As Zimbabwe hurtles towards elections next month it might be time to look back and reflect on what caused the country’s political crisis which is now more than a decade old. It would seem the wheels of the democratic train that gained momentum towards the end of the 1990s are off the rails and the political fight is now only for power rather than the ideals we yearned for 15 years ago.
Report by Nevanji Madanhire
By the mid-1990s it had become clear that the majority of Zimbabweans were disillusioned that after more than a decade of self-rule, there had not been the promised fruits of independence that everybody hoped for at the dawn of our nationhood.
The country had effectively become a one-party state and the ruling Zanu PF had drifted further and further from the people. This was a natural result of the unbridled power it enjoyed. Corruption had crept in and the ruling elite had become so entrenched it became insensitive to the wishes of the people.
Social services had declined almost irreversibly; our once world-renowned education and health systems had been desecrated as the money in the national kitty was diverted to grandiose projects, whose sole purpose was to massage the egos of the people in power.
One such project was the adventure in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which plunged the country into an economic crisis it will never rise from.
The disgruntlement of the masses peaked and resulted in the food riots of 1998. Before that the veterans of the liberation war had threatened to revolt against their comrades in the corridors of power who enjoyed lavish lifestyles while they languished in poverty. In panic the ruling elite awarded them bonuses that left the country on its knees.
Education was the hardest hit, as there was no money to adequately equip institutions and keep good teachers in schools and colleges.
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Workers’ wages became meaningless as inflation began to spiral out of control. To stem the disgruntlement the government became more and more repressive. Civil liberties were curtailed and peaceful demonstrations were ruthlessly suppressed.
It was not surprising that it was the workers and the students who summoned the guts to lead a new movement aimed at restoring democracy. In 1999 when the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) was launched it was clear what the people wanted.
The people wanted the country’s institutions to be restored to their former selves. They wanted a police force that served the majority rather than the elite. They wanted a political leadership that had the interests of the majority a heart.
They craved an education system that worked, where students got a quality education and got jobs at the end of it all. The people wanted health institutions they could visit and get adequate medical attention. They wanted an economy in which their money made sense.
All these desires could only be met if the money government collected from them as taxes was used for the purpose it was collected; they desired good governance in an atmosphere where their civil liberties were guaranteed.
In short, the people wanted change; they wanted Zanu PF to go! They wanted a completely new order to be established. But that was not going to be easy as the past 13 years were to show. Zanu PF had entrenched itself so well its edifice was not going to collapse without a big fight. What is clear now more than anything else is that the monolithic party is around for a while yet. All state institutions including the police and the army serve only the purpose of protecting its hold on power. All state departments have been militarised for the same purpose.
Elections are now only a month away and the majority are where they were at the turn of the millennium. The land reform programme clearly empowered some people, but they are just a drop in the ocean in comparison with the majority who remain in abject poverty and the millions who have run away from their country to seek economic refuge elsewhere.
Zanu PF refused to renew itself in the face of the democratic movement. It is patently clear if it wins the elections it will continue on the same path it has trodden in the past three decades.
Evidence of this is abundant in the way it has refused to implement reforms that would open up democratic space.
The democratic movement itself seems to have faltered. This may be because its leadership has tasted power and forgotten what it set out to do, or it has been out-witted by its formidable foe that has kept it divided.
The divisions within the democratic movement would be difficult to understand if one did not look deep into the power dynamics of the last five years. The success of the MDC under Morgan Tsvangirai in elections since 2000 has shown that Zanu PF can be defeated in an election. In the coming elections MDC-T is going for broke because this is its last chance. If it loses this time around it sinks into oblivion, so it has to wager everything to win. But this has also meant that it employs some of the crudest tactics that Zanu PF has used to remain afloat including violence against the media.
Sensing possible victory, not everyone in the party is amenable to the unity of democratic forces to fight against Zanu PF.
The smaller MDC led by Welshman Ncube also tasted power during the life of the government of national unity because it became the power broker in parliament and in government. It was real power it exercised and it would like to continue to enjoy the same. Its reluctance to join a grand coalition is based on the gamble that the 8% of votes it donated to Simba Makoni in 2008 rightly belongs to it and it will get it this time around, ensuring it continues to occupy the same space as in the past five years.
What does all this mean? It means we are likely going to have another government of national unity which will continue to keep us in the hole we dug ourselves into.
It will serve the leadership across the political divide well, as it will continue to enjoy the gravy train. But the majority will remain where they have been for the past 20 years.
