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Values have their place in restoring and building a competitive nation
Albert Gumbo
March 01, 2008

February 1982 saw the genocide of the city of Hama in which between 10 000 and 25 000 people were killed by the regime of Hafez Assad in just over three weeks. Thomas Friedman, in his book From Beirut to Jerusalem, quotes Clinton Bailey an Israeli expert on the Bedouin in trying to explain the ruthless crushing of the 'rebellious' city as follows:

"Life in the desert was always dominated by two overriding facts: first in the desert water and grazing resources were so limited that 'everyone had to become a wolf and be prepared to survive at the expense of the other tribe. There weren't just enough wells or grass to satisfy everyone all the time. Often it came down to who was going to get the last blade of grass and you had to make sure it was you. This meant that man was simultaneously hunter and prey." Friedman adds, "in such a lonely place, the only way to survive was by letting others know that if they violated you in any way, you would make them pay and make them pay dearly. You sent that message home by banding together in alliances. These alliances began with the most basic blood association - the family - and then expanded to the clan, the tribe and then to other tribes. ( . . . ) hence the Bedouin Arabic proverb: "Me and my brother against our cousin. Me, my brother, and my cousin against the stranger." But even this was not enough protection. Sometimes you found yourself in the middle of the desert far away from your core kin group, and the temptation for others to violate you was great. Therefore, you had to make sure that if someone violated you in any way -even the smallest way- you would not only punish them but punish them in a manner that signalled to all the other families, clans, or tribes, this is what happens to anyone who tampers with me."

If it is to be believed, the example Friedman gives indicates a deep seated cultural norm and value set that explain Darfur, which has been dubbed the first Climate Change War, and of course Sadaam Hussein's brutality against the Kurds in Northern Iraq during his take-no-prisoners-reign, just to pick two examples. Core values impact society and nations in ways that are not always immediately apparent. For instance, what about the neoconservative trio of Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld? How did their fundamentalist crusader and corporatist values impact the decision on whether to wage war against Iraq or not? In Zimbabwe, for how long did one hear that "Zanu Ndeye Ropa" from various senior Zanupf officials? What does it mean? How has it been reflected in the way that the party has interacted with Zimbabwean society particularly at election time? Does it explain Ghukurahundi, the violent land reform programme and Operation Murambatsvina? Worryingly, is the new indigenisation act a continuation of the violent land reform values? What values are we teaching a nation, with regard to how one creates, grows and acquires wealth? What will it do for the entrepreneurial spirit of Zimbabweans?

In my last article, I wrote about how I felt that in Africa, politicians have such a material impact on society that it is important that they are the ones to drive cultural change for the better. I continue with that argument here by using examples of politicians who have 'shaped' their societies by insisting on a new set of values or falling back on old established and commonly held set of values from a people's past.

Samuel P Huntington in his critically acclaimed book, The Clash of Civilisations, says of the rise of East Asia; "For East Asians, East Asian success is particularly the result of the East Asian cultural stress on the collectivity rather than the individual." He goes on further to quote Lee Kuan Yew, who says: "The more communitarian values and practices of the East Asians - the Japanese, Koreans, Taiwanese, Hong Kongers, and the Singaporeans - have proved to be clear assets in the catching up process."

Huntington points out that "while recognising the differences among Asian societies and civilisations, East Asians argue that that there are also significant commonalities. Central among these is the value system of Confucianism -honored by history and shared by most of the countries in the region, particularly its emphasis on thrift, family, work and discipline."

What are the traditional community values of Zimbabwean societies and I mean all of them, Karanga, Ndebele, Zezuru, Ndau, Hellenic, Manyika etc? Given the manner in which we are going about land and economic reform (farms, diamonds and politics) are we not birthing a new value set that does not bode well for Zimbabwe's recovery and long term prosperity? How does one explain a judge seizing a farm? What value set is that person operating from? What then shall we do as Oliver Mutukudzi would ask?

Back to Singapore and another excerpt from Huntington: "In January 1989 President Wee Kim Wee in his address opening Parliament pointed to the extensive exposure of the 2,7 million Singaporeans to outside cultural influences from the West which had put them in close touch with new ideas and technologies from abroad but had also exposed them to alien lifestyles and values. 'Traditional Asian ideas of morality, duty and society which have sustained us in the past,' he warned, 'are giving way to a more Westernised, individualistic, and self-centred outlook on life." It is necessary he argued, to identify the core values which Singapore's different ethnic and religious communities had in common and 'which capture the essence of being a Singaporean." President Wee suggested four such values: "placing society above self, upholding the family as the basic building block of society, resolving major issues through consensus instead of contention, and stressing racial and religious tolerance and harmony." His speech led to extensive discussion of Singaporean values and two years later a White paper setting forth the government's position. The White Paper endorsed all four of the President's suggested values but added a fifth on support for the individual, largely because of the need to emphasise the priority of individual merit in Singaporean society as against Confucian values of hierarchy and family, which could lead to nepotism. What does all this mean for Zimbabwe?

Firstly, a politician took the lead. The constitution is an extremely important piece of paper but it will not be worth the paper it is written on, as we have seen before, if it is backed by the wrong value system among the people and the politicians who lead them. It will be important, therefore, that one or several politicians take the lead in opening and prioritising the debate for a new set of values for Zimbabwe.

Secondly, it took two years for the debate to be finalised. Zimbabwe is not merely seeking a change of government but a new way of governance and this means that politicians, who would embrace greatness, must begin to reflect now on the long term mental world view of Zimbabweans and prepare to present an argument that the people of Zimbabwe will find compelling enough for indepth and heartfelt discussion. "Zanu Ndeye Ropa" must give way to something far more pleasant and beneficial to the entire nation. How many members of the MDC, for instance, know that it is a social democratic party? Do they know what the values of such a party are? Who is articulating and trying to entrench them in the membership?

Thirdly, choosing and living a Zimbabwean set of values does not mean abandoning expertise and best practice in running an economy. Huntington reveals that "in China in the last stages of the Ch'ing dynasty, the slogan was Ti-Yong, 'Chinese learning for the fundamental priciples, Western learning for practical use.' In Japan, it was Wakon Yosei, 'Japanese spirit, western technique.' It is all about leadership and this discussion must start straight after the next election. Lee Kuan yew makes this point very strongly; "You need, besides determination, all the other attributes that will push a project along. You must have application, you must be prepared to work hard, you must be prepared to get people to work with you. Especially for political leaders, you've got to have people work for you and work with you. You've got to enthuse them with the same fire and the same eagerness that pushes you along. I think that's a very big factor in leadership."

There is the challenge to the in-coming administration: Provide transformational and charismatic leadership and Zimbabweans, hardworking, entrepreneurial and intelligent as they are, will follow and help you restore the country to an honoured place among the nations. By so doing, you will be "lighting a candle, instead of cursing the darkness."

*Albert Gumbo writes in his private capacity.

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