Nelson Chamisa's Alienating 100 Page Manifesto

The Citizen Coalition for Change (CCC) lost in the 2023 electoral plebiscite, and as expected immediately rejected the results complaining the elections were "marred by vote suppression and egregious abuse" and "a blatant and gigantic fraud". This is contrary to assured statements soon after the voting process ended. Nelson Chamisa confidently declared, "There is going to be a new Government in this country. There is going to be a new leader, the President. We are winning this election. We have won this election." He continued, "Funny games or no funny games, our victory is certain." On his twitter (now X) platform he declared "It's a decisive win" and "Against all odds!! We're winning". Assuring his supporters of a certain victory Chamisa said, "We have infiltrated in their shenanigans. We have infiltrated the Central Intelligence Organisation, the army, the police, everywhere,". This is certainly a man who entered an election race assured of a process that would deliver victory.

Chamisa was confident a downturn in Zimbabwe's economy will deliver a victory. Rhashweat Mukundu noted, "CCC is working on the assumption that everybody is fed up with Zanu PF and will vote for them" This explains the ineptness of the CCC's strategy ambiguity, the folly of a structureless and constitutionless approach to the watershed elections. The CCC banked on the hype among social media users and neglected or alienated key voting groups. Characteristic of people who live in dreamland the CCC only complained of a stolen election when the official result showed Chamisa had lost the presidential race, it seems as if the walloping they received in parliamentary elections did not matter. This shows the CCC is a one-man institution whose dream is to rule Zimbabwe, even without structures at the grassroots level where service is delivered. This is evident is the collapse of service delivery in opposition led councils, which unfortunately the urbanites blame on central government. Chamisa is good with alienating voters, which was gifted with losses at the ballot. The humiliating loss can simply be attributed to the fantasy world the CCC leaders live in. The CCC lives in dreamland or is it Disney land glorified by a few who purport to speak for all and sundry who live and are registered to vote in Zimbabwe. Social media can be misleading, it often creates a fantasy world with heavenly bliss. Reality is perceived as the work of the devil which will all disappear as we enter the heavenly gates.

The CCC constitution reflects the aspirations and desires of its founding president Nelson Chamisa, it reflects Jonathan Moyo's repeated critique of the CCC as a "structureless' and constitution-less " organisation which he predicted will lead to the demise of the CCC at the August 23 election. Moyo is being proven right, the CCC donated 93 council seats to ZANU PF before election day. The shambolic handling of candidates' nomination during the nomination court process cost the party valuable campaign time and resources and impacted public perceptions of the party in Bulawayo if not country wide. The ambitious constitution sets our lives in dreamland, the garden of Eden, Advocate Reverend Nelson Chamisa would preach of at the pulpit. It doesn't say we will need to work 100-fold to achieve life in the garden of Eden. If anything, it alienates, the none-Christians, rural farmers, artisanal miners and even some urban voters who are rational-resistant voters.

Since 2000 the opposition has presided over the affairs of urban spaces in Zimbabwe. Service delivery has been on a free fall. In it's campaign trail ZANU PF has poked holes in CCC performance in urban areas. The reality is that urban infrastructure has collapsed. In Nelson Chamisa's governed cities potholes have increased both in breath and depth since 2000, yet Nelson's dreamland will have spaghetti roads enough for a billion population. The images in the manifesto have not been seen in Africa before, or in most developed countries. Its our dreamland, how we can achieve this dream in ten years is not an issue #GodIsInIT, Chamisa might be saying. Who is going to provide the USD40 billions needed for the infrastructure only? Surely the rational-resistant voters will be alienated. These voters remembered the 2018 US$15 billion promised by the USA if Chamisa won the election. The USA rubbished this claim. The advocate was in dreamland, forcing his party to apologise to the United States.

