When commonsense finally prevails, UK would have to engage Zanu PF

NEWS that the US through its Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice has softened her language on Zimbabwe and the alleged attempts by UK to reach out to Zanu PF through Mozambican ex-president Chissano, is warmly received by some of us.

I must also commend Edwin T Kamanda, MDC Secretary: Stoke and Crewe Branch, for his conciliatory message in his recent article published by the Zimbabwe Guardian on the 11th May, 2008. It probably is the best reasonable piece I have ever read coming from top hierarchy of the MDC camp. We need more Edwins from the MDC.

UK was a major player in the creation of the present political impasse in Zimbabwe and will also be critical in the resolve of the situation.

After nearly a decade of squabbling, both Zanu PF and UK must realise that the ordinary people have suffered enough and what they need now is a situation that will improve their living condition. They don’t care less who is right or wrong, but rather who makes things right for a normal living.

I recently watched a documentary about the living conditions in Harare that was shot at Sam Levy’s Village in Borrowdale. One of those interviewed was a white couple who owns an electrical shop, and their message was that they don’t care whether it’s the MDC or Zanu PF party that rules the country, all they wanted was to have sanctions lifted so they can get on with their lives.

To those still in denial about the existence of sanctions on Zimbabwe, I have reproduced a statement published by Reuters in an article written by Adrian Croft below:

"We are doing nothing in Zimbabwe because it's under sanctions from the bank. And clearly whenever sanctions are lifted we are prepared to go back with other agencies to see what can be done," AfDB President Donald Kaberuka said in an interview with Reuters.

UK, by virtue of being the former colonial power, still has leverage over the economy of Zimbabwe. Zanu PF got political independence from the British, but not economic. This therefore means, if UK disagrees with the government of the day with regards to policies, UK can temper with the economy until it "screams" to try and effect a regime change. Such a scenario can even happen under an MDC government.

Zanu PF on the other hand, enjoys the military and security support in Zimbabwe and the region as a whole. It is still a well respected ally within the region, save for a few countries. Zanu PF, representing the current Zimbabwe government also enjoys a cordial relationship with most Asian countries and I believe with a few European countries.

In the early 2000/02 period, UK held a very strong stance on Zimbabwe then, demanding nothing to do with Zanu PF, but everything to do with a new beginning. Their position was that any new government in Zimbabwe must cleanse itself of any Zanu PF linkage. That proved to be inachievable.

Some of us have always argued that a peaceful change will—in the immediate term—have to come from within Zanu PF itself. This change will eventually open up space for a wider range of democratic players. There are many reasons for this line of thought, key among them being our own culture.

The problem Zimbabweans now face is what was described by the Nigerian Scholar, Chinweizu, as that of being ‘miseducated’. In short ‘miseducation’ is specifically designed to colonise African minds, see things from a European point of view, yet our hearts are heavily embedded in our African culture, because that is the way we were brought up. Trying to fulfil these two conflicting ideas often leads to indecisions, inconsistency and sometimes force us to lie.

If we think and behave in an African way, we cannot openly challenge President Mugabe for the presidential job even if we want to. It is not a matter of cowardice. It is the way we were brought up. It is unheard of in our culture to openly challenge our elders. We don’t challenge our parents, in times of conflict with them, we have to go through an elder in a community and a resolve is finally agreed on.

Those who created the Makoni Project were attempting the change-from-within concept, however, they didn’t articulate their strategy properly. Remember Makoni claiming not to be standing against President Mugabe but for the presidency. Makoni should have found ways whilst within Zanu PF to push for his presidential bid, which would have in turn, led to President Mugabe retiring honourably. Once out of Zanu PF, he becomes ineffective, because he too, is now competing with the current opposition leaders for the same post.

The fact that the project was said to be supported by Western diplomats (according to MDC), is very encouraging. It shows that UK has finally realised that they cannot impose a Western democracy as represented by the MDC, in an African country that has a completely different culture and expect it to work.

Democracy itself is a culture. It is a culture that not only is practised at national level, but starts from within the home. Most honest Zimbabweans who grew up in Zimbabwe and moved to the Western world will agree with me that adapting to the Western type democracy in the home has been very challenging, especially when you are raising kids.

Most families have broken up—mainly because the Zimbabwean man, who previously enjoyed the privilege of both a "child-bearer and a personal slave" in the form of a wife, suddenly could not cope with the equality laws in the Western world. He would rather "practise" the new equality laws under a new regime, rather than bow down to his previous ‘slave’, the latter is perceived as a sign of weakness and therefore not an option.

In the Zimbabwean culture, the wife is the house-keeper, if she works—brings an income, she does all the domestic chores, including looking after her often ungrateful chain of extended never—ending husband’s relatives, whilst the husband goes out for a drink or football match.

When the husband comes home, he expects a hot meal on the table, eats the dinner and leaves the plates on the table for the wife or is it slave, to clean up. Even those men in opposition politics singing about democracy don’t really practise it. They can’t. It’s painful. You cannot have democracy without addressing equality issues first.

This means that Western democracy (culture) is not compatible with African way of doing things. Africa must devise its own democracy, which takes into account its own way of doing things. It is therefore not surprising that we have seen conflicts before, during or after elections in African countries who aspire to adopt Western democracy. The two don’t mix. It’s like water and oil.

Western-type democracy will only serve to fuel more "marriage breakdowns" in the form of violence and conflicts in Africa.

It is in this context that the UK must find commonsense and speak to Zanu PF, either directly or through a respected Pan Africanist. Kofi Annan or "titanic" Levy are not relevant in the Zimbabwean situation. The first is perceived to have black skin but with a “white" heart, and the latter is perceived as a wolf in a sheepskin within SADC.

Nancy Nyamhunga
Leicester, United Kingdom