|
Back to Index
This article participates on the following special index pages:
The Zimbabwe We Want: "Towards a National Vision for Zimbabwe" - Index of articles
The
visionless National Vision Document
Washington
Katema, Zimbabwe National Students Union (ZINASU)
October 30, 2006
I belong to
the school of thought that 'processes must protect the content'
. In this regard, I humbly dismiss the pro-ZANU PF national
vision document basing on the simple facts that the process
of formulating the document was non-inclusive and fundamentally
flawed. The people, students, included were not consulted so as
the civic society which is basically the ambassador of the world's
poor, the voice of the voiceless and the watch-dog of the Government.
I am also going to highlight some of the loop holes in the national
vision document as I try to outline the tasks of a democratic movement
in eroding an authoritarian regime.
First, democratic
institutions must resist integration and guard their autonomy zones
against the regime. In this case the Zimbabwe Council of Churches,
Evangelical
Fellowship of Zimbabwe and the Zimbabwe
Catholic Bishops Conference have failed as they are now being
used as cannon fodder by Mugabe. It is common knowledge that what
is right with Mugabe is wrong with everyone, such as the total and
brutal Gukurahundi which left more than 20 000 people dead and many
mass graves, Operation
Murambatsvina, which left an unprecedented trail of destruction,
the beatings of Zimbabwe
Congress of Trade Unions leaders, an act which was condemned
by all and sundry, Operation Sunrise, which was a clear case of
legalized theft by the government among other cases of madness.
Criticizing Mugabe is now sacrilegious and terms like freedom of
speech has been perverted and criminalized. This church grouping
has been swallowed by the vampire regime and it is also alleged
that the government edited the final 'visionless' national vision
document.
It is also a
public secret that Mugabe is illegitimate because he stole the elections
of 9-10 June 2000, 30 and 31 March 2002 presidential election and
June 2005 general election. The church grouping is now going out
of its way to legitimize the illegitimacy. Disputing the legitimacy
of authoritarian regime is part of the tasks of any democratic movement
trying to erode authoritarianism. Manhanga and his band of sanctimonious
followers must know better. How are they going to raise the cost
of maintaining a dictatorship when they are now going to bed with
the government? How are they going to create a viable democratic
movement when they are not working with other pro-democracy movements
like Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions, National
Constitutional Assembly, Crisis
in Zimbabwe Coalition, the lawyers
for human rights, Women
of Zimbabwe Arise, students among others?
It is true that
Mugabe is the problem and also part of the solution, it is true
that eroding an authoritarian regime must include construction of
democracy, it is true that good politicians are the ones who know
when to negotiate but the rebel leader of the rebel regime has proven
beyond any ghost of doubt that he is not committed to the democratization
processes in Zimbabwe. Ask Jonathan Moyo and his Tsholotsho project
participants. In the church initiative Mugabe is just buying time.
Given this the civic society must go to the people and have the
masses on their side.
Visit the ZINASU
fact
sheet
Please credit www.kubatana.net if you make use of material from this website.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License unless stated otherwise.
TOP
|
