The Reclamation of a deferred dream: Zapu
#000000">When Zimbabweans decided to stand up against the colonial regime and its oppressive rule, they had aspirations of a truly accommodative and fully democratic nation. In their minds they envisioned a land where all men and women were going to be treated equally regardless of their tribal belonging, they dreamt of a paradise where tribal belonging would be viewed as enriching their lives through acceptance and recognition of diversity and difference, they longed for a cultural identity which their forefathers fostered on them, they mourned long lost dignity, they cried of inhuman treatment, they resisted oppression and brutal treatment by a system which treated men and women as if they were animals, as if they were incapable of thinking and engaging in a civilised discourse, yes, they rose up with high hopes in their hearts, they rose up with dreams and plans in their heads of a democratic Zimbabwe to come, a fairer society, a prosperous and prospering nation based on the principles of respect for human dignity, respect for work, respect for elders and creation of opportunities for the children, youth, disabled, women and men who desired to succeed and live fulfilling lives full of happiness.
#000000">During the liberation struggle ZAPU spelt the focus of its struggle very succinctly, it stated that its struggle was not against the Whiteman per se but against an evil and unjust system which they instituted to denote whitemen as superior and the dereliction of whiteman's duty to other fellow human beings. This focus was aptly stated by Mr Mandela in his Rivonia trial when he stated that in his whole life he had fought against white domination and black domination, zapu and the ANC were sister parties whose ideological positioning did not differ. The dream was lost as soon as the Zimbabwean political independence was attained as zapu lost the elections. ZAPU was an embodiment of Zimbabweans' desires, it represented the majority of people's expectations and deep seated core beliefs of fairness, selflessness, togetherness, hardwork, diligence, progress and prosperity. ZAPU amply demonstrated its ability to transform the people's mindset by radically empowering them into believing in themselves, into believing in their ability to bring about change in their circumstances and by giving them the opportunity to dream of a time where change would be the only way forward. This was done through dynamic leadership and organisational structures which were able to accommodate various strategies and systems in the quest to liberate the majority of Zimbabweans from fear, self-disbelief, self-mistrust and comfort under oppressive Rhodesian rule. Zapu became a colossal entity with business entities and managed to produce dynamic and vibrant leaders in the mould of people like Sydney Malunga, Lookout Masuku, J Z Moyo etc. This was an organisation which had undergone transformative stages, which morphed into an intricate and complex entity, which, surprisingly, remained true to the people's aspirations, remained rooted to the ground, remained in touch and in tune with people's needs.
#000000">Power to the people
#000000">This was not just a rhetoric political slogan, but it was a concept deeply rooted in the belief that the people are their masters, they know what they want, and a deep seated belief that people have a right to self-determination, to decide their own destinies, to run their lives the way they deem necessary. Zapu was aware that its power base was closely and intricately linked to the people's needs, and therefore zapu always made an effort to identify people's needs and respond to them in a robust and fair manner. Power to the people as a mission statement, as a political and social guiding principle ensured that zapu's trajectory was always in synch with the people's thinking and dreams; this is why zapu managed to have so much influence over the people's psych. This is the bedrock of its revival today.
#000000">What does power to the people really mean in practical terms? This can be simply highlighted by focus on what power to the people does not mean, as evidenced by the current Zimbabwean political and economic systems. When people's lives are entirely dependent on one man, the power is on that man and not to the people, as is, the power is solely concentrated on Mr Robert Mugabe; when a people's cultural identity is demonised, history distorted and destroyed, then you must know that people do not have power, the power resides with the destroyer; when job opportunities, educational opportunities become patronage based, then you should know that the power is not with the people but with the comptroller of the patronage system; when you see the economy collapse and resuscitated based on false economic fundamentals then you should know that the people do not have power; when a government turns its security instruments on its own such as the genocide committed in Matebeleland and Murambatswina and other acts of cowardice; then you should know that people are powerless.
