Published by the government of Zimbabwe
Reason Wafawarova
11 July 2009
(Page 2 of 2)
We cannot afford to have a repeat of the aftermath of independence.
Then, we had whole operations in defence, education, health, and the civil service -- operations that functioned like a shuttle service -- as what we called "experts" came and went, some for just a few weeks.
It would be absolutely pathetic for Zimbabwe to adopt another shuttle service approach to the process of constitution-making, a good 29 years after Independence.
What the Western elites would want their NGO community resident in Zimbabwe to achieve is very simple.
They want to create a "pro-democracy local group" that comprises of persons who deny their true self, to constantly strive to emulate the Western way of life, and to be useful intermediary between the neo-colonialists and the less informed masses of our own country.
Such persons do not mind being little black Westerners, the docile instrument of imperialism, whose ambition is to live like a Westerner, in whose image they are created.
In the attainment of these objectives we have seen the NGO community depicting itself as a primary instrument and this is why Zimbabweans must learn to tell NGOs not to overstep their declared intentions.
This writer is not under any illusions and acknowledges that there may be aspects of Western laws or any other laws from elsewhere that we as Zimbabweans may borrow for our own good.
It is when such values are thrust upon us by the incentive of donor funding and by the power of political manipulation that we need to confront the aggressors with no sense of remorse.
Without the campaigning of Western-funded mouthpieces and the articulation of issues through foreign-sponsored workshops and talk-shops, Zimbabwe has the capacity to independently assess any foreign laws and values without undue meddling and interference.
We have a people learned enough to reliably research on these issues without the aid of self-invited foreigners and this is the approach we need to adopt.
Zimbabwe can, without interference, produce a constitution that is a vehicle for wiping out the neo-colonial capitalist mentality and the negative aspects of the traditional mentality.
We can produce a constitution that fights and defeats oppression, superstition, individualism, selfishness, elitism, corruption, poverty, sickness, segregation, hunger and many other ills -- all by ourselves.
Most of all, our constitution must truly propagate our national culture, our political, technical and scientific knowledge as a people.
The constitution must define us as a people.
We cannot afford to have a constitution that makes us disappear into that colonial splendid Western model.
There is no pride in such foolishness.
If the real majority people of rural Zimbabwe were to independently and freely express their own opinion on what they want covered in the constitution, plainly almost none of them would be advocating for freedom to march and protest in streets or freedom to read hostile newspapers or any such secondary rights.
They want good shelter, food, land, pastures, educational facilities, health facilities and a sound infrastructure to service economic communication within their communities.
They want an environment that can allow them to produce well agriculturally and to adequately fend for themselves.
Only after these primary rights have been met can they start thinking of which newspaper to read, or freedom to look at the Internet or any such rights that are fronted each time we read about countries like North Korea, Cuba, and Iran.
In this constitution-making process, it is this writer's wish that Zimbabweans are not going to play party politics on a matter of national interest and that a truly Zimbabwean constitution reflecting our hope and aspiration as a people will be produced.
Our constitution cannot be reduced to an election document or a Presidential Powers document.
That is ludicrous.
Zimbabwe we are one and together we will overcome. It is homeland or death!
Reason Wafawarova is a political writer
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