Wananchi ,a very heavy day indeed but these are the spaces where fate put us involuntarily. Almost a month after the election it is evident that the country is on auto cruise to self destruction . It floats on its own saved only by the grace of the almighty. There are no pilots in the cockpit ,and an accident is as enviable as it is foreseeable . What dominates the discourse are tons of undiluted gossips ,rumors and destructive conspiracies. That is always what happens when their is leadership abdication in a country . The thing is beyond stealing the election Zanu had no clear plan on how to move the country foward.Absolutely none . As stated in these columns before its election manifesto was so zany and not practical . ( Although the huge billboards with President Tsvangirayi ,Chamisa and this Wanachi poring over their manifesto is good humor) The tragedy therefore is that a party went to a highly contested election without a concrete agenda for action.It was just about retaining power at any cost and surely this could never have been sustainable. As indicated before a new government plan is being cobbled up now that is intended to replace the very balanced Mid Term Plan crafted by the erstwhile Government . .But surely that can not be the correct way of doing things. Given that for virtually the whole year the country has been on election freeze ,with all and sundry waiting for the election outcome ,it is obvious that from an economic point of view that this year has been a totally waste. A year which will be remembered for the huge mountain of expectation that was so cruelly debased. A year which the rules of the game,and the rules of engagement were so fundamentally and irreversibly altered. The year which a group of men and women showed beyond any reasonable doubt that they would do everything ,legally and extra legally to reproduce themselves . The year in which it was shown that power was more important than anything else. The experience of this year shows beyond doubt again the importance of leadership and how it shapes an entire country s destiny irredeemably. Years back in the late nighties I had the privilege of defending Reverend Ndabaningi Sithole in a treason trial that was as dubious and as contrived as all the latter treason trials that we have seen in the last decade. Visiting the reverend at his house in Waterfalls,I always used to wonder what would have happened if he had been allowed to remain the leader of Zanu. I have also regularly asked the same question about the great Hebert Wiltshire Chitepo . The point being made is that once more we are at the hands of this vice grip of a tired and exhausted Zanu vortex that clearly has no idea of the extent of the humongous challenges facing this country. It escaped many that pursuant to the inauguration of a new president on 22 August ,the new constitution became fully operative on this date. That constitution was clearly designed to go ,with and usher in a new order in Zimbabwe In its preamble it speaks to the values of establishing a new society founded on the desire for freedom,justice ,equality,and the need to entrench democracy good transparency and accountable governance ,and upholding fundamental human rights. It also speaks to the commitment to build a just and prosperous nation founded on the values of transparency equality freedom fairness honesty and the dignity of hard work. These are values so inimical too, so tangential too the Revolutionary Party s operations and ideologue. The whole document in fact generally reflects values and ground norms so fundamentally unZanu . Just revisit the duties of the President in Part 2 of Chapter 5 .They are defined inter alia as follows: " 90(1) The President must uphold ,defend obey and respect the Constitution as the supreme law of the nation and must ensure that the constitution and all other laws are faithfully observed (2) the President must - (a) promote unity and peace in the nation.... ( b)recognize and respect the ideals and values of the liberation struggle (c)ensure protection of the fundamental human rights and freedoms and. the rule of law, and (d)respect the diversity of the people of Zimbabwe and communities of communities of Zimbabwe " Even before the ink was dry in the new Constitution the same is already being breached left right and center. Herein lies a major constitutional position bred by the the rigged election . You now have the dilemma of executors of the constitution who themselves are fundamentally anti constitutionalism. A change document being managed by the incorrigible . Those who believe legitimacy comes from the gun and not the people. That believe that laws and constitutions are mere irritants to be allowed or applied according to political exigencies . Any country ,institution or organization that does not uphold its own laws has no legitimacy and is not sustainable.. Most regimes that do not uphold their laws are rogue states that in the majority of cases vampirised. So these are extremely challenging times in which the danger of everything we know and have always known would be upturned and thoroughly panel beaten are high. The good news is that the constitution itself is capable of robustly protecting itself provided the Con Court which is tasked with an oversight function on its execution plays its role in ensuring that same becomes a flexible live document . Not one captured by sterility and legal formalism. Going foward ,the fight to create Zimbabwe we need will go on. The struggle to have peace justice and the rule of law of law have no,alternative. Wananchi must push and push for the return of our country to decency and legitimate governance in peaceful and constitutional methods. These are tough times but we are tougher. So stay blessed ,keep strong and God bless you. Zikomo.
Posted on: Tue, 27 Aug 2013 23:15:09 +0000
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