of the country are scarily hanging on a knife-edge. The ruling party of more than thirty years has morphed from the once impervious juggernaut of power to a cist pool of scandal, suspicion and in-fighting. The main opposition party is faring no better, in fact it has all but disintegrated.

At such a time as this, one would expect to see a vibrant and concerned civic society responding to the plight of people. Yet the opposite is sadly true. There seems to be no one or group effectively championing the voice of the jobless, sick, poor, hungry and hopeless. What then can Zimbabwe's civic society do to recapture its impetus and reignite the fire of hope?

Depoliticize issues
Nowhere than in Zimbabwe does the old adage, "politics is a dirty game" ring truer. The high voltage at which both major political formations in Zimbabwe are infighting is evidence of the fact that the political parties are no longer the platform in which pressing civic concerns may be addressed and be resolved. Civic society must regroup and be insulated from this highly charged environment. Civic groups must discard political correctness, and political alignment of social issues. Advocacy campaigns must not be aimed at propping up or pulling down a specific political party or personality. Rather issues must be brought to the fore simply because they are legitimate societal concerns. Let the politicians migrate towards civic organisations and the people; rather than civic society being swayed by the ever-changing whims of politics.

Renew leadership
In the analysis of Zimbabwe's political situation there has been calls for leadership renewal, as it seems politicians in opposition parties and the ruling party are unnecessarily clinging on to power. One wonders however, whether from the civic society's perspective it's a case of the pot calling the kettle black? Civic organisation cannot maintain meaningful influence on society if constant self-evaluation vision and goal setting and leadership renewal is not part of organisations' DNA. Civic society needs to constantly integrate youth and new blood into positions of influence in order to stay relevant to the concerns of today and tomorrow.

Be relevant
Though I might be crucified for this one, I believe that one of the shortcomings civic organisations have suffered from in the past decade is overfunding and overreliance on donor funding. As a result civic society has become more of an industry rather than a social cause and passion. Reliance on donor funds means that civic society goals and interventions have been largely influenced by outside views and less by community needs. Civic society organisations are increasingly becoming more concerned with survival and resource mobilisation, rather than meaningful civic engagement. This has lead civic organisations to be increasingly irrelevant and estranged from the communities they purport to serve. Civic society organisations must retrain their ear in order to clearly understand peoples' needs. Once civic organisations find a-new their passion and calling they will have the critical mass and the legitimate mandate to carry the peoples' concerns.

Conclusion
The importance of a viable Civic society especially in the sphere of governance, democracy and rights cannot be understated. Zimbabwe is a country at a political crossroads. At the fork of the road is the imminent succession of the presidency. Zimbabwe can either walk down the path of peaceful transition which would eventually lead to economic recovery and the deepening of democracy; or Zimbabwe can gallop down the path of civil conflict and strife which would possibly lead to a governance breakdown and untold suffering. The answer to which direction Zimbabwe will take largely relies on the influence and actions of key political players between now and the 2018 elections. The power players in this political quagmire are the Zanu-PF hardliners camp, the former Vice President Mujuru camp, Morgan Tsvangirai and the splintered opposition, the illusive yet extremely powerful military chefs, and the so-called Zanu-PF  'young Turks'.

The problem with these groups is that they have in varying degrees proved to be self-serving and divisive. None can be truly trusted with navigating Zimbabwe away from looming chaos and towards stability and prosperity. Civil society must therefore, remain vigilant in order to either become a reasonable alternative to the political mayhem or be ready to rebuild society in a post-civil conflict Zimbabwe.