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President Mugabe’s people-centred policies won the elections for him and his party. Today tobacco farming, which used to be the preserve of white commercial farmers, is now successfully being done by the majority black farmers

Tendai Manzvanzvike
THIS is a special instalment, published on an important day, a day when President Mugabe takes the oath of office after his resounding victory at the July 31 harmonised elections. This is an inauguration that should have taken place at the beginning of the month, but lo and behold, some people who believe that they are bigger than the people of Zimbabwe cried foul maintaining that President Mugabe and his party Zanu-PF had stolen the election.

They took their case to court and three key determinations made by the full bench of the Constitutional Court on Tuesday in terms of Section 93 (3) and (4) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe put paid the allegations of vote rigging:

“1, That the Zimbabwe Presidential election held on July 31 2013 was in accordance with the laws of Zimbabwe and in particular with the Constitution of Zimbabwe and the Electoral Act.

“2, That the said election was free, fair and credible. Consequently, the result of that election is a true reflection of the free will of the people of Zimbabwe who voted.

“3, That Robert Gabriel Mugabe was duly elected President of the Republic of Zimbabwe and is hereby declared the winner of the said election.”
No individual and/or organisation are bigger than the people. No country no matter how powerful it believes it is can impose its will on the people of Zimbabwe.

They cannot also claim to know better what the people of Zimbabwe want. People have the right to elect a leadership they trust will advance their interests.

If the people of Zimbabwe decided in their wisdom not to elect Mr Morgan Tsvangirai and his MDC-T party as their leaders for the next five years, it was their democratic right, which should be respected.

For Western countries, the United States of America and Britain in particular to try and impose Mr Tsvangirai and the MDC-T on the people of Zimbabwe is an insult to their intelligence. It is also a mockery of the governance systems that we are trying to improve with each election that comes.

South Africa’s anti-apartheid fighter and martyr Bantu Steve Biko said that “black people are tired of being spectators of a game they should be playing”. They are also tired of being ordered around by people who see them as humanitarian cases always in need of assistance.

They are also tired of the West’s know-it-all attitude. They are also tired of the hypocrisy and double standards meant to divide the people of Zimbabwe and Africa as a whole, to the West’s advantage.

Africans are capable of charting their destiny, and doing so with people who treat them as equal partners and not second-class citizens.
This is the 21st century, and no country, including the superpowers can claim to have and know everything. This would kill the notion of the global village. Nation states in their diverse ways and thinking and development need each other for the good of humanity.

It’s time the West swallowed its pride and accepts Zimbabwe as it is. Zimbabweans will never recognise stooges that the West uses to advance its own interests. The West should also know that even imperialism has a sale-by date.

In 2013 Zimbabweans demonstrated that imperialism was past its shelf life. Africa supported the position taken by Zimbabweans through their ballots on July 31.

The rest is history. Whether the West likes it or not, Africa, Zimbabwe included under the leadership of President Mugabe and Zanu-PF is the world’s new growth point — economically, culturally, politically and socially.

It is a moment of revival with one the doyens of pan-Africanism and founding president of the Republic of Zambia Dr Kenneth Kaunda on Monday calling on Africa “to rekindle the spirit of Pan-Africanism and claim that which belongs to them”.

Addressing the Council of African Political Parties, Dr Kaunda added, “We must come forward with united strength and claim this century as Africans. With your renewed commitment to foster unity and justice, you are able to redress injustices suffered by the African people as a result of local and external factors.”

Dr Kaunda also maintained that Africa is now capable of facing the world as a united front, and that Africa is “capable of leading itself to prosperity”.

“We are a friendly people, strong in our cultures. We can interact with others in humility, dignity and yet remain in strength. We should not let the dominant adulterate the values of humanity,” said Dr Kaunda.

With this kind of wisdom, we are surprised that the United States of America should believe that by maintaining the illegal sanctions on Zimbabwe, they will stop Zimbabwe from moving forward, let alone owning its resources for its own good.