Nelson Chamisa's CCC lives in dreamland where all Zimbabweans are all Christians. All other religious outfits don't exist. I am not sure if Christians is inclusive of the mainstream churches like Catholics, Methodist. Is he thinking of the British monarch where the royal family is the head of the Church of England. The advocate is alienating other religious groups. It's not surprising local apostolic churches are with Zanu PF.  It's not surprising that religion comes in strongly in his manifesto. The Gallup survey which has been running surveys for years has consistently found that highly religious countries are poor. One reason is that they believe in miracles, are desperate, God will provide. No wonder the proliferation of prosperity gospel churches in developing countries. The advocate might be of this vision, but will this not alienate the rational-resistant voter? Even after losing the election CCC still believes God will intervene, because "God has remembered Zimbabwe," Chamisa said. "Congratulations Zimbabwe. God's plan will never fail. I have already started formulating my Cabinet." As Professor Jonathan Moyo reminds us on his X-platform, it is hard work that delivers results.

Nelson Chamisa is clear on agricultural rural Land governance. In communal areas he says, "Reorganization of communal land will include separating residential land and farming land." This a bold call which quickly reminds people of the "1951 Native Land Husbandry Act (NLH Act)". It reads like, "The separation of the agricultural and non-agricultural sections of the Native population would remove some of the chief hindrances to good farming. For industry it would change the character of labour supply. The Engledow Report 1950". Not sure how the advocate will change the narrative to avoid alienating voters in future. The colonial government tried it, and the people resisted with such tenacity it gave momentum to the Chimurega war and subsequent independence of Zimbabwe. Advocate Nelson Chamisa is simply alienating these rural voters. This has been tried in various African countries with little success. Land tenure is a complex issue.

In his 100-day plan, advocate Chamisa wants to issue "Title deeds to urbanites and all farmland, new farmers" This is surely living in dreamland if the processes involved in land titling are seriously considered. On agriculture, the tune changes to 'certificates of occupation'. Surely a desirable situation is to have a land system that provides for transferability of land. The agricultural development script reads like a version of the ZANU PF programme. If not command agriculture (which is basically contract farming) how else is Chamisa going to finance agriculture, we need to be told. Even the Chinese have shown the importance of the state in developing agriculture. In any case doing it in 100 days is living in dreamland. This alienates the undecided voter in urban areas and almost all those in farming communities.

Religious rhetoric appeals to desperate people, and hence advocate Chamisa hopes to build on this. His history in local governance alienated voters and hence the strong gains by Zanu PF in urban areas. This is not to say the CCC have no chance of winning elections for we all live in dreamland, which we moderate by applying our mental faculties when reality sinks. A 44% share of the presidential vote is promising, but a 33% parliamentary presence simply shows the CCC is not ready to government. It only reminds Chamisa that grassroot structures are central to leaders who dream of leading a country.

His rational-resistant voters deserted him because he didn't have structures. In 2018 the rational-resistance voters did not believe ED Mnangagwa will deliver on his promises, some bought into Chamisa's claim that Mugabe/Tsvangirai had anointed him. He still makes the same claim today. Some were protesting the reinstatement of the Zimbabwe dollar and were elements of "bhora musango" from disgruntled G40 sympathisers. Fast forward to 2023, ED Mnangagwa campaigned on the strength of the massive infrastructural projects he initiated, while exposing the dreamland in Chamisa's camp. In opposition led councils service delivery has collapsed, and now Mnangagwa had the easiest campaign slogan "kick out the opposition from the towns, cities". The G40 factor is now buried following Saviour Kusukuwere's loss at the courts, and ZANU PF looks like a united campaign machine.  A thriving democracy needs a vibrant opposition to keep the ruling party on its toes, the way the Advocate Nelson Chamisa's CCC has conducted itself is compromising democracy in Zimbabwe. The CCC even alienated some of it's senior founding members, with the vice-presidents sidelined on the eve of crucial elections. The opposition must offer alternative policies based on people's needs arrived at in a democratic way. This dreamland approach kills democracy.
Disclaimer: Moses Moyo is a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Cape, he writes here in his personal capacity.