THE inception of the inclusive government in February 2009 brought in a new political culture that needs to be urgently reviewed and discarded. It brought in a tripartite ruling alliance that has become impervious to dissenting views. It only listens to the parties that signed the Global Political Agreement (GPA).
Editorial Comment
A cursory look at how the principals of the GPA resolved the sticking issues of the constitution-making process mirrors how the three ruling parties have hijacked a people’s process to suit their political agendas. The draft constitution is no longer a product of the masses, the views and aspirations of the people, but a product of compromise between Zanu PF and the two MDC formations.
Evidence is abundant that when President Robert Mugabe, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, his deputy Arthur Mutambara and Industry minister Welshman Ncube met last week to deliberate on the contentious issues of the draft constitution, they never took into consideration the views of the people as expressed during the outreach programme and the Second All-Stakeholders’ Conference. They only considered their parties’ political aspirations.
Our fears at the beginning of the constitution-making process have been confirmed — our rulers were never concerned with processes, but the end product. It was never meant to be a people-driven constitution-making.
All decisions since the formation of the inclusive government have never been about the people, but about the three ruling parties. The opposition is not considered to be of necessity.
We have several opposition political parties, but their voices are not listened to by the tripartite group in power — a dangerous phenomenon in a country claiming to be a democracy. The situation is made worse by a dying trade unionism. Where the opposition is muted or weak, trade unionism should be a countervailing force. Zanu PF and the two MDC formations have been colluding to kill the opposition and foist themselves as the only political parties in the country.
There is no wonder Zimbabweans woke up yesterday to media reports that three ruling parties had endorsed a code of conduct that would force them to account for their supporters’ political violence before, during and after elections that are due this year.
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Why should the code be confined to Zanu PF and the two MDC formations? Why were the other political parties not consulted and not party to the code of conduct?
The electorate does not belong to Zanu PF and the two MDC formations only. They support other parties and they are equally at risk of political violence and need to be protected. This myopic view by Mugabe, Tsvangirai, Mutambara and Ncube that only their parties should call the shots in the country is dangerous for our politics. The culture must be discarded immediately. The electorate does not belong to Zanu PF and the two MDC formations!
