Zimbabwe at the crossroads, ZAPU message for 2014

Ring out the old, ring in the new will chime across the Universe as we see out the eventful 2013 and welcome 2014.

New Year, the world over is associated with rebirth, renewal, reflection and resolution. In almost every culture and tradition there is something different, something beyond the mere chronological setting of the sun one day and its rising on the next as the world bids farewell to one year and welcomes the next.

How one remembers with nostalgia, the raucous tossing of drums at midnight of December 31, in the many villages, towns and cities of Zimbabwe, the origins of which I do not know. Could this have started as some form of cleansing or chasing away evil spirits? Whatever, the gay abandon and frolicking was something awaited with much anticipation by all who had the energy to be cavorting in the streets at such an ungodly hour!

Other traditions have their own tiny "moments of madness" like plunging into ice cold water, exchanging kisses, eating special kinds of foods, anticipation of visits by dark tall strangers, good luck charms and many other ways of casting off the old and welcoming the new.

In these British Isles and many other countries touched by English tradition Robert Burns's "Auld Lang Syne," will be sung again at the stroke of midnight to bring in the New Year.

What is indisputable is that December 31st and January 1st are viewed the world over as times to reflect on the past and to map out a better future. There are cynics who argue against such practice, observing that the majority of resolutions made on the first of January are soon forgotten thereafter. I don't subscribe to that pessimistic approach, even the miniscule resolutions which linger a while in the New Year, do justify the practice.

I would hazard a guess that for most Zimbabwean the 2013 events landscape was dominated by four events:

  √¢‚Ǩ¬¢ the ushering in of a new people driven constitution with all the hopes that it would bring in a better future for our country,

  √¢‚Ǩ¬¢ the end of the Government of National Unity, with all the uncertainties often associated with change. However, in Zimbabwe there was the fear that the little normalcy that our country was beginning to feel could so easily undone and the country would relapse into those dark days when all hope had ebbed away and the state could be described simply as comatose. Some may even argue that the premonition has turned out to have been justified.

  √¢‚Ǩ¬¢ the July, 31 Elections the aftermath of which still rumbles on and of course,

  √¢‚Ǩ¬¢ the passing of the world icon, Nelson Mandela, an event with a significance not far short, or even of greater significance than the transition from one year to the next.

As Zimbabweans reflect, not only on the year 2013 but on the long history of our struggle for freedom and emancipation, we may do well to borrow from Mandela's words: "Never forget that a saint is a sinner who keeps on trying". Therefore, despite the dark clouds in our country's past, if we but try sainthood is reachable!

The question we may  ask ourselves is one which I tabled at a panel discussions in Harare during the pre-election period, "do we, as a country feel at ease with our consciences when we reflect on the period since the so-called independence?" "Is what our country is today what so many sacrificed for, was it what the struggle was about?"

It was the exposure to the reality as I travelled most of our country that finally brought the stark reality to me. Zimbabwe cannot simply carry on the way it is now. The "steady as she goes" mantra can no longer be a tenable option.

To be honest, the shock at what is happening in this land of plenty was far too much to bear. Polarisation, hunger, marginalisation, cronyism, name calling, an attitude of might is right, where are we headed as a people, as a nation?

What was most appalling was not simply the disparity between the haves and the have not's, the street kid and the President and his entourages, the ample girths of the haves side by side with the literally starving; what disturbed one the most was the total acceptance of this status. Our people have been turned into a society without compassion, empathy or respect for the sanctity of life. Dog eats dog, is too mild a description for the dulled consciences of a nation that once was renowned for its empathy, welcoming and care for strangers.

The statement that "a civilization is measured by how it treats its weakest" must offer a yardstick against which we assess what independence has brought to us as a country. The primary duty of any government must be the welfare of its citizens.
There is something fundamentally wrong about a government whose sole preoccupation is consolidation of its hold on power. Surely, for the party in power to use periods between "elections" for nothing else than preparation to win the next is not the primary function of government.

There is something even more repugnant about a mentality that aims to sequestrate every function of government to ensure that the party in power continues to suppress opposition and oppress its people ad nauseum.

It is against this backdrop that the recent obscene calls for unity between Zanu PF and ZAPU must be viewed by Zimbabweans. There is a clear distinction between the desirable unity of the peoples and mould the country into one Zimbabwe and this objectionable call to unity with the sole aim of conspiracy against the people.

The call made on the so-termed Unity Day was to swallow ZAPU again and use that to continue to plunder the country's resources, to enrich the few and carry on the great deception of peace, perfect peace in the land.

This is the same mind-set that has spawned the lie that places all ills in our country at the door step of "illegal sanctions." Of course, no sane mind can condone any illegal action by anyone, however it needs be taken note of that there is a whole swathe of countries not bound by the EU and American stance. Why are these countries so reluctant to bail us out?

Fellow Zimbabweans, there are much easier factors behind the little in-flow of investment into Zimbabwe at play which even I can comprehend. If you borrow money from me then refuse to pay back, do not cry foul if I refuse to lend you more!

A quick return to the unity of Zimbabweans. My Party ZAPU has stood firm for the unity of Zimbabwe and Zimbabweans; it is as they say, in our DNA. The seed corn of true independence of our country was conceived by the visionaries and luminaries who founded ZAPU. The quest was for a country where every life, every person would be valued for who they are, irrespective of colour, tribe or creed. Umuntu ngu muntu, munhu munhu, was the chant then.

The basis of human existence is an insatiable urge towards freedom in the human spirit. Thus at the start of the journey to freedom when the call came by ZAPU and the predecessor organizations for people to rise and claim what was rightly theirs heeded the call.

The people were ready, perhaps as ready as they are again, now to sacrifice all towards that cherished goal. Zimbabweans were united. From Binga to Beitbridge, form the then Umtali to Plumtree, everyone was my brother, my sister.

Then came 1963.That thread of unity was deliberately broken by the cunning who manipulated statistical accidents of birth towards personal glory. Brother was turned against brother, mutual mistrust was engendered and encouraged and how we have suffered as a country and a nation!

For a time this has worked and how our country has bled as a result! The long or short sleeve era, the mass murders, the genocide are the legacy we will bear for the poor judgement which began in 1963. The scars now turning to calluses will be with us for a long time.

Of course there are those who will blame ZAPU and its forces for standing by when the country burnt. But ZAPU and its military wing have never deviated from our founding principles; the blood of Zimbabweans is too precious to spill just for power. People's sacrifices were towards freedom, not a substitution of dominating group by another with a different name and face.
 
When the distinction between the raw lust for power and people's freedom were blurred, the option was to go for caution. To plunge our country into a civil war as simply a means to power is an option which ZAPU would not take. Of course, when sanity reigns again in Zimbabwe, the judgement call might be different.

As we go into 2014, ZAPU will continue to engage with the people of Zimbabwe. ZAPU will continue to reach out to all Zimbabweans irrespective of where they are currently. They may be in parties opposed to us, in the military, intelligence services but at heart we belong to the same nation. Our Party will never fall for labels. Even those who are currently in those parties which continue to deny our people their freedom are not free. They need to come back to where the vision began, where the cradle of true liberty for all was conceived.

For how can anyone claim to be truly free if that freedom means keeping another person bound?

Wishing all Zimbabweans wherever they are, health and a march towards true freedom and prosperity in 2014!

ZAPU Secretary General.