Washington Consensus vis-à-vis Dictatorship, Proxy Addis Ababa undermines Harare Progressives!!

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By Alois Phiri Mbawara


Two faced struggle in Zimbabwe!

A lot of people wonder why Africa is not responding to the struggle in support of the masses in Zimbabwe.

There are a lot of external, internal political and economic restrictions heftly imposed on the People of Zimbabwe. We must not forget as a result of those restrictions, a good number of children and youth today go hungry, scantily clothed and cannot afford school fees because they and their parents are in restrictions.

These restrictions have disrupted more African homes and more social problems have been created. It is therefore important that the Zimbabwe Youth Charter gives this matter its serious considerations.

Character assassination ploys have been played by the Right-wing in our struggle portraying us as being sympathetic to the Harare establishment sorely because of our radical thinking - our position has been very clear as linking the peasant question with the workers question.

The Youth Charter deliberately recounted to you the various factors which influence the situation in Zimbabwe one way or another. Those who believe that the United Nations (UN) and mainly the Western forces will liberate Zimbabwe are greatly mistaken. Only reformist forces embrace such ideologies.

Political and Economic liberation can only be brought to Zimbabwe by us. No-one can liberate the other. Empowerment or Emancipation won’t be ours unless we liberate ourselves. There is no such thing as being liberated by others, others can only help us to liberate ourselves.

This has been a calculated error, bad judgement in the Art of war in our struggle from Tyranny and Neo-Imperialism, that people are foundered and taught to expect to be liberated, instead of being taught to liberate themselves.

However, we are glad to see that the Youth in drafting the charter have grasped this central point of liberating ourselves.

The Youth believe it is impossible to transport what has been perfected (Capitalism) in one set of historical circumstances mainly in the West and transplant it in an entirely new environment (Sub-Sahara).

This is why we are unwilling to be carbon copies of either Western Capitalism or Neo-Liberal disguised as democracy. We shall pursue our own ideology of Revolutionary Pan-Africanism, Social democracy best suited to the Zimbabwean conditions. (Social justice)Zimism!!

The Youth of today have no alternative other than reigniting the struggle to restore Majority Rule, is the only true solution to the present problem. This solution is supported by the Masses of the inhabitants in our continent (Mama Africa) on condition we maintain and protect Zimbabwe’s sovereignty and weed out those external capitalistic/imperialistic forces and the new class of Black & White Bourgeoisies.

The Youth must direct their attention to the following problems......

- One has to understand fully the situation in Zimbabwe to appreciate the nature of the betrayal of the revolution and how imperialism has manifestoed itself in the political and economic demography. Sometimes we find that people do not understand the true nature of the problem that confronts Zimbabwe, for instance, the youth have been urged by many people to embrace "The Mugabe Must Go" philosophy which is a co-modified definition which does not attack systems.

Surely the Youth will not embrace such a litmus struggle as we clearly stated our enemy as a System not individuals. Some have suggested that the people of Zimbabwe should be reformist, fight confined to the current constitution i.e. participate in elections etc. The Youth can never fight or engage in elections under the present constitution and we will boycott the 2008 elections under the 1980 Lancaster House constitution. We will not go back on our word, our opposition to the present constitution still stands.

There has been a miscast of our claim for betrayal of the Revolution by the leadership of Zanu against the initial aspirations laid by our ancestors of a total transfer of Political and mainly economic power to the hands of the African masses.

It is quite imperative at this juncture that we lay our fundamental principles and aspirations of the real true nature of our struggle, what we are convinced to be the betrayed unfinished Zimbabwean Revolution.

In 1976 Geneva (Switzerland), Mugabe insisted that elections should be held in what is being called Zimbabwe today after the transfer of power to the Revolutionary nationalist forces and that they should be based on Universal and democratic suffrage - this was a principle position the nationalist leadership had based on what the masses were demanding.

In 1979 in London Mugabe abandoned what he said in 1976. He agreed that elections should be held under the supervision of the British imperialists with the Rhodesian Armed Forces remaining intact.

He agreed an electoral franchise guaranteeing the Rhodesian electorate 20 parliamentary seats out of 100 despite the fact that they represented less than 4% of the population. When it came to the constitution, it included a section on freedom from the deprivation of property which guaranteed and protected the settlers against forcible seizure of land for 10 years and also required adequate compensation for all land appropriated.

Well may I quote Nyerere who in 1974, five years before said: "The reality of neo-colonialism quickly becomes obvious to a new African government which tries to act on economic matters in betterment of its own masses, for such a government immediately discovers that it inherited the power to make laws to treat with foreign government and so on, but did not inherit effective power over economic development in its own country. Indeed it often discovers that there is no such thing as national economy at all."

