THE political history of Zimbabwe is not very long as compared to other nations on the continent and even beyond. However, the southern African nation has led its older compatriots in several ways, especially in changing the way the country is run, expressly for the benefit of those already in power.
It has become effectively the Zanu PF way of doing things. While many in opposition politics, including ourselves, may voice concern, it often falls on deaf ears. Noone among those in power moves a limb in either acknowledgement of the concern, let alone addressing it. Instead, proponents of different ideas are quickly condemned publicly and named unpatriotic enemies of the state on a regime-change agenda.
They are viewed as appendages of their former colonisers. That is only if they are lucky to survive. Many had their homes burnt down and were forced to leave the country.
At the end of Zanu PF’s first decade in power following Independence from Britain in 1980, the ruling party decided to change the constitution drafted at Lancaster at the end of the war of liberation.
Essentially, Zimbabwe had a ceremonial president, who was the Head of State and Prime Minister who was the Head of Government.
Desirous of creating an all-powerful leader, the ruling party proposed and passed Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment No.7 (Act 23 of 1987), which merged the roles of Head of State and that of Head of Government, doing away with the post of prime minister.
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The first beneficiary of the change was the late former president Robert Mugabe, who assumed the role on December 31, 1987.
The Zanu PF legal machinery, then led by the late Eddison Zvobgo, were sadly incapable of realising that it was concentrating power in the hands of the president. The beast they had created through the executive presidency would come back to haunt them.
The Zanu PF leader was the state president who wielded so much power that he could summarily dismiss anyone at will for having different views. Zvobgo himself was to taste the wrath of the monster they had created. That is when it became clear that the beast was no longer touchable and could not be opposed. Therein lay the major weaknesses of the system they had created.
However, with ultimate goal of creating a one-party state still intact in the Zanu PF ideological handbook, the apparent weaknesses were overshadowed by power retention.
Fast forward another 10 years and the workhorses were at it again. The emergence of the labour-backed Movement for Democratic Change in 1999, then led by the charismatic Morgan Tscangirai, pushed Zanu PF into yet another tinkering with the constitution.
The campaign was led by the exiled Jonathan Moyo, a professor of political science, who until then was a rabid critic of Zanu PF and the government, along with fellow academics at the University of Zimbabwe, Masipula Sithole and John Makumbe (both late). The 2000 project failed dismally in the subsequent referendum. The opposition campaigned for the “No”vote real import of which they were to rue later.
Over the years, Zanu PF had been rewarding mediocrity — and handsomely too — by recycling failed ministers, giving them different portfolios. The same happened with failed heads of parastatals who found themselves at the helm of other state-owned enterprises (SOEs) as long as they continued to sing from the same hymn book with power.
Meanwhile, corruption and embezzlement of funds at SOEs continued ultimately reflecting in the collapse of entities such as Ziscosteel, among other entities that went under as a result of corruption and mismanagement and yet those who superintended over the collapse went scot-free.
At its peak, Ziscosteel was the pride of the country and region, producing all steel requirements. Today, it is an industrial graveyard, a visible testimony of how destructive mismanagement can be.
Tampering with the supreme law has continued and the current Constitutional Amendment No. 3 Bill, which has been christened CAB3 by the proponents of Agenda 2030 has reached public consultation stage.
As expected, Zanu PF will have its way, as always, in pushing through an amendment they well know is meant to benefit incumbent office holders.
However, the truth must be told. By passing CAB3, we are effectively eating into Zimbabwe’s future, not benefitting it. We will be judged harshly by future generations. It is not surprising if, sooner or later, we shall begin hearing other scary terms such as life presidency.
The obtaining corruption has made some individuals obscenely rich while worsening the growing inequalities in the resource-rich country.
In the midst of economic collapse, currency woes, entrenched poverty, poor service delivery by municipalities among other woes, the gap between the haves and have nots is growing by the day and those in power and the other privileged ones are already at work, tinkering with the supreme law of the land.
They do not want to let go and yet the track behind is full of scars — evidence of collective poverty and human suffering. Let us hope that the public consultations CAB3 has gone through beginning on Monday will ultimately produce something Zimbabweans will be proud of, something that will lead to the eradication of poverty and in the process, inequalities.
We are also hopeful that the plunder of the country’s resources will end, that corruption will be dealt with effectively this time around. We would want to see our towns and cities regaining all the glamour they had lost and that service delivery will be prioritised by those mandated with running municipalities.
Aftwer passing CAB3, we wish to see urban councils restore tidy environs, free of the current sewer scourge, passable urban road networks as well as highways. Potable water must be availed to all without exception while garbage must be collected regularly.