Politics of Starvation and Decay: Zimbabwe and the Year Behind (2015) and Beyond (2016)

No doubt, Zimbabwe has emerged much poorer than before based on the politics of insensitivity, self-aggrandizement, decay and poverty in collective good will of leadership. In 1980, Zimbabwe obtained political independence and buried 'freedoms'. Zimbabweans never thought much of To-Be-Free from poverty, greedy, dictatorship, speech, expression, writing, assembly and association FREEDOMS. We took it for granted that political parties who had sacrificed in the name of liberation struggle would analyse carefully what entails independence. Little did many understand the adage: "Power is dangerous and absolute power absolutely dangerous to an illiterate?"

Did we achieve the liberation war's objectives?  Yes, euphorically we did only for a short time because individuals became more important than the collective that had made the country victorious over the selfishness in RACISM. In short racism say, [I am white and an institution of superiority, wealth and entitlement to land and money]. In Africa, it triggered a psychological fight from day one of colonization until attainment of colonies' independence. The understanding of independence was very limited in scope.

In retrospect, hindsight tells that it is not about independence but the knowledge of the game of interdependence. The quest of control was overplayed at the expense of service and delivering of goods and services to the very people who sought independence to access these services, the masses. The masses' skills, considering that all along natives had used land as a dwelling place to teal for subsistence through traditional farming methods; were virtually absent. Except for whites who received training on ownership and the use of land as a business, the natives had not been developed skills wise to harness correctly land planning and utilization as a business to the owners for the benefit of the country's food provisions and economic wellbeing of the nation.

The "New Government" had sloganeered for too long without a concrete plans to translate utility of land as an asset to make both a living as well as generate income. While seizing land was an act of greedy than 'national interest' it was only  twenty years later, in 2000 when Zanu was caught by masses with her pants down on land management and distribution to the people for ownership and equal opportunity utility.

Coupled with the politics of denial of freedom on technical and business knowledge and skills generally, many people on the land had no ambition to crop export crops and therefore did not experience the monetary gains beyond school fees needs and for exchange and buying clothes and some basics. People continued living the same style while 'new owners' of government concentrated on taking personal control of farms for personal benefits without taking long term impact of such myopic and greedy distributive method to wealth. Rampant corruption had begun through and on land distribution by Zanu among themselves, kith and kin and political surrogates for support.

That is what made Zanu and Zapu engage in their first post-independence political clash over massive ownership of land by Zapu. Through collective harnessing of resources from ex-combatants who now wanted to change life outlook from military to civil agronomist specialists without sharing same vision with ambitious Zanu majority government, had made Zapu a casual to an ambitious and directionless partner Zanu. Any other stories on Zapu activities are as flimsy as the paper on which they are written. h It is imperative that Zimbabweans note that again, Zanu had as always, misfired based on her ambition to control the country politically and possibly enact a one party state in the future.

Limiting freedoms to own and buy land was a case of one party victimizing another which then got extended to individuals on the merits of either being a Zanu card holder or not. This fundamentally crushed our freedoms.  Ironically, except for a few of us who maintained an independence of thinking and articulation of national interest concerns; the majority who went for land grabbing under 'Zanu land to the people scheme' never again raised their voice on social injustice perpetrated by Zanu .  If these persons who supported Zanu for benefits than orderly execution of services and deliverables ever spoke again, it was at late stages when the land grabbing had turned sour against them as well. Political sourness had come from lack of Zanu support in the 2000 referendum. It was the last straw of opposition politics to raising her voice for meaningful change.  The newly formed MDC had successfully overturned a major policy decision against Zanu constitutional reforms in Zimbabwe since the England, Lancaster 1979   independent constitution on Zimbabwe.
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Much to Zanu unawares, the newly formed MDC had defeated Zanu in her constitutional reforms that, inter alia, would have supported Zanu's need for one party state and the endorsement of vague leadership code. Realizing people were getting bitter against misguided and decayed Zanu political leadership, Mr. Robert Mugabe swiftly and strongly turned tables round. Force of violence and brutality increased considerably and openly so. Opposition politics received a harsh criticism and labelled as founded on western puppetry influence. Was this a true statement?  Not to at all if the then MDC had emphatically explained the then country political dynamics. MDC inexperienced was taken advantage of to smear them as a western puppet a slur opposition politics has failed to survive smartly as its weakness to the 'revolutionary' Zanu.  

