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Quail birds were the flavour of the month before the hashtag craze which will soon pass, if it hasn’t already

Nick Mangwana View From the Diaspora

There should always be an element of public interest before prosecuting certain crimes. Was it really in the public interest to arrest and charge this guy considering that the second stayaway was expected to flop anyway?

ZIMBABWE has never been short of critics and analysts that would filter and articulate the shortcomings of our Government and its policies. There might not have been too many people that harness the people’s emotions and then capture their attention in a creative and poetic way. Just like the “Chihuta” craze did recently there was also the #Thisflag craze among many other pastimes.

This type of thing, the country has never been short of. Where there has always been a gap in the market for is a political thought that proffers solutions to current economic problems, political challenges and social issues. Unfortunately, in the anti-Government movements, that gap remains an unoccupied void regardless of the recent upsurge in excitement within and outside the country. A lot of analysts just see the old “Mugabe must go” slogan but this time aided by a tinge of patriotism in that it has appropriated the national flag.

The movement has reached a lot of people using sound bites and catchphrases with street traction such as “Handichada and Hatichatya”. These were easy to assimilate and make part of the common street culture. These words more or less became some kind of terse communication between young people.

But every time the movement leader was asked on what the alternative solutions were, he would say it is not his job to offer solutions because he is not in Government. You can’t reject one Government policy proposal after another without offering an alternative. You can’t have your followers calling on the whole Government to resign without explaining what would happen after that. To simply say, “Just go” while it has a nice ring to it, smacks of irresponsibility.

Having said all the above things, this columnist is not using the benefit of hindsight to say that it was not the cleverest idea to arrest that guy. There should always be an element of public interest before prosecuting certain crimes. Was it really in the public interest to arrest and charge this guy considering that the second stayaway was expected to flop anyway? And dismally it did, like his other projects in the UK which came to nothing.

Didn’t he run “His Generation Ministries” as a company and it ended in dissolution? How about his other project 2009 “Dreampreneur Global Limited” where did it also end? Didn’t it fizzle into nothingness. A lot of people that came to the UK made it. But there is a minority that failed in the UK and Zimbabwe and turn around to blame the Government for their failures.

A person with such a record of failure should not have ruffled any establishment feathers because after the failure of the abortive stayaways of July 13 and 14 this was over.

Should he have been questioned over the behaviour of his followers? Those who feel he should suggest that he had vicarious responsibility. They say that the leadership’s role is to formulate direction and guide behaviour of followers. If any of the followers deviated from the formulated behaviour while the individual should be charged, the leadership still has to take responsibility.

If you take credit for the success of the event, you have to take the responsibility for the mishaps of the same event. Those opposed to the idea contend that, while that may sound fair but every organisation has rogue elements and surely not every leader can be held responsible for the actions of such. We have such in Zanu-PF as well. But let’s look at the nuts and bolts of this movement.

The purpose of the movement was originally to put pressure on the Government to deal with certain grievances. For that it could not be faulted as the Government is supposed to talk to its citizens. But it fast became about removing the Government. While there were some legitimate demands there, they had nothing to do with the pastor. The civil servants have their unions and leadership. They were pursuing their grievances through the normal channels as well as using their right to strike.

The good pastor is not a civil servant, he simply appointed himself a leader of the union by hijacking that grievance and started speaking for people who were possibly not even part of his flock. “Bhadharai macivil servants mari dzavo” a good call indeed but also politically opportunistic.

The kombi drivers had their association and they were boycotting the ferrying of passengers in protest against the number of roadblocks which they felt made their work difficult. In fact, they had already made their point the previous day. The good pastor is not a kombi driver. He is not on public record as owning a kombi.

There is no known election in which he was appointed the leader of the association.

Even this columnist agrees with the kombi drivers that there is a ridiculous number of roadblocks but the good pastor had no locus standi in the matter. The cross-border traders who were not happy with SI 64 of 2016 which placed restrictions on imports also have a very solid and functional association which was dealing with their grievances.

Then comes the bond note issue. The liquidity crunch is the problem.

The bond note is the solution. But he was attacking a solution which had been agreed on by the retailers’ association, vendors’ association, bankers’ association, wholesalers’ association, and a host other organisations representing stakeholders. He did not want that solution. But had no replacement in mind. He said that the onus was on the Government to give a different solution but not that particular one. Now that is a bit rich, isn’t it?

The statement was “Mabond notes enyu hatisi kuada”. The question that has been already been posed many times has always been, “Iwe nani (you and who?)” Some say the majority. How is this majority, measured except through an electoral process? Well, the next one is in 2018.

Our good pastor is free to stand for that election and let his movement people vote for him and he can replace bond notes with whatever solution (he has not thought of). But till then there is a Government in place. Let it do its job. Use your parliamentary route to lobby for a change policy. Harangue your MP and if they are ineffective, you stand for the next one and do a better job but for heaven’s sake let the Government fulfil its constitutional mandates.

This will not be a popular article with some of the readers of this column but Zimbabwe’s political discourse is not a popularity contest. Destabilising a state is should not amusement park thrill or a click to destruction. Sometimes it helps to speak to the people of Benghazi and Sirte. Peace and stability can really be so boring that you want action for the sake of it.

More of the same can surely be boring that a change in any direction including downwards can feel welcome. That can be a fatal mistake. Change is definitely needed such as that, the Government of Zimbabwe should change it’s ways of doing things.

More of the same is not an option. But that does not entail changing a government especially when you want to replace it with nothing. That is anarchical. Cutting your nose to spite your face is a self-destructive response to being piqued.

So comrades and compatriots, populism enlivens, excites and even invigorates. It is great to release popular energies but let us think about the specific objectives we are releasing those energy towards. Does it always lead to pragmatic solutions? Is there a consistent and relevant vision?

An honest assessment of Zimbabwe’s political context shows clearly that at the moment there is no alternative government waiting in our opposition. So if the status quo collapses what replaces it?

Zimbabwe’s infrastructure needs rehabilitation. It is being rehabilitated. Slow the process might be, but it cannot be compared to bullet-riddled infrastructure that used to be majestic Tripoli. There are roadblocks on our roads. They should be rationalised because frankly sometimes it looks like pure silliness.But will it better it the whole city is full of the same checkpoints now mounted by marauding gangs robbing and harassing people? We dare ask again, what is the social, political or economic objective of calling a government to step down? The only mechanism that will be viable is to hold so-called fresh elections. Right now the only party ready for elections is Zanu-PF, that’s why it is the only party contesting and winning by-elections. So elections are declared and Zanu- PF wins again, and money has been wasted to achieve the perpetuation of the status quo ante? What a waste!

We have to transform our polity for the benefit of our people. While the timing of what has gone on has to be questioned but sometimes we have to stop the notion that our people would not cry in pain unless a foreigner tells them to do so. That they won’t say they are hungry unless some foreigner tells them that they are?

That is not right. Of course, we don’t want any interference in our sovereignty just like every other nation. But we cannot and should not try to explain away the suffering of the people. The people also should be applauded for this new public participation in decision-making. But we do have representatives in our democracy. Let us use those and if they are ineffective then boot them out. That is the beauty of democracy.