Published by the government of Zimbabwe
Godwills Masimirembwa
22 February 2008
opinion
Harare — ON February 5 2008, Dr Simba Makoni launched another escapade by the Western world into Zimbabwean politics, in the vain hope of reversing the gains of the liberation struggle that dates back to the First Chimurenga War of 1896/97.
That Makoni has been on the political landscape for a long time and rose within the ranks of Zanu-PF to become a member of the Politburo is what gives his Western handlers the false hope of regaining the initiative in their neo-colonial agenda. But to the majority of Zimbabweans, Makoni has now demonstrated that he is in the league of "good Africans", those who shun and despise their birthright and believe that without whites Africa is doomed.
The obvious question arises, why then did Makoni rise so high in a party that stands for the opposite of what he says he believes in?
This writer believes that in life misfits can wiggle their way into influential and even dominant positions, but the telltale signs of who they really are rarely escape notice and attention. And in the fullness of time, pretenders normally come in the open and parade their true colours.
This is exactly what Makoni did on February 5. He laid bare his soul. He has all along been a reluctant follower, nay a betrayer of the revolution. His utterances at the so-called World Economic Forum-BBC World Debate, held in Cape Town, South Africa, on June 15 last year to debate the state of affairs in Zimbabwe vindicate this writer's assertion.
This writer thanks Makoni for coming in the open and sparing Zimbabweans of the false notion that in him reposed the qualities of revolutionary leadership so necessary in the on-going struggle against neo-colonialism.
Zimbabweans now know, and this writer is certain that President Mugabe now knows that he misplaced his trust, for clearly, Makoni has all along been an enemy of the revolution.
The chasm between Makoni and the revolution is aptly captured in his own launch statement of February 5, where he said: "First, let me confirm that I share the agony and anguish of all citizens, over the extreme hardships that we have all endured for nearly 10 years now.
"I also share the widely held view that these hardships are a result of failure of national leadership and that change at that level is a prerequisite for change at other levels of national behaviour . . . Let me also affirm here, my deeper faith in, and high loyalty to the whole nation of Zimbabwe which deeper faith and higher loyalty have moved me to offer myself to this once great country and still great people."
Makoni blames President Mugabe for "the extreme hardships that we have endured for nearly 10 years now". He says there has been a failure of national leadership. He says Zimbabwe was once great, but is no longer great, because of a "failure of national leadership".
The phrases "the extreme hardships that we have endured for nearly 10 years now", "this once great country", define who Makoni really is.
"Nearly 10 years now" takes us back to the famous and heroic 1998 near culmination of the land reclamation war. The genesis of the land reclamation revolution dates back to the First Chimurenga War. We won our independence on April 18 1980, but the ultimate precursor of the revolution, the land that had been stolen from us, remained firmly under the control of a handful of whites.
So, nearly 10 years ago, Zimbabweans, under the leadership of President Mugabe, in the face of British arrogance and volt turn, realised the folly of continuing to negotiate and appear to beg for their land, took up the cudgels, as they did during the armed struggle, victoriously marched on to their land, and repossessed it.
So, for nearly 10 years now, Zimbabweans, through and with the able leadership of President Mugabe, have been consolidating their hold and ownership of their land. It was precisely because of the Third Chimurenga, the land reclamation movement, that Zimbabweans were and are being punished by Britain and her allies. The majority of Zimbabweans are all clear and aware of why they are suffering. They have suffered for nearly 10 years now because they refused and continue to refuse to be vassals in their land, their heritage.
The backlash against Zimbabwe from Britain and its allies for daring to be free was in the form of illegal economic sanctions, demonisation, attempted isolation and all manner of evil dishing to subdue our resolve.
Zimbabweans, though suffering extreme hardships, are proud that they have victoriously fought a good fight against settler colonial and neo-colonialism and are now preserving and protecting their heritage for future generations.
This is the revolution and its results that Makoni publicly disowned on February 5. Though a beneficiary of it, clearly Makoni was not and is not with the revolution.
What wrong did President Mugabe do? How did he fail the nation? Is leading the nation to the ultimate prize failure? Is repossessing our land from a recalcitrant former colonial master failure? Is fulfilling the objectives of the First and Second Chimurenga Wars wrong?
If remaining as vassals in our land is, according to Makoni, right, then Zimbabweans are saying to him, "we would rather be wrong than be right. Our land belongs to us, no matter the extreme hardships we may suffer to regain, preserve and protect it".
Makoni says Zimbabwe was once a great country. Allow this writer to sequence it for him. Zimbabwe was a great country prior to colonisation. This is why Zimbabweans are proud of the First Chimurenga. The First Chimurenga was fought to reclaim the stolen land, to chase away the invading and marauding settler colonialists.
The once great Zimbabwe remained under colonial rule until April 18 1980.