Zanu silently adopted Malawi stance on elections under Dr. Kwazi Kamuzu Banda who had declared himself life president over Malawi and employed an auxiliary party security called Malawi Youth Pioneers. Zanu was to politicize top military personnel into being political party cardholders. This changed the political plane field totally in Zimbabwe.  Just as Zanu have, refused, rigging so has been the silent edict of having police, military and intelligence hierarchy involved in political support for Zanu. No doubt, this increased an overt discourse by military hierarchy on political matters that begun the surfacing of military statements as: "never will a military army that fought the struggle salute a none liberation struggle decorated person as commander in chief."  Directly it was a plan to silent civil participation in aspiring for political leadership ever in Zimbabwe. The reason for the hashed military stance was to signal that there could be a military coup if civilians win elections just as they had done with the 2000 referendum.

Countless lives have been lost since then. People who clashed with government openly were shortly involved mysterious car accidents while others mysteriously disappeared, and were never accounted for. Many people left then and are still leaving Zimbabwe for both political and economic refugee in Europe, Americas and Southern Africa, mainly South Africa, Botswana and Zambia. No doubt, some decisions by the greedy and self-opinionated Zanu leadership fueled the exile of many more Zimbabweans in spite of world stance against African refugees. We closed 2015 with Itai Dzamara, a young journalist, mysterious disappearances and many unaccounted human and civil political rights activists, tortured and abused but have not received equal publicity. In all these accidents, civil disappearances and election rigging Zanu government has never accepted responsibility.

The ironic fact in favor of Zimbabwe Zanu government is that all Diaspora Zimbabweans kept a constant flow of funds into the country to help their loved ones left at home thereby indirectly sustaining the government. The government, in particular Mr. Mugabe, was ironically very blaming of Zimbabweans for leaving the country forgetting that people are disappearing, are being beaten, arrested without trial and dying while in prison for no good reason. It is true that Zimbabwe prisons are holding people whose trials are petty and frivolous.  Corruption has grown too strong in all departments of government beginning from the number one man and his wife.

Jokes on the president in Zimbabwe are indictable offense. Mr. Mugabe has no concept of other's freedom except as his will be done, to him and for those he loves and who support him. Zanu is a political party sustained on witch hunting which means there is no justice what so ever.

The freedom of the Diaspora is being able to make a choice and live the life without harassment unlike back in Zimbabwe where people have to go silent as though dead from fear on force of violence befalls anyone from the Zanu government without censor or retrain. The sad reality facing the Diaspora is that leadership has lacked and where it has risen, leadership demonically through the love of "imaged power" and real hope of perchance, being another Mr. Mugabe soon shifts conviction. None has sought to discharge Zanu government constitutionally.

 The Diaspora, because of Zanu influence, talks as though international community is its own enemy and cannot help. The defeatist attitude rose from the Diaspora's desire to achieve huge goals if covertly absorbed under the ambits of Zanu's clandestine and mysterious pay role system.  This is with particular reference to corruption in all its broad applications. Watching people go home and take possession of a farm r play a fictitious political party making role, is only a tip of the ice bag in Zanu recruitment strategies to certain individuals in the Diaspora. The lack of trust among the Diaspora is an objective Zanu has desired and achieving it too. It will not be long though, because treatment of crooks in a mafia does not survive in history at all. Meanwhile the degeneration in Zimbabwe overall continues to hit its highest pitch ever.

Police roadblocks are reputed to be number one income for offices that do not have weekend money or are failing to meet their girlfriend charges. Like with any corrupt system anything really goes. The fact is from a breadbasket in 1980 Zimbabwe has drowned under the pile of world corrupt system and is one the top most corrupt system today. Ordinary people see and notice the corruption simmering around them but wonder to whom they can go. Notice how none of all political opposition talk of a remedy or refer vehemently to political corruption as a reversible human act in party policy documents.