This is an apt description of the situation that the Lancaster House Agreement imposed on the people of what used to be called Southern Rhodesia. That is where the Revolutionary struggle in Zimbabwe was betrayed and stopped unfinished; this is what started what is seen as the Land Question and no principles of social justice.

Our opposition to the Harare establishment surely has and is completely different with some. Ours is truly confined Revolution based on how Zimbabwe under R.G was given back economically to the External forces (Imperialist). Upon the electoral victory of Zanu in 1980 in a national address, Mugabe appealed to the masses: "I urge you whether you are black or white to join me in a new pledge to forget our grave past, to forgive others, and forget, and join hands in a new amity”.

People were being told to forget what they had suffered. For betraying the likes of Cdes Tongogara, Moyo, Nehanda, Mangena, Takawira and many others who all sacrificed there lives fighting settlerism and kicking-out Euro-centric Capitalism, placing economic power in the hands of the African masses.

Showing his fakeless, purely behaving like a Western-oriented regime by embracing the poisonous neo-liberal economic reforms Structural adjustment program (ESAP), imported rather imposed by IMF/World Bank.

Surely Harare was advised infact there was a massive mobilisation late 80s early 90s not only in Zimbabwe but across Africa against SAPs by the Left and Revolutionary Pan-Africanist warning about this liberalization process of African borders.

We saw the turning of a Nationalist movement into Neo-Colonial regime or tyrant. What people where promised in the bush against Settlers was a complete Revolution meaning systematic change or, in other words, turning round completely. Not meaning replacing white bosses with black bosses or white with black privileged classes (bourgeoisie). No, but creating an entirely new order and system in which classes and privileges cease to exist.

- Political power in the hands of a foreign minority being wrested from them and placed in the hands of the indigenous African majority.

-fight against foreigner enjoying economic and financial privileges, clearly stating it will be abrogated and rights of the indigenous people to all natural resources and economic and financial betterment restored to them and kicking out exploitation, degeneration promising real equality, freedom and social justice.

On economy we were promised a free, democratic, and independent and Pan Africanist/Socialist Zimbabwe designed to meet the basic needs of each peasants and worker. Outlining Zimbabwe as endowed with rich natural resources capable of supporting and feeding the masses, means of production and distribution into their hands.

Smashing out the capitalist economic system which was designed to benefit a few settlers and external forces at the expense of the labouring masses.

There was a major promise of applying a concrete condition to put worker and peasant contributions to means of production and distribution beyond any reasonable doubt, a economic policy that provide for the greatest dominance of worker-peasant interests. A self-supporting economy, not an extension or an enclave of the economies of External forces. There was a clear definition of African labour as employed for the benefit of the capitalist investors elsewhere and as alienated, an alienation that destroys the human personality of the worker and which clinch him/her from progress or develop his full capacity.

Let us be clear that it was prophesied a real articulation of the manufaction of Imperialism, mind you neo-colonial interest have always wanted to maintain there dominants in Africa. The systematic form of colonization is the control of neo-colonial regimes and opposition forces what we termed as bourgeoisie's and pseudo-progressives respectively as a way of maintain ownership, management and control of the entire system of production.

Of-course economic goes hand in hand with political control, Under colonialism political control was often direct through the settler representatives or through a white-controlled native administration, under the neo-colonial form control is exercised through a comprador bourgeoisie as long they guarantee the continued dominance of external interest.

While one acknowledges the corrupt mechanism as one of the prime cause to the economic collapse in Harare, the Kangai GMB saga, manipulation of relief aid for political gain, prominent government officials and army officers manipulating the agrarian reform for elite gains, Willowvale scandal, unbudgeted payment to freedom fighters and an unbudgeted elite war in DRC.

In 1991 we saw the bribery strategy being injected in Harare a complete turn around on the principles of Pan-Africanism ideals of a home grown policies that will feed the masses against Rhodesian type of exploitation of the Africans resources in there own land. The introduction of the Structural adjustment program (ESAP), having been fooled by IMF/ World Bank that SAP's were poverty reduction exercises the Reagan and Thatcher's administration prop policy impoverished Zimbabwe as a result of the liberalization and deregulation policies.

It is unfortunate the "Mugabe Must Go" activists of today does not diagnose the effects of SAP's into the life’s of ordinary citizens since late 80's and how they have transformed Savanna into a settler control state using economic means to control the ruling and opposition forces (neo-colonial) as a way to plunder cheap raw materials at the expense of the suffering workers and peasants.

