Dear Friends. Providing one has an open mind, seeing how thing are done in another country can be a positive learning experience and something that will ultimately benefit Zimbabwe when or if the exiles return to the motherland.
Watching the electoral process in the UK over the last few weeks has certainly made me think about the nature of democracy and how it works. The one factor that was very clear was the huge influence of the media. From the television debates to the daily discussion programmes on radio, to the print and electronic media, it was very clear that the media was a crucial part of the democratic process, allowing people from all walks of life to participate in discussion of the issues involved. By the time UK voters went to the polls on Thursday they were reasonably well-informed about the issues thanks to a relatively free press and broadcast media. Each of the political parties had been given the opportunity to air their views and it was then up to the electorate to choose which party they supported and where they would place their crosses on the ballot papers. (How different it is in Zimbabwe where a state-controlled media ensures that only one point of view is heard and where only this week Robert Mugabe re-appoints Tafataona Mahosa as CEO of the Media Commission!).
While the UK was gripped by election fever, something was happening in Greece which was profoundly worrying for democracy. Literally thousands of Greeks took to the streets of the capital to demonstrate their anger at the Greek governments decision to cut jobs and wages and increase taxes. All this was the condition the Greek government had to agree to in return for a massive loan from the EU to rescue the bankrupt country. People on the streets vented their anger at the politicians demanding to know why they, the people, should pay for the corruption and misgovernance of their rulers which had been going on for over thirty years. The people blame the politicians, not only in Greece but all over the world. We voted for you the people say, but you have failed us. Nothing illustrates better the truth that democracy does not end at the ballot box. Voting is merely the start of the democratic process. Democracy requires that the electorate remains constantly vigilant that the politicians they vote for behave properly. If politicians are corrupt and dishonest then the people need to let them know in no uncertain terms that their behaviour is being closely monitored by the electorate and civil society. In a true democracy, the will of the people remains paramount.
Sadly, as we see in Zimbabwe, democracy cannot flourish where a political party is led by a dictator who refuses to relinquish power – despite losing an election. In this regard, the comments this week of Stan Mudenge, the Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education, are very revealing. Zanu PF he said, is still in and will remain in control of the countrys affairs. The set(ting) up of the inclusive government does not mean we surrendered power to the MDC. T. The inclusive government was just administrative and he added that his party would never hand real power to the MDC. Mudenge was clearly echoing his masters voice but he would do well to remember that, as in Europe, it is the economy and the hardships of ordinary people that will light the fire of public anger in the end. This week the CCZ calculates that a family of six needs $492.34 merely to provide their basic food needs. Add to that the $344 for rent, water electricity health and education and you have a total which is way out of the average wage earners reach. As for the 90% unemployed, God only knows how they survive. While in this year of 2010, children of the poor are still being turned away from school for non-payment of fees, Zimbabweans well remember that it was Robert Mugabe, a teacher himself, who promised free education for all. That was before he and all his faithful party parasites had grown rich at the countrys expense and forgotten if they ever knew – that they rule, not through the barrel of a gun but through the democratic mandate of the people.
For Zimbabweans in exile all over the world in countries with very different cultures and beliefs, it is sometimes hard to hold onto hope that our country will ever become a democracy. It is indeed a long road to freedom and for the present, Morgan Tsvangirai is our only hope. Every struggle has its iconic face, commented an MDC official this week, for South Africa it was Nelson Mandela and for Zimbabwe it is Morgan Tsvangirai. He is the face of the struggle against Zanu PF. Its hard to believe that a face alone is enough to deliver democracy to Zimbabwe but if it is the face, mind and spirit of a genuine democrat, a genuine man of the people who has the whole-hearted support of ordinary Zimbabweans, then perhaps our hope is not misplaced.
Yours in the (continuing) struggle PH. aka Pauline Henson author of Case Closed published by Mambo Press in Zimbabwe, Going Home and Countdown, political detective stories set in Zimbabwe and available on Lulu.com
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