Opposition politics has almost vowed allegiance to almighty Zanu dollar power that has silenced all greedy that seeks for personal eminence from sheer emulation of how Mr. Mugabe has made it. This has put a mental jam on any strategic plan to out maneuver Zanu constitutionally out of power. Mr. Mugabe has spoken at rallies as if he is the only paragon of virtue to which not even the supreme law of the land has chance of comparison. The service chiefs were silenced through and by huge corrupt off pay packages coupled with unwritten authority to deal with situations as they see fit except dimple into politics concerning talk against Zanu .

It will be recalled how Commander Vitalis Zvinavashe was retired into politics because he had uttured words against Zanu political hierarchy.   Yet the deafening silence with which the General Chiwenga was greeted when he rebuffed Mr. Morgan Tsvangirai if he dare be the first Commander in Chief of the army without former liberation struggle regalia was complete disapproval by the military and was acceptable by the political hierarchy.  General Chiwenga (2015) may be retired for being active behind the 'whom of' other than Mr. Mugabe's wife, Grace Mugabe, public speculations that she could be his replacement. The trend underlines how politics of decay and starvation has survived Zanu this far more than who can replace Mugabe.

Addressing attention to Mr. Mugabe's liberty to move personnel as he wishes and inflict punishment is a satire only to happen under a tyrant. The case in point being that of retiring half his Zanu party (2014) simply because he deemed it necessary since they would be an obstacle to the rise of whom he wanted to inherit his seat of presidency. Compare the above to Mr Mugabe freedom to ascent to a law that puts a rural person in prison for merely remarking at Mugabe's facial ugliness.  What advantage of freedom do people have against such a dictator whose mental outlook is on him and for him alone being the right person to rule Zimbabwe, to be commander in chief and for life?  Why would any sane man want to rule a country at over eighty years of age except British Monarch system? Some personal offers for running the government perpetually are cover-ups of wrongs done which is also in it, a breach on personal integrity.  

The question is if Mugabe had fought during the liberation struggle would he not understand that one of the prerequisites of freedom, unless if it is deformation of character, has to do with criticism including facial expressions, ageing and the manner you handle criticisms. Mr. Mugabe has run our country into a laughing stoke world over due to his insipidity to truth and lacking in smart diplomacy. The current directorate of registrar in Home Affairs needs redone. The army and police reforms are necessary professionally. The services of government have to adopt a clean audit on corruption and branded professional. Our intelligence aught focus on national interest matters else how could justice be seen to be done let alone be a measurable deliverable service?

Zimbabwe Zanu leadership neither demonstrate confidence in the world politick to attract investors nor for calling Zimbabweans to come home and build the country, due to multifaceted breach on social justice committed by Zanu government. There is no wisdom to wait for 2018 while the land and people bleeding from lack of transparency, poor governance and human right abuses. The country can never perform well under blind leadership that survives on self –aggrandizement and that cannot content or realize the harm done so far to the country.

A new paradigm of strong advocacy against all the wrongs on governance, injustice on many areas of the law, disappearances of citizens, outflow of Zimbabweans abroad, interventions of the military in politics and discrepancies on electoral laws and voter's role do not need wait until 2018. Zimbabweans are ripe for change. Diasporas are watching signal of committed advocacy to change and they are as willing to come in with their vote and support as they have done with their funds to loved ones. Inside the country, one can never underestimate the anxiety of a people under an oppressive regime that has cut every right of people freedoms under their watch.

Carnage has taken place in Zimbabwe and many have suffered from massive trauma and are suffering silently waiting for the right leadership with right words, right moral courage to call wrong by its first name and not compromise on deals against the people.  The year 2015, is the benchmark and landmark for separation of genuine freedom fighters and petty bourgeoisie looking for opportunity to repeat the Zanu way corruption styles under different names?

Zimbabwe has never seen worse days and if more worst days are yet to come, Zimbabweans needs reviving from Politics of  Decay, Starvation, aggrandizement and the self-incriminating violent Zanu election rigging government.