Surely such a real articulation shall guide us of not being victims of the divide and rule principles of Capitalism which creates anarchy in societies to use it to its advantage.

For a Government which had promised and implemented populist policies by investing heavily in health, free education, parastatals, rural development and the productive sectors as a way of putting the needs of the workers and peasants on the top agenda ideals of the liberation struggle of a people centred economy.

The liberal economic reforms pushed by IMF/World Bank saw the slashing of government spending, privatisation and opening up of Zimbabwe's economic borders to exploitative foreign investment, of-coarse it is very difficult for an ordinary Zimbabwean to see with a nicked eye as what were and are the negative impact on an ordinary person of these austerity reforms, and how it has transformed there lives back to the settlers rule of begging for hand-outs.

It is imperative that we break down the effects of the free market programs of the 90's and how they have created class divisions primarily looking at the sell off of government-owned enterprises to external private owners this of-coarse has a draw back of redundancy of workers in the privatised enterprises. (with no proper progressive informal sector) We saw the government distancing it self from the welfare of the masses by cutting its spending, marketing parastatals scrapping off the free social services (education and health services) injecting” user fees" for the use of government -provided services.

Coming to the exploitation of resources vis-a -vis for a country to progress economically there has to be a pure mechanism of promotion of exports but the question is for who's benefit and who is the exporter, well with SAP's we saw its discouragement of land reform programs for domestic needs as small scale farmers and peasants are bought out by multi-national companies (foreign investors) who mostly their interest is profit making (foreign markets). (I remember in Form 1 being told by my tutor “the 1st grade brand tea grown in Zimbabwe is for the Queen”)

As it promote trade liberalisation however it does not balance the export and import barriers as it eliminate tariff protection for industries, scraps off price controls leaving the ordinary (workers and peasants) exposed to a external control markets (systematic colonization) meaning business will determine the prices of the day.

In short SAPs have bankrupted local industries, increased dependency on food imports, gutted social services and fostered a widening gap between rich and poor creating a class of black and white elites who will be in charge of the narrow stratum of the private sector running export production, trade brokering, and portfolio finance on-behalf of the neo-liberal World transnational companies.

It is important that we expose how IMF's economic policies imposed on Harare (1990’s) have brought untold havoc on the economic and social structure of Zimbabwe. This of course with the help of its right-wing partner, Zanu PF elites. The major cut in public expenditure triggered a collapse in public investment and the disintegration of the basic infrastructure which created a major rift between the masses and the right-wing ruling party as it had proved itself to be a fully grown proxy agenda of Neo-colonialism even implementing home grown SAPs, leaving the white settler community's share of the country's land, wealth and income intact fulfilling the infamous Lancaster Agreement.

Nevertheless, one should not forget the acts of the blood sucking fascist tendencies of the Harare establishment, which has since 1980 been an agent of neo-colonialism. Zanu PF has been what we term " a coconut regime" black outside and white inside, serving the Rhodesian Smith agenda. A regime which has inherited Colonial oppressive type of rule by forcibly legitimising repressive and suppressive pieces of legislation to oppress its own masses.We should dismiss Zanu PF's fake quasi-left anti-west outmanoeuvre spin, as an agent of neo-colonial regime which has withdrawn subsidies on Western goods in the domestic market, surely transferring the cost of Western exploitation onto its own masses.

What should challenge the Harare establishment must be in its purest form original and home grown, openly defining the struggle that confronts our motherland not only of tyranny but of also neo-liberal policies, a struggle for an African cause. Of course it is true the struggle has been co-modified - the private sector and business seem to be directing the flow of the movement.

The struggle suffers grassroots understanding using emotions. "The Mugabe must go" activist seem to have drawn parallel lines of the struggle that everything has to be anti-Harare not acknowledging the pre-2000 movement. But let us be reminded comrades who worked tirelessly in the 90's civil society to shape up a more radical movement against the free market, privatization process purely. An anti-Imperialism struggle is not a Zanu PF struggle but it is a masses struggle.

Enter the Land issue. Zanu PF was never committed to a fair Agrarian reform programme given the above facts of a well-behaved western-oriented regime that it agreed to a bourgeois willing buyer willing seller, followed by its austerities which saluted property rights without addressing the land imbalances (giving back land to its rightful owner from the settlers)

As enshrined at the infamous Lancaster House agreement that it did not guarantee a progressive and tangible framework to fund and to implement the empowerment drive. The Land issue remains on the centre of the struggle as it should determine the development plan for the future generation, we strongly believe only a purest form of Revolutionary Pan-Africanism, Socialist movement will undertake a more radical programme that will restore land to its rightful owners landless Black peasants and workers.

