Financial Gazette (Harare)
18 October 2008
editorial
Harare — IN one of his famous quotations, Swiss poet and philosopher, Henri Frederic Amiel had this to say: "Self-interest is but the survival of the animal in us. Humanity only begins for man with self-surrender."
The beast in men that Amiel was so generous to call 'the animal' has been on the rampage, destroying people's dreams, tearing nations apart and creating a few filthy rich individuals in the midst of abject poverty.
Successive generations have tried to tame the animal Amiel referred to more than 127 years ago but their efforts could not annihilate its destructive instincts.
In Africa and other parts of the developing world, most of those elected to lead, be it at cell, village, ward, district or provincial levels, are guilty of betraying the confidence vested in them by their people by pursuing selfish agendas that have retarded growth in their respective areas.
In other words, the animal in man has been so strong that national resources meant to benefit the people have been plundered or diverted from their intended purpose as politicians compete to line up their pockets at whatever cost.
This is partly the reason why the country's economy is in the woods and not in good books, so to speak, with the Bretton Woods institutions for nearly a decade.
As of yesterday, a shaky power sharing agreement signed between ZANU-PF and the two Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) factions was hanging by a thread. The three parties could not agree on the apportionment of ministries five weeks after appending their signatures on the September 15 agreement, seen as the panacea to ending the Zimbabwean crisis.
And yet their source of dispute has nothing to do with what is best for their people who sacrificed lives and limb in the lead up to the bloody June 27 presidential run-off boycotted by Morgan Tsvangirai, the MDC leader.
Rather, the negotiations have stalled because individuals on both sides of the political spectrum care less about sinking the country's sickly economy for as long as they extract key positions for themselves through these intense negotiations.
Ironically, ZANU-PF is determined to emerge from the dialogue with the lion's share despite losing its majority in Parliament for the first time since Independence in 1980 and the corrosive effect its 28-year grip on power has had on the economy.
Under ZANU-PF's rule, the country has continued to be ranked among the least competitive economies included in the Global Competitive Report where it was ranked second from last at 133rd overall. This compares with last year's rank of 129, and represents a decline of four places.
The report noted: "The economy is now characterised by mismanagement and weaknesses across all areas, including health (ranked 128th in the health sub-pillar), low educational enrolment rates, and official markets that have ceased to function for all intents and purposes (particularly goods and labour markets, ranked 133rd and 127th, respectively)."
But what is even more worrying is that at a time when people are expecting a breath of fresh air, should former South African president, Thabo Mbeki secure a breakthrough, there are indications that some of those voted into Parliament have absolutely no clue of what is expected of them.
Gift Chimanikire, the MDC legislator for Southerton, is one of those MPs and Senators who have started on a wrong footing and whose constituencies might as well forget about serious representation for the next five years unless their legislators finally see the light.
Chimanikire was quoted imploring the central bank to allow legislators to withdraw more than the $20,000 threshold set by the Reserve Bank, which was this week reviewed to $50,000 for individuals. To justify his myopic plea, Chimanikire said MPs needed more cash to spend on funerals and other gatherings in their constituencies.
With all its challenges at the moment, Zimbabwe does not deserve clowns such as Chimanikire, who put their interests above those of everyone else. While an estimated 5,1 million Zimbabweans are starving and in urgent need of food aid, drugs, access to clean water and other basic necessities, it defies logic that there are those in positions of authority busy thinking of showing off and massaging their egos at sombre events such as funerals.
Chimanikire needs to be reminded that the people he purports to represent do not need handouts or his benevolence. All they are asking for is an environment that allows them to do things for themselves without having to wait for self-centred politicians like him to come to their rescue.
Zimbabweans have lost their pride and dignity over the past three decades because politicians have created a dependency syndrome to perpetuate their stay in power, which has ricocheted in the most undesirable manner because the thinning resources cannot sustain the patronage system they have created.
For people like Chimanikire, with a long association with trade unionism, to demonstrate their self-interests in the early months of their five-year tenure is not only disappointing but a betrayal of the change process they purport to represent.
One hopes that Chimanikire is just one bad apple among good ones whose warped thinking must be ring-fenced before it spreads to others like veld fire.
It is incumbent upon political parties to educate their MPs on their roles in Parliament and society as well as the etiquette expected of them. Parties should censure those who open their mouths before engaging their brains.
The new crop of MPs need not to be reminded that they will be walking a tight rope and should avoid past pitfalls where national programmes have suffered at the altar of political expediency, where resources mobilised using national resources such as agricultural inputs, farm implements and fuel have been diverted for personal use and where depositors' funds have been siphoned from the banking system for the benefit of a few disgraced executives.
While some may argue that all human actions are motivated by selfishness, the new crop of leaders should put the needs of others ahead of their own in view of how much Zimbabweans have suffered.
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Dont be silly. That is politics in Shona Africa. FUEDALISM/CHEIFTANSHIP Leaders have to be seen by the people as economically up-there and able to personally help thier subjects in times of need. It is this kind of thinking on a grander scale that has gotten this country into the mess it is in right now. I think we should just bash down all the western things, like buildings, roads, schools etc, get rid of books and western attire and start again. I say this because it is clear that our mentality is still 1000 years behind the rest of humanity. It is statements like this made by the MDC MP that makes other races laugh at us. Evolve for Gods Sake