Independence partially restored Zimbabwe's greatness. Now with political power, Zimbabweans were able to decisively return the country to its original greatness, the greatness of its people owning its lands, our heritage. With our land, we are now a truly great country.
So, the nearly 10 years of hardships Makoni refers to, are nearly 10 years of struggle for our economic independence through the ownership of our land and resources. Sadly, Makoni believes otherwise. He thinks the era when our land was still in the hands of a handful of whites is the era when Zimbabwe was a great country. Now that we have control of our land and resources, Makoni says Zimbabwe is no longer a great country.
If Makoni had been with the revolution he would be gloating over his role in the triumphant fight for the ultimate prize. Ironic isn't it that he was physically there with the victors in the Central Committee, the Politburo, in the rallies with the masses, at the Extraordinary Congress in December with the thousands of delegates, but in spirit he was at the so-called World Economic Forum, condemning the revolution, despising his own, regretting a status he seems never to have wanted.
It was sad to hear Makoni during the so-called World Economic Forum-BBC World Debate on the State of Affairs in Zimbabwe, say: "At the surface the indicators are not there, but there is a process ongoing within the party Zanu-PF, within Zimbabwe and even within some of our friendly partners. That process is underway. There is an agreement that the state of affairs cannot go on and that it must be reversed."
As fate would have it, former British prime minister, Tony Blair, a foremost advocate and practitioner of neo-colonialism became a board member of the Board Foundation of the so-called World Economic Forum in September 2007. He will chair its Annual Meeting for 2008 in Davos, Switzerland. Truly a Western world Economic Forum.
Would it be far-fetched to speculate that there was already a symbiotic neo-liberal/neo-colonial relationship between Makoni and Blair by the time the so-called World Economic Forum-BBC World Debate on Zimbabwe was held in Cape Town?
Blair, as we all know, has a passionate anti-democracy interest in Zimbabwe, vainly seeking British domination in Zimbabwe's economic and political landscape. Prior to his joining the Foundation Board of the so-called World Economic Forum, Blair was a regular participant in several of its annual meetings in Davos.
A Blair/Makoni axis of evil against Zimbabwe, bent on reversing the gains of our independence, appears to be in the offing.
This writer submits that it would be fair to say that in the context of Makoni's condemnation of President Mugabe's leadership over the past 10 years, his desire is to reverse the monumental gains of that period. But not only the gains of that period, for what happened during the past 10 years, the repossession of our land and resources, was part of a long journey of the struggle of the Zimbabwean people dating back to the First Chimurenga.
This effectively means Makoni was all along a reluctant revolutionary. He now believes it is time to destroy that which he never believed in and was a reluctant participator in.
Zimbabweans need to take comfort in what Makoni has done. Just in the nick of time, at the verge of an epoch-defining election, he demonstrated that he was not and will not be with them in the continuing struggle. We are warned not to vote for Makoni for the presidency of this, our beautiful country. We vote for him not only at our own peril, but at the peril of the future of our children's children, at generational peril. If we make the mistake of voting for him, he will drag us into the cesspool with him. Makoni was a reluctant revolutionary, who has gone back to his roots.
President Mugabe, on the other hand, continues to demonstrate that he committed and continues to commit his entire life to the just cause of the Zimbabwean people. The nation needs his wisdom, counsel and guidance.
Our faith and trust for the stewardship of the nation is in President Mugabe. He has been tried and tested, has never and will never fail us. We must vote for him and retain him to the office of President to allow him to continue to guide us in consolidating the gains of our independence.
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The old Rhodesia was not an open society, so when somebody praises the old system of "Rhodesia aparthied" I wonder what information they are using. There was a great deal of propaganda during the Ian Smith regime. Numbers being used about Rhodesia are not reliable. Among the lies was that somehow the native Zimbabweans were satisfied be the white racists minority. That is a lie....how can one be happy with racists. Smith Did not improve african education. Zimbabwe's achievement in education can be measured after independence and not before independence. Zimbabwe enjoys one of the most educated population groups in Africa. This was not created by white racists. Other information indicate that the then Rhodesian economy was slowly dying and hence surrender by white minorities to the Liberation movement. Rhodesians abroad are desparately trying to lie about their past activities and very soon Zimbabweans will forget about them...After 28 years who remembers Smith or cares? Very few who now live in poverty in Europe
Godwills, it very sad that there are people like you who fail to see the problems our country is facing, Godwills the problems are with the leadership and if you fail to see that you need to have your head examined. Simba Makoni is standing for a home grown solution to the current situation in Zimbabwe, unlike Morgan and others his passion is to bring back the country we all loved... he is not reversing anything, the gains of our liberation struggle where reversed by the old man whose age is close to a century,,, who through too much use of Viagra he thinks is young enough and mentally fit to mantain the gains of our struggle, is is sad that people like you Godwills believe that our country is safe in the hands of this old man.
