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Heads of state don't own nations
Geoffrey Nyarota, The Zimbabwe Times
October 14, 2008

http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/?p=5873

I believe I speak on behalf of the majority of Zimbabweans when I express the hope that Thabo Mbeki returned to Harare this time around driven by a singular determination not to depart again without achieving the success we yearn and pray for.

The current round of negotiations that have bedevilled Zimbabwe under his stewardship over the past many months will not yield the desired result, however, unless certain pertinent facts that may be unpalatable to some of the contesting parties are taken into serious consideration.

That the negotiations have already lasted so long is an indictment on the negotiating skills of both Mbeki and the Zimbabwean political leaders. But they cannot allow the negotiating process to proceed beyond this round without finding a solution; otherwise the whole initiative must be abandoned as a total failure and a waste of precious time.

The political parties partaking in the negotiations should be mindful that they are negotiating, not for personal benefit, or in a quest for power and glory. They were elected by the electorate in March and June, however questionable the process and they represent the people. The welfare and the future well-being of the citizens of Zimbabwe must be held paramount in their deliberations. Their major pre-occupation should be to seek to redress the economic, political and human rights crises that have ruined Zimbabwe.

For an inordinately long period of time, the people of Zimbabwe have endured pain, deprivation and humiliation, while remaining silent and patient, even in the face of open provocation.

In those circumstances it cannot be too much to ask the politicians to tamper their expectations in accordance with the reality of the situation they have created with little regard for the welfare of the people.

Zanu-PF, or the MDC for that matter, cannot demand to take charge of certain ministries merely to satisfy the expectations or the aspirations of individual politicians. That cannot continue to be a guiding principle. In the case of Zanu-PF, Mugabe is on record as saying that his last cabinet was the worst he has ever presided over, in terms of the performance of individual ministers.

This is a sentiment fully endorsed by the majority of Zimbabweans, a rare achievement for Mugabe of late; to have any of his pronouncements receive the approval of even those of his compatriots that he has systematically alienated over the years. It is for that reason that the people denied so many of the ministers in question their vote in March. It was because he was the leader of an under-performing team and because of his own lackluster performance that they gave more votes to Morgan Tsvangirai, even though it took the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission a total of five weeks to count the ballots.

In those circumstances it is amazing that Zanu-PF should demand, as Mugabe did on Friday, the very ministries in which he openly admits they have performed dismally. I refer here to the crucial ministries of Finance, Foreign Affairs, Defence, Home Affairs, Justice, Information and others, which he arbitrarily apportioned to his party on the list which he had the audacity to gazette on Friday night.

Strangely Zanu-PF says precious little by way of justifying the allocation of these ministries to themselves.

Let-s take the controversial Ministries of Home Affairs, for instance. Under a succession of ministers, some of clearly dubious credentials, there has been an outright breakdown in law and order in Zimbabwe. The Zimbabwe Republican Police has been reduced to a politically partisan institution. The police force has become highly politicised under a Commissioner General who openly declares his own allegiance to President Mugabe. Generally, there has been a shocking deterioration in the standards of policing. The voters- roll is now a total shambles. To be issued with a passport has become an expensive luxury.

In the face of such crass incompetence on what basis does Zanu-PF demand to retain the Ministry of Home Affairs?

The Ministry of Finance has been the worst performer. A succession of ministers has presided over the collapse of our economy. Matters of economic policy have been relegated to the Governor of the Reserve Bank. Gideon Gono-s simple answer to Zimbabwe-s dire economic situation has been to print worthless bank notes with reckless abandon.

Ironically, while President Mugabe shamelessly hurls endless abuse at President George Bush, the American dollar has become the official currency of Zimbabwe.

In the area of Foreign Affairs the government - Mugabe himself in particular - has reduced Zimbabwe to the status of an internationally isolated nation, a pariah state, shunned by most of the international community. Those African nations the government would have us believe support Zimbabwe do so only out of some form of pan-African nepotism. Even then, none of them ever makes unequivocal public pronouncements in support of Zimbabwe or Mugabe.

They merely suffer his presence in silence when they meet at international fora. Those African leaders who publicly voice their opinion are critical of Mugabe - Raila Odinga of Kenya, the late Levy Mwanawasa of Zambia and Ian Seretse Khama of Botswana. They did not collectively endorse the election which Mugabe claims he won by a landslide. Mugabe arbitrarily pulled us out of the Commonwealth. He did not seek our mandate. He treats our country as his fiefdom.

The belligerence that characterizes Mugabe-s relationship with certain foreign leaders is totally without the consent of the people of Zimbabwe. I have listened to Zimbabwean diplomats as they speak of the utter embarrassment of representing a country whose leader does not respect diplomatic etiquette, a leader whose approach to international relations is totally devoid of the decorum expected and required of a statesman.

But, so they say, they have to support their families.

Mugabe accuses the media both national and foreign of painting a negative picture of our Zimbabwe. He is the worst culprit in this regard. It should be a condition of the agreement that he desists from such behaviour. The Ministry of Information has totally ruined Zimbabwe-s media sector. Herald House, an imposing building in its heyday was built on revenue from newspaper sales and advertising. Today The Zimbabwe Times publishes a story about Zimbabwe Newspapers (1980) Ltd, a once magnificent company, which now fails to pay its journalists and other staff.

Jonathan Moyo and George Charamba must hang their heads in shame.

What strategies does Zanu-PF have for the recovery of the media sector? Instead of just making demands they must explain.

The suggestion here is not that Zanu-PF surrenders everything to the MDC. After all, the MDC did not secure a resounding victory. That is debatable, however, given the inordinate delay in the announcement of poll results. In the case of the presidential election the result was not announced for a total of five weeks. This is totally unheard of the world over, but then the people of Zimbabwe are so civil, so humble, so patient and so law-abiding.

Mugabe and Zanu-PF should recognise and respect these amazing qualities.

So should Mbeki.

Above all, both Zanu-PF and MDC cannot simply demand to be allocated certain ministries without justifying those demands by explaining to the satisfaction of the people they seek to serve what exactly they propose to change or to achieve in those portfolios for the benefit of the nation.

Mbeki must not preside over the signing of another half-baked agreement. The future of Zimbabwe over the next five years is at stake. He must hold a private meeting with Mugabe where he should impress upon him the fact that presidents don-t own countries, while citing his own recent experience.

Finally, Mugabe must realise that it is either an admission of failure or a display of total lack of ambition and enterprise for him to seek to remain on the same job in the same office for a total of 33 years.

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