ZANU PF UK BLOG: 2014 : The Year of Political Drama

By Nick Mangwana

The first few years preceding our independence were given themes. One recalls such themes like 1980 Year of the People's Power (Gore ramasimba evanhu/ Umunyaka Wamandhla Abantu).

1981 was declared the Year of Consolidating People's Power (Gore rekutsigira Masimba Evanhu). 1982 Year of National Transformation,(Gore rekushandura zvinhu), this is the year when most places with colonial names had names changed. This was a process mired in controversy at times. One recalls the town called Fort Victoria was named Nyanda then there was some kind of uproar and it ended up being called Masvingo. Melsetter was called Mandidzudzure but eventually settling on Chimanimani. There are many places whose name transformation could only be achieved after a lot of presentations and meetings.

1983 was the Year of People's needs (Gore reGutsa Ruzhinji). This continued year after year when the national focus would be zoned on one aspect and theme.

Now that 2014 is winding down, what name or title would the nation retrospectively give it? The Year of the Vote of No Confidences(VONC)? Maybe Year of Vice Presidents? The Year of the Mazoe Crash? The Year of Ideological Realignment? The year of the Thwarted Rebellion? There are so many names that come to mind. Or should we borrow one from the Queen Elizabeth the 2nd who called 1992 Annus Horribilis (Horrible Year)? The reader is left to their own genius to give us something catchy and appropriate.

What is clear is that all the themes above indicate that all the action was in Zanu PF. Little about the opposition except that there was something to do with a school called Mandeville, Tendai Biti, Sekai Holland and then something to do with Job Sikhala coming back into some fold and trying to make issues of Tendai Biti's health matters. It backfired of course. Every family has been touched by Aids in a bad way and you don't insensitively trivialise that matter . Ah, but we forget, the MDC-T actually had a congress just a few weeks before the year end! And we have already forgotten about it? If there is anything which suited the phrase "damp squib" then that probably wins the completion for the Damp Squib of the year.

Those in England would recall that fore-running that "congress" Mr Morgan Tsvangirayi took a fund raising junket. This was a very hyped up trip meant to be a tour de force. He was to give an earth shattering address to the Royal Institute of International Affairs Think Tank commonly known as Chatham House. Its role in the British Establishment is well known. They are a think tank which is partially run by the British foreign spying agency MI6. They shape British foreign policy. It is here our esteemed compatriot came and gave a very sophomoric performance which was very much about his self-deluded entitlement to State power in Zimbabwe. The purveyor of illegal regime made his tired sounding cry for help to gain same.

Patriotism makes one feel sorry for a fellow countryman of every political persuasion when they give such a car crash performance and self-destruct in a foreign land. Thankfully, this was wholly ignored by all the British Media Houses. After his address he was again wholly ignored by fellow Zimbabweans who left him to loiter in the foyer with little interest from the attendees . His family members in the Diaspora came to the rescue. We shall waste no more of the limited allocated space by covering a dinky event. Suffice to say, it was fundraising without funds. Zanu PF had taken the Diaspora. Never again to be surrendered to counter-revolutionaries.

This was because Zanu PF had established representatives in the UK covering Europe. Their role was to establish mobilise and set up party structures, lobby against sanctions on Zimbabwe, raise funds, articulate, publicise, explain and defend party policies, build investment linkages and joint ventures, assist the party with political research and policy development , counter the negative perception pandered against party and country amongst many other objectives. By the time Tsvangirayi visited the sands had shifted from under his feet. He was no longer the godfather of the Diaspora he thought he was.

The Diaspora had responded very positively to the progressive message Zanu PF was preaching . They had established structures and were taking people's views communicating these to Harare. The people's views were simple. They wanted to be accepted and respected as a key constituent in the Zimbabwean discourse. They wanted to see a genuine political will to root out corruption from all economic and political systems in Zimbabwe. They wanted a ministry that represented their interests as well as help to shape policy. They felt that their relationship with Zimbabwe was one-sided as it seemed to be about what the country can get out of its people in the Diaspora and not what it can also do for its Diaspora in return. They wanted this to be mutually beneficial. These were felt to be noble requests. They also wanted a Diaspora vote.

This was an interesting request because it was coming under the banner of enfranchising every Zimbabwean. Surprisingly every time there was a big Zanu PF meeting in the UK, there was also a concerted effort by the same advocates to get Zanu PF cadres deported from the country and the party banned. This same attack continued including lately after congress. It was again established that there representations made to the British Authorities to deny all those that attended Zanu PF congress an entry back into the country.

These are the same people that take themselves to be super-democrats and paragons of democratic virtue yet they do not want anybody else in the democratic space! How can they even contemplate a Zanu PF government acquiescing to facilitating the voting of the diasporans when the same people are trying to stop its existence among Zimbabweans there? Is it only democracy when Zanu PF is excluded? Or is it those who are calling for a Diaspora vote and the banning of Zanu PF-UK at the same time are self-serving, hypocritical pseudo-democrats beating the drum for expediency impinged upon political vanity? If they want Zanu PF to exist in Zimbabwe only, then a free and fair election can only happen in Zimbabwe only because that is where all the parties will be represented. They might as well buy their tickets and vote there. Now that is fairness.

But we digress, because Zanu PF-Europe is here to stay of course. It can only grow to cover the rest of the Diaspora. Let us go back to the year. We left our thread when we were trying to find a theme for the year. After the President's very successful visit to China it should have been all about economic recovery. However economics faded into the background in such a way that people cannot connect the success that is going to come from that visit and Zanu PF VONC Tsunami. The President's visit to China and the coming of Russia's Mr Lavrov of Russia were supposed to be a harbinger for further investments. But all these good tidings faded into the background. This is what happens when you deliver a good message but then surround that message with a lot noise. People lose the message in the midst of the noise. Politics should drive economics and not to take precedence over it.

Politics has drama. Economics is boring. People don't want to talk about economics. They just want to feel the positive impact of politics in their lives. This is when they get jobs, they can afford a decent life as well as get a 13th check at the end of the year. Of course in many cases the latter was delayed or deferred. This is when they turn to the dramatics of politics. What, with 15 ministers losing their jobs.!A new for Zimbabwe. With the exciting speculation of recalling of MPs, of course the rumour mill is now in overdrive. But that is part of the year of our Lord 2014. Just hoping that 2015 will commence with Zisco now known as Zimsteel livening up and running in the Midlands again. In February the remaining European sanctions against the First Family should go. But we still won't hold our breath,. We know who we are dealing with. Some people would never admit they were wrong.

The nation hopes that we can built on the many positives from 2014 going forward into 2015. A little less politics and a lot more economics. We have to continue to value our tried and tested allies from the East but still build bridges with everyone. We make new friends but continue to cherish the old ones. It has taken a lot of indomitability to stand up to our enemies. It will take a lot more bravery to extend the hand of friendship to them in 2015.

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