The statement issued by the Obama administration on Monday did not come as a surprise because we knew that sending respectable personalities such as Andrew Young and Reverend Jesse Jackson were gestures meant to mesmerise Zimbabweans into believing that Washington and its allies wanted to seriously engage with Zimbabwe in a transparent and honest manner.

But Zimbabwe’s elections did not impress the United States as they declared on Monday, “We have made clear to the government of Zimbabwe and the region that a change in US sanctions policy will occur only in a context of credible, transparent, peaceful reforms that reflect the will of the Zimbabwean people,” State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said.

She added, “Our programme of targeted sanctions will remain in place as long as these conditions continue to exist in Zimbabwe.”
By stating that they want “credible, transparent, peaceful reforms that reflect the will of the Zimbabwean people”, the Obama administration is in actual fact claiming that the just-ended election was a non-event to them.

A real contrast to what the US envoy Ambassador Bruce Wharton said in an interview with this writer on April 19:
“I don’t see limits on Zimbabweans’ ability to reap those fruits of independence. It seems to me that Zimbabweans have full sovereignty, full independence (and) the right to make whatever decisions they want to as a nation”. And, the people of Zimbabwe did exactly that on July 31.

It is also within our right to ask both Ambassador Young and Reverend Jackson whether their government consulted them at this critical juncture before issuing its statement on reforms for Ambassador Wharton said in the April 19 interview: “I believe that Ambassador Young and a number of Zimbabweans believe that he has had a positive role in Zimbabwe’s independence movement and in Zimbabwe.

“He has a track record that he is known as a credible man with a lot of experience in Zimbabwe, and someone we thought would be a good conversation to have with President Mugabe about the fundamental importance of a peaceful, credible electoral process; about the role of leadership in ensuring peace and credible elections.

“And so, bringing these two statesmen together and having this conversation, we thought, this would be a positive thing. But, the main purpose in getting Andy Young to come to Zimbabwe was to give a very clear signal about the sincerity of the American government’s desire to improve relations. Andrew Young is 81.

0He won’t just travel anywhere, for anybody. He will only do something if it’s important and for a good cause”. Were these visits as insignificant as the Obama administration seems to be implying now by rejecting our poll result?

The double standards are also astounding. What is the major difference between the Malian case and that of Zimbabwe or is the West’s determination based on the fact that they were allowed to observe the presidential elections in Mali?

For US President Barack Obama on Tuesday congratulated Mali’s new president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita after that country’s constitutional court declared him a winner.

In a statement president Obama said, “We encourage the candidates and their supporters to accept the results, and to use this election as a foundation for further progress on democracy, national reconciliation, and addressing the security and humanitarian crises in the north.”

This is what the people of Zimbabwe expect instead of continuing to make it look like the MDC-T had an entitlement to win the 2013 poll.
We reiterate that such imperialist attitudes have since passed their sale-by date.

The people of Zimbabwe spoke resoundingly and today, it is not only President Mugabe taking that oath of office to abide by the Constitution of Zimbabwe, but it an “amazing grace” moment for the whole nation.

We also salute the faith and trust demonstrated by the regional bloc Sadc and the African Union. Other progressive nations have also stood by President Mugabe and the people of Zimbabwe.

Since it is a time when we also relive that historic moment on April 18, 1980 we will do it in song.
It was a song sang during the liberation struggle, directed at Ian Douglas Smith, the point man for colonialism and imperialism, the man who had

said that not in a thousand years would Zimbabwe be ruled by a black man.
It was an arrogant and racist statement, but it also had its own shelf-life like the imperial stance being taken in 2013:
Smith!

Usaone vana vamai vedu kugara musango
Vanogarira nyika yavo
Zvokusasana vanotozvidawo
Asi kuti
Vanogarira nyika yavo!
A luta continua, until final victory!