While his reason for withdrawing from the elections were genuine,
Tsvangirai, rather than start building grass root movement among the
working and poor people, including the million of unemployed and the
poor peasants, he preferred to hobnob with imperialism and its African
lapdogs like the Nigeria's former civilian dictator, Olusegun Obasanjo.
This gave Mugabe the excuse to further attack the rank and file
opposition members by portraying them as imperialist agents that want
to cripple the country, more so that Mugabe is seen by a section of the
population as an independence hero. It is ironic that while Morgan
Tsvangirai and his lieutenants in the Mugabe's cabinet are now to live
under the cozy and elitist environments and official perks, cases of
the rank and file party members, many of whom are detained or
traumatized – upon whose back Tsvangirai and his ilk rode to power –
took the back seat in the final power sharing. This again shows the
character of the capitalist oriented opposition in Zimbabwe.
Morgan Tsvangirai and the MDC top-shots have portrayed the
power-sharing as a landmark despite the fact that power was not totally
given to them. Also, the Southern African Development Commission (SADC)
– the Southern African ruling class regional organization – and its
South African negotiator, Thabo Mbeki, have portrayed the power-sharing
as a confirmation of their dubious policy of quiet diplomacy and
African solution to African problems. The ruling western imperialist
governments like US, UK and France and the capitalist multilateral
agencies such as United Nations, while raising concerns about Mugabe's
sincerity, have commended the power sharing process as a step towards
democracy'. However, these various instruments of imperialism are only
interested in their selfish capitalist interests, and cared much less
about the poor people. Moreover, the power sharing, even if it is
popular among some sections of the working people – who have illusion
in the agreement, cannot move the Zimbabwean society forward
politically and economically, both on a short and long run bases.
The reality is that aside official perks and opportunity to serve as
conduit pipe for imperialist plunder of the economy, the MDC cannot be
said to have gained from the power sharing. Before the formalization of
the power sharing, the two camps have agreed to five-point Global
Political Agreement (GPA) which among others raised the demands for
cutting the power of Mugabe and resolve human rights issues; but the
power sharing has legitimized Mugabe's terror and undemocratic power
usurpation. In the power sharing agreement, Mugabe is still made the
executive president which makes him not a figurehead as is being
postulated by the MDC but a major decision maker in the country. Also,
while the oppositions have majority in the government's cabinet,
decision making is not by simple majority decision but through
consensus which gives Mugabe veto over decision-making in the cabinet
some vital appointments.
Though, some balance has been struck on the issue of security with the
formation of National Security Council comprising the Mugabe and MDC
representatives, the reality is that Mugabe still have the power over
the security and coercive instruments – the police and the army. It
will be recalled that one of the major issues that had delayed the
power sharing is the claim of the opposition to the control of the
police, but through the back door, the opposition controlled by Morgan
Tsvangirai has been made a junior partner in the security arrangement.
Furthermore, while the MDC condemned the land redistribution of
Mugabe, that claimed to give land to the black Zimbabweans but actually
favoured some thousands rich pro-ZANU-PF supporters, the opposition
party actually agreed in the GPA that the land redistribution' is not
reversible. This is a rebuttal of the MDC's claim of defending poor
peasants.
It can however be argued that since Mugabe was forced to agree to power
sharing in the first instance, this in itself shows that Mugabe has
been curtailed. This will be a superficial analysis. In the first
instance, Mugabe and the ZANU-PF ruling clique (and its military
backbone) desperately need the power sharing – or a faade of it – that
will neutralize the growing opposition at home. It will be recalled
that teachers, medical workers and civil servants are currently on
strike in defence of their living standards. In the country, which last
released inflation rate is more than 231 million percent, there is
acute food scarcity while the currency has collapsed; the workers'
salaries could hardly take them to work talk much less of helping
ensure survival. This has made workers to demand being paid in foreign
currency especially US dollar and South African rand – a demand that
Mugabe has not met. Mugabe knows that these industrial struggles will
develop into political struggles which can unseat him in a political
uprising, and which can give the opposition to lay claim to the
movement and take power.
Furthermore, the economic crisis that had seen tens of thousands
fleeing the country coupled with growing health concerns especially the
outbreak of Cholera that had killed hundreds, can put pressures on
pro-capitalist, pro-imperialism African rulers (many of whom get to and
sustain themselves in power through brazen despotism or fraudulent
electoral means) to isolate Mugabe. It is the summation of these points
that have made the power sharing a lifeline for Mugabe rather than a
curtailment. With the limited inclusion of MDC factions, Mugabe may
hope to get economic and humanitarian supports from the international
community and reduce tension. It may also afford Mugabe to neutralize
political opposition. The power sharing rather than emboldening and
building MDC's strength, will give the Mugabe's government and its
ZANU-PF ruling clique, the opportunity to neutralize the opposition and
ensure the continued existence in power of ZANU-PF ruling caste and its
military backbone. This is the same way that Mugabe neutralized its
former political adversary – ZAPU – when the latter joined force with
Mugabe in a political alliance that led to the neutralization of ZAPU.
With MDC commitment to neo-liberal capitalist policies of
privatization, commercialization, retrenchment, etc, the MDC will be at
some period isolated and lose its mass base. This is what Mugabe is
looking and waiting for.
