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My Turn with Tichaona Zindoga

President Jacob Zuma is leading a delegation of ministers and experts to the inaugural session of the Bi-National Commission between Zimbabwe and South Africa.The bilateral talks, which began on Monday, are expected to culminate in the signing of several memoranda of understanding that primarily focus on trade and cooperation between the two Southern African neighbours.

This new baby, BNC, is a successor to the Joint Commission for Cooperation signed between the two countries in 1995 and is billed to promote cooperation in the various sectors of Government and to facilitate contact between the public and private sectors of the two countries.

The BNC was born out of an agreement between Pretoria and Harare when President Mugabe visited South Africa last year.

President Zuma is returning the favour.

And this is very important.

South Africa and Zimbabwe share a lot in common and the expression of friendship such as the BNC can only but cement the economic, social and historical relations that exist between the two countries.

South Africans are our friends.

The last decade or so has seen relations between the two countries refuse to buckle under a lot of pressure.

Zimbabwe has been under attack from Britain, the whole of Europe and United States of America.

Zimbabwe’s fight with these global giants started when the country began to redistribute land to the poor who were marginalised by colonialists who stole the people’s land and killed and raped native Africans.

The whites, mainly of British stock, did not want to return the loot, even after very generous Independence settlement contained in the Lancaster House Agreement of 1979.

President Mugabe even extended the hand of reconciliation to the white murderous, thieves and rapists of our land.

The spiteful landed white class refused to sell land and openly scoffed at offers such as the willing-buyer-willing-seller model and would inflate prices of land beyond the reach of even the best willed government that would pay for stolen land.

Worst of all, when Tony Blair’s New Labour took power in Britain the administration disdainfully pissed on the colonial obligations to fund land reform and this is how we came to be blessed with that infamous letter by Clare Short.

That was in 1997.

It was too much.

The people wanted land, and in 2000 began to get it — with the blessing of Government under the auspices of the Fast Track Land Reform Programme which would see the transfer of land from a minority of no more than 6 000 whites, who held to colonially stolen land constituting up to 80 percent of all arable soil in Zimbabwe.

The land would go to three million black families and set them up for economic fortunes — as now is the happy story of “new farmers”.

But it earned Zimbabwe a lot punishment.

Britain sought regime change in Zimbabwe to remove the heroic Zanu-PF Government of President Mugabe and called the legions of the white world to attack the little country for daring TO reverse and repair colonial deflowering and dispossession.

Tony Blair and his American friend George W. Bush led the attack.

They sponsored the opposition, the opposition media and the opposition civil society.

They imposed sanctions that would cripple the economy of Zimbabwe, destroy social services and create a humanitarian disaster.

That disaster would be felt across the region.

South Africa would bear the brunt of economic migrants that set out to find better livelihoods away from a country devastated by the evil sanctions meant to cause regime change.

We have heard so many figures being bandied about regarding numbers of Zimbabweans who flocked to South Africa; some, like 4 million, are clearly inflated to create a wrong impression of how Zimbabweans “fled” their country.

Some conservative figures put it at above one million.

However, way you look at it, the numbers that South Africa absorbed — even at the detriment of its own social services — are significant.

And as significant is the very fact that South Africa has never officially complained or cause xenophobia against Zimbabwean cousins.

Instead, at various instances, the judicious South African leadership has sought to have Zimbabwe back on its feet.

It will be critical to note that in the regime change matrix of the racist white world South Africa would play a pivotal role in “putting pressure” on Harare and President Mugabe to acquiesce to the illegal and immoral demands of the West.

South Africa stood by Zimbabwe especially in the critical juncture between 2006 and 2008.

It was President Thabo Mbeki who got dialogue among Zimbabwean parties started as early as 2006/7 and got maligned so much for his quiet diplomacy which his predecessors were only wise to follow.

They did and they averted illegal regime change.

They would not be too popular, not least with the Western lackeys here.

But South Africa remained — and remains judicious and exemplary as an African state and being.

The leaders of South Africa in these last few years have not yielded to the demands of aliens from afar and have been to the defence of the neighbour to the north.

South Africa is not as moneyed as even those countries — and could as well have been enticed by it — but Zimbabwe has found the brother’s support and solidarity immeasurable.

Time was, it would be recalled, when Zimbabwe stood by South Africa during the dark night of apartheid, which was fought by veterans like President Zuma himself.

Zimbabwe paid a very hard price for the freedom of South Africa, through sabotage, bombings, as well assassinations.

It may be difficult for those with short memories to piece this together.

But South African leaders are not stupid.

And they also realise that the prosperity of neighbours will be good for them.

Zimbabwe’s peace, prosperity and progress is good for South Africa – and that is more than a familial concern.

It is a pragmatic proposal.

Now, whatever deals crafted and whatever ink during the stay of our South African friends will not mean manna will suddenly rain from the heavens.

South African may not even have the capacity for such miracles but its gesture and goodwill as well as foundation for strong economic relations are appreciable.

At any rate, according to a recent report by influential thinktank, Afrobarometer, South Africa has a development model that is highly regarded by Africans.

Good thing is South African are our friends.

Indeed.