Surely Ideological bankruptcy within the opposition forces of today gives the bourgeois Zanu PF regime political leverage that it sorely believes in Black empowerment, when history tells us they were on the centre of suppressing hungry landless peasants in Svosve and Churu who were demanding to have a piece of their land.

Land has always been a driving force for our Independence against Settlers, and that it should be given back to its rightful owners, the ordinary landless black peasants and workers not to elite cronies of the regime. The Westminster Administration do have an obligation to fund the Agrarian reform programme.

The u-turn by the Blair administration 1997 over the Land issue must not be taken lightly and has for long compromised our politics. We strongly believe we can and should never unite with the West and right-wing of the external forces in our struggle for social justice as they are partly to blame with there neo-liberal SAP's.

We remain critical on our position that the sums spent by London remain remarkably low given the benefit the British Empire gleaned from the fertile lands of Rhodesia. Further, Clare Short's bellicose language over Britain's responsibility to its historical culpability and commitment undermines the whole thing - in-fact it is one of the most divisive debates surrounding the struggle in Zimbabwe.

As long as the British runs away from the Implications of the then Chancellor of the Exchequer Kenneth Clarke's promise vis-a-vis Short's back-drop dogging its Obligation over the Agrarian reforms, using the human rights card, surely it shall sound proxy in the World of Neo-colonialism

Only a radical movement shall ensure when redistribution takes place farm workers and landless peasants are the first to benefit. Farm workers are compensated ensuring before any commercial farmer is compensated a retrenchment package must be paid to the long-suffering and hard working African.

Into Addis

Ethiopia today reminds of Zimbabwe 80's in-fact a prime example of neo-colonialism, what is an African problem? Now Mugabe is evil, let us be very careful of who is our friends it is important that we question why the West was so quite when atrocities in Matabeleland were taking place when they knew about it. Is it because interest were protected? or it is because it was black on black.......

It is very important as Young Pan-Africanist that we deliberate a well balanced Afro centric visionary of the African problem, today we all need to question and openly condemn proxy elements of External forces propping up the Melees Zenawi regime. The Washington backed Ethiopian regime has for long been orchestrating genocide and a chronic instability in neighbouring Somalia, Eritrea and highly undermining the civic rights of Ethiopian masses.

With the Bush Administration's blessing the Addis Ababa's regime late last year enforced troops to Somalia to expel the radical Islamic Courts movement which they claimed were linked to al-Qaida, in Ethiopia the Zenawi's regime has caused untold suffering to the ordinary and opposition forces.

These are same establishment claiming Human rights in Harare the butchers of tens of thousands of children and women in Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestine and Somalia......

Now you do the Maths we are a Movement born out of an anti-free market policies, privatisation struggle now uniting with the Multi-national.....

Into Azania

Surely one should not accuse us of eroding the gains of the anti-Apartheid questioning why Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) is claimed to be the World's 10th biggest seen booming profit taking as good, but with only 5% of the JSE in the hands of the ordinary Black Azanians (South Africans).Half of the black population still living below US$1 a day….

The position of International Capitalism remains what it has always been, which is to safeguard its interest in making the most profits. That is why External Governments forced the settlers’ regimes of Southern Africa to the negotiating table; continued intransigence posed a greater risk of genuine revolution. Steve Biko must be turning in his grave, the Left in Johannesburg must unite and deliver us from evil……..

We are not opening up old wounds but just reminding you that Thatcher once called Mandela a terrorist...

The bottom line is the Zimbabwean Youth of today have a challenge and responsibility of drawing an ideological understanding of the current question in its full political economic context as a crisis of an authoritarian poisonous neo-liberal reforms, rather than a simple mis-governance crisis by the Harare Establishment.

Without such understanding our struggle is in danger of co-option, colonization and neutralization by local and international hostile Capitalist forces, such a struggle will guarantee an organic people-driven democratic constitution that not only guarantees free and fair elections but also guarantees a masses centered economy. Our socio-politico-economic programme should determine our development and reconstruction plan, driven by an organic movement.

Surely such a movement will not sleep in the same bed with the George" Guantanamo Bay " Bush and John Howard of this World.

Remember its a class issue not a race issue!!

“It is only the purest form of Revolutionary Pan-Africanism/Social democracy movement that will restore social justice and economic power in the hands of the African masses in Zimbabwe”

Josiah Tongogara /Joshua Nkomo / Ndabaningi Sithole

I Comradely Thank You!!

Alois Tawanda Mbawara

Free-Zim Youth Movement

freezim6@yahoo.co.uk