Imperialism's hypocrisy is clearly manifested in the current issue of
Zimbabwe. It is funny that the same imperialism especially Gordon
Brown's Britain and other European ruling class that condemned Mugabe
and called for his removal for human rights violations and in fact
placed embargos on Zimbabwe, which compounded the suffering of the
Zimbabwean poor, is committed to the agreement and the power sharing
process. In fact, US and European imperialisms condemned South Africa
and SADC for the so-called quiet diplomacy over Zimbabwe, but the same
ruling classes were quick to accept the power sharing agreement. This
clearly shows the nature of the so-called international community – it
is a structure for the continuation of capitalist profit-system – where
the interests of the common people come last, if at all. The Zimbabwe
crisis also reflects the rottenness of African ruling classes. While
many of African rulers claimed to be committed to quiet diplomacy,
none of them could even clearly condemn Zimbabwe neither did they
condemn western capitalist imperialisms' role in the suffering of poor
Zimbabweans. Even those who condemned Mugabe either did so on behalf of
imperialism (like Botwana's president) or are themselves not different
from Mugabe (like Angola's Dos Santos). In fact, African rulers through
SADC actually helped Mugabe to stabilize, because the fear of a latent
uprising in Zimbabwe that can inspire other African poor, is the
beginning of wisdom for these corrupt, pro-imperialist rulers. This
explains why most of African ruling classes are conduit pipes for
imperialist plunder of the Africa, which despite having huge human and
material wealth, constitute one of the world's most poor.
The MDC's involvement in the Mugabe's government is a reflection of the
fact that the poor people need an independent working class political
alternative with a socialist orientation. Tsvangirai's excuse that
there is need for stability is unfounded and fraudulent. The same
Tsvangirai fought for almost one year in order to secure most viable
positions, especially finance ministry, in the cabinet. In actual fact,
MDC and Tsvangirai's interests, aside the crass struggle for power and
official perks, only wants to satisfy the interests of imperialism.
This explains why it was ready to accept participation in the
government immediately some juicy' positions like finance minister,
which could allow it to implement the neo-liberal capitalist policies,
that will again put the agricultural and natural resources of the
country to multinational vampires and their local collaborators.
According to the spokesperson of MDC (sic – Editor) and Deputy Information minister,
Bright Matonga We will respect property rights; we will respect the
issue of declaration and repatriation of dividends,…So really we are
inviting people in manufacturing, in tourism, in farming, in mining.
This is another euphemism for privatization, commercialization,
liberalization, etc which are being implemented by various African
leaders but have led to more suffering and political instability.
Tsvangirai himself was quoted in a post-swearing in rally to have
committed himself to neo-liberalism. Though he promised to start paying
workers US dollar salaries and called on them to resume, this is just a
stop gap measure and has nothing to do with the real living standard of
the poor. In the first instance, what caused the demand for dollar
salary is the collapse of the economy engendered in the first instance
by Mugabe's implementation of WTO/World Bank-inspired neo-liberal
policies – the same policies which Tsvangirai and both factions of MDC
have committed himself to. Tsvangirai also promised to seek for
humanitarian support from multilateral agencies to resolve the health
and food problems. While some minimal support may come the way of
Zimbabwe in this direction, the reality is that adequate resolution of
the health and food crises can only be resolved when the agricultural
and natural resources of the country is put into public ownership and
used for the interests of the poor people.
The Zimbabwe's crisis has further exposed the limitation of the
so-called progressive or leftist intellectuals in Africa, many of whom
either support imperialism and MDC in the name of fighting for
democracy or blindly support Mugabe's despotic rule under the guise of
fighting imperialism, without giving a working class political
alternative that will defeat imperialism and despotism – which will
come together at some critical point when their interests merge, as
currently witnessed. All this point to one thing – the working people
need their own mass party that will be democratically built from the
grassroot to the national level. Such a party will link the immediate
demands of the people – vis–vis end to despotism and poverty with the
ultimate need for a system change. This will mean a struggle for
genuine land distribution for the millions of poor peasants, massive
public works programmes that will provide jobs for millions of youth
and unemployed, nationalization of the commanding height of the economy
under the democratic control of the working poor themselves coupled
with agro-inspired industrialization that will develop the country on
an environmentally friendly and sustainable bases.
While the central trade union, ZTUC vaguely condemned MDC collaboration
with Mugabe, it has also tacitly given a nod to the power-sharing in a
defeatist manner without building a working class alternative. This
placed enormous tasks before the Zimbabwean working class activists to
start to build a mass working poor political alternative. Of course,
there may be some illusions in the power sharing for now, but political
development will further shows to the mass of people, the frauds of
Mugabe's anti-imperialist propaganda and MDC fake commitment to
people's welfare. The coming period will provide the working mass of
people of Zimbabwe and indeed Africa (where neo-liberal capitalist has
held sway) with the necessary lessons needed to build a political
alternative for socialist-oriented revolution.
*Kola Ibrahim contributed this to Economic Confidential from Obafemi
Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Nigeria, 08059399178,
kmarx4live@yahoo.com
Daily Triumph
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