#000000">A powerful people are the people who have power to hold their government to account, are the people who have the authority to decide on their social, economic and educational well-being. When you cannot decide on who should teach your primary school child, then you should know that you have been disempowered, when you cannot decide what your child should learn and listen to or watch then you should know that you have been thoroughly disempowered. Empowered people do not live in fear, empowered people are not desperate, empowered people are not hopeless, empowered people do not allow their leaders to do as they wish, they hold them to account. It is the crucial responsibility of an empowered person to empower others, to enlighten and continue to be enlightened. Recently the news were awash with stories that in Matebeleland, land is being given to the people from other regions, enlightened people will not allow to be used as occupiers. It is the right of the empowered people to defend their land, we saw it during colonialism, our fathers and forefathers took up arms and fought the occupiers. If one cannot defend his land, by his life what else can one find fit to defend? Occupation, apartheid and colonialism done by a whiteman is as bad as the one perpetrated by a blackman, the means used to repel the whiteman should be used to drive away the black colonialists. If people of Marange could not benefit from their natural resources, they should rise up and defend their right to their diamonds, and if diamonds are discovered in Beitbridge or anywhere in the country the locals should be the ones to benefit first.
#000000">In Zimbabwe the time for a radical rethink of the governance system has come, this opportunity for constitutional reformation should never be missed, if missed this might send the country over the edge, no one wants that calamitous situation, it should be avoided, it is not necessary, maturity should drive people to chose the right system of governance. Fear and suspicion which most politicians thrive on should never be allowed to rule people's hearts and heads. Once in a life time God gives people an opportunity to set things right in a peaceful and amicable way, but we know that there is too much evil out there, they will use eloquent and colourful language to scare people away from doing the right thing, that is to decide their own destiny, the right to control their lives and resources. They will mis-define devolution of power as tribalism, as secessionism, desire for irredentism or anything that will divide the people, people should be able to see through such lies, for through devolution Zimbabwe will be a more united nation than what it is now, Zimbabwe is too divided now, it is sleep walking into a dangerous situation.
#000000">Zapu has clearly spelt out that its strategic ideological position is Human Rightsism based on fundamentals of devolution of power, in its simplest form, devolution of power means the right, the ability, the authority, and the joy of controlling one's life, this entails being able to say my daughter should be firmly grounded through proper cultural orientation which is the basis of a relevant system of education, which does not seek to colonise the children's minds at their formative stages; it entails being given a right to run own economic affairs, including raising of taxes and through trade. Devolution means power to the people, where people's natural resources are used to benefit local people first, where local people's aspirations, entertainment rights are clearly safeguarded through local media outlets, media outlets which will be patriotic to the local issues. Where are the local radio and television stations in Zimbabwe? In other countries people lived and died for capitalism, socialism and communism, I am not interested in these forms of old ideologies, zapu should embrace elements of each and every ideology, an eclectic approach to ideology will be appropriate for a party as big as zapu and as accommodative as zapu. Devolution of power transcends all ideologies, it is how we want to run our affairs, it is the way we want to live, it is the way we want to control our resources, devolution of power is life in its fullest form, one would always defend his or her life, devolution is our life, we need to defend it. We will not accept doctored devolution, we will not accept decentralisation or any system which mimics devolution but does not go far in terms of devolving power to the regions and directly to the people. Devolution of power is liberation and every human being on the face of earth deserves freedom, deserves emancipation , however I am aware that freedom is never free, devolution of power will never be free, there is a possibility that devolution of power will not be enshrined or included in the constitution, would this mean death of our aspirations, the answer is no, this is just the beginning of a long protracted struggle for true emancipation which will be based on ideals of people empowerment, people power, people control and self-governance. The reclamation of a people's deferred dream will only be realised when devolution of power is realised in Zimbabwe. Devolution will obliterate racism, will eradicate tribalism, nepotism and polarisation in terms of tribal relations in Zimbabwe. Unless and until we unlock this lock-jam, Zimbabwe is going nowhere. People will continue to wallow in misery and squalor, it is zapu's dream to reclaim its deferred dream for the benefit of all Zimbabweans, regardless o f their political leanings or tribal belonging. United and focused we will reclaim our lost dream; we will once more be a people, be a force for change and progress.
