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Benny Tsododo Correspondent

ZCTU has several other constructive avenues to engage Government over the challenges facing the country, so why select a destructive route? The answer can only be found on the understanding that pseudo-labour organisations like the ZCTU do not direct their own programmes but use foreign stencilled political templates to try to despondency in their home countries.

AT a time Zimbabweans are grappling to resolve economic challenges presently besieging the country, it is disheartening that some self-serving organisations such as the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade of Unions (ZCTU) are inversely calling for civil disobedience that is likely to worsen the current situation.

There are reports that the labour body has set a certain day in April to incite workers to demonstrate against the Government.

ZCTU president Japhet Moyo was quoted in some sections of the media saying: “We decided that we are going to demonstrate in six regional centres in the country. We were trying to find out how best we, as labour movement, can respond to among other issues the decaying economy, public utterances by certain authorities who are clearly undermining certain processes, as an example when the Government talks about cutting wages this interferes with collective bargaining.”

It is understandable for Moyo and his ZCTU ensemble to be disturbed by the embargo-driven economic impediments currently affecting the generality of Zimbabweans.

What is disconcerting, however, is the ZCTU’s suggested plan to tackle these challenges through nationwide demonstrations.

For someone to think that demonstrations against Government are the “best” way to bring to an end the sanctions-induced unemployment and closure of businesses is not only narrow-minded but warped.

We might want Mr Moyo to explain how these demonstrations could resolve the challenges besetting the economy.

Demonstrations by their nature are disruptive and damaging to any economy, worse still a besieged economy like ours.

Civil disobedience does not benefit anyone, even the workers since it does not lead to any job creation or salary increments.

In fact they create an environment that scares away potential business investors thus chasing away employment opportunities.

For what we know, the ZCTU has several other constructive avenues to engage Government over the challenges facing the country, so why select a destructive route?

The answer can only be found on the understanding that pseudo-labour organisations like the ZCTU are not their own bosses or funders.

They are political entities that do not direct their own programmes but use foreign stencilled political templates to try to create despondency in their home country.

Also most important to note is that these organisations are paid for fomenting disharmony in their home country and would be handsomely rewarded for any unconstitutional change of Government thereof.

For them, demonstrations provide an avenue for their foreign handlers to meddle in the internal matters of Zimbabwe.

Against a disgraceful backdrop of a wave of uprisings that caused unconstitutional removal of governments in North Africa and other parts of the world, organisations such as ZCTU feel challenged and duty-bound to deliver such an uncouth change of Government in Zimbabwe.

That is why they blindly push for disruptive interventions such as demonstrations at a time the country require sober and corrective measures that could heal the economy.

ZCTU has a number of political lessons it is failing or refusing to grasp.

The first lesson is on context. The context in Zimbabwe does not permit for any unconstitutional removal of Government from power.

In Zimbabwe, the people are perceptive and will never be duped or compelled to rise up against their Government for some elusive and alien political purposes.

This was manifestly demonstrated to MDC-T, which for long has employed all manner of political chicanery to try and unseat the constitutional Government in Zimbabwe.

Since its formation, MDC-T has tried all types of unconstitutional measures to remove Government from power.

At one point MDC-T gained ignominy for vainly calling for mass stayaways to try and force Government out of power.

Then came a time when the party called for mass uprisings, which later informed the ill-advised call for the so-called ‘Final Push’ that was intended to end at State House, where President Mugabe was supposed to unconstitutionally give way for Morgan Tsvangirai.