The author of this piece clearly is ill-informed on Zimbabwe and it’s history, or else has been so utterly indoctrinated by Mr. Mugabe and his henchmen that he has lost touch with reality.
First of all, he continually refers to “our [Black] land” that was “stolen [by the Whites]”. Not only is that blatant racial hatemongering, but it is entirely inaccurate. Yes, it’s true that the original pioneers in the Pioneer Column did take land without proper compensation. Yes, that’s stealing (even if it was legal). But there were only 180 pioneers in the Pioneer Column, and they did not take all of the land. Beginning in 1930, a policy of “land sharing” between the White and Black communities was enshrined into Rhodesian statutory law. About 50% of the land was reserved for Whites, Asians, and Coloureds to own privately, about 25% was reserved for Blacks to own privately, and the final 25% was reserved for Blacks to operate communally on a tribal basis. Obviously, this situation was far from equitable, but it was far fairer than the deal Blacks got in South Africa under the Native’s Land Act of 1913.
Even so, the vast majority of Whites did not take up their land under the provisions of either the Pioneer Column or the Land Apportionment Act. Many Whites actually came to own their land after World War II, and many more (possibly even a plurality) actually possessed deeds issued by the MUGABE government. Many White Zimbabweans were convinced by their new President’s rhetoric of national reconciliation and non-racial governance and took out loans to purchase land AFTER independence in 1980.
Second of all, he refers to “good [Black] Africans” who “shun their [Black] birthright” and then he says that the Blacks he presumably prefers “refuse to be vassals in their land; their heritage“. I put it to him that the Ndebele, which makes up about a quarter of the Black Zimbabwean community, only arrived in 1840, after being exiled from Zululand by Shaka Zulu. I also put it to him that the ancestors of the Shona, the largest ethnic group in Zimbabwe, contributing about three-quarters of the Black Zimbabwean community, only arrived in Zimbabwe between the 13th and 15th centuries. When the Bantu-speaking tribes moved into Zimbabwe, they displaced the ancient owners of the land, the Khoisan. No group is truly native to Zimbabwe, other than the Khoisan.
Thirdly, the author actually has the audacity to ask “what wrong did President Mugabe do?” Well, first of all, he’s turned the breadbasket of southern Africa into a nation that barely scrapes out an existence due to remittances and handouts from Thabo Mbeki and charities operated by the very people Mr. Mugabe demonises, White Westerners. He’s also committed massive crimes against humanity against his own people. Or do you not remember the Gukuruhundi? He’s curtailed freedoms that used to be considered God-given, and has so completely dominated and embattled the press that there is no longer any attempt to provide an illusion of freedom. He responded to a rebuke in a democratic referendum on changing the constitution by encouraging the illegal dispossession of property by thugs. Or are these things justified because Mr. Mugabe is Black and says he’s fighting some non-existent conspiracy by the CIA and Britain to “recolonise” Zimbabwe?
The way this author goes on and on about a “Blair/Makoni axis of evil” conspiring to enslave the Zimbabwean people is so utterly ludicrous that one cannot help but laugh. Once we get done laughing hysterically at the lunacy, we must realise how depressing it is that fellow Zimbabweans have been so indoctrinated that they actually believe this. I’m going to be blunt for a moment, but don’t interpret this as unpatriotic. The idea that the British Prime Minister lays awake at night plotting domination over Zimbabwe is egotistical and idiotic. Zimbabwe has no great mineral wealth, particularly when contrasted with other countries. There would be almost no gain for Britain to “recolonise” Zimbabwe, and there would be a lot to lose. People who believe this are just looking for a way to explain why Zimbabwe is in the shape it is, and in that case, they need only look at the nearest mirror.
The white Rhodesians are busy defending their old racists behaviour and land grabbing. The old Rhodesian was worse than Robert Mugabe. A lot of white anglo whiners still defend the system. Most Zimbabweans don't. A small group of white tyrant like Ian Smith ruled and passed land rules to disposes the majority. All major political parties running for President have indicated that they support land reform (re-distribution). You cannot be a Zimbabwean politician without support for land reform. Get real...Zimbabwe with win at the end
I find it amazing tnat the writer goes on and on about the sanctions imposed on the dictator Mugabe and his cronnies. No mention is made of the total sanctions that was imposed on the dictator Smith. Yet Smith still took the " Rhodesian " country to an economy where the US dollar was 00.60 to the local currency. Education of the local population was increasing in leaps and bounds. Medical facilities were on the increase. The Zimbabwe people as a nation were building a nation that was the pride of all.
The Mugabe govt has taken the people of zimbabwe to inflation of over 100 000% and 80% unemployment. Is this what he wants for his children in the future. I feel sad that he is so shortsighted !!!!