Sir Nigel's Journey…

There has been so much talk by some Zim politicians regarding the reversal of the current land reform programme. I have always wondered just how that would work in practice – I hope they don’t think it’s as simple as ‘kicking the ‘blacks’ off the land again’? Surely not.

Your alternative suggestions are most welcome below…

As I sit here watching Channel 406 – Talk to Al Jazeera, the French President Nicolas Sarkozy is proposing that they hold 3 live debates before the next round of voting takes place later in May. I look to our own much anticipated Zimbabwean elections. I wonder if we will ever be as brave as this. 3 live television debates with all the candidates? How I wish for this reality!

I can’t be the only one who longs for an open discussion amongst the various presidential candidates. It would be interesting to finally hear what they all stand for on various national and foreign issues.

Till then…

Aluta continua

Given this last week’s continued rumours of ill health, I find myself more curious about our President than before. What is he really like behind the suits and the infamous Zim 1 number plate? Like most people I’ll continue to watch things unfold from where I’m standing. The truth eventually surfaces at some point. It always does whether we chose to accept it is another conversation altogether.

Irrespective of our feelings regarding RGM, two things are certain: -

• Newspapers worldwide will have to find someone else to focus on.
• When his day eventually comes, he will be missed.

The leadership battle within the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) has been widely documented and discussed over the last few years. What I find fascinating about this entire discussion is the general focus surrounding many of these articles. Perhaps it’s just me, but most seem to revolve around the potential candidates and their various chances depending on events that week. Too often we read about the seemingly never ending politicking and apparent jostling that takes place behind the scenes. I often wonder what His Excellency RGM makes of all this fuss.

You see, I think people seem to forget or ignore that replacing him isn’t as simple as replacing Yahoo’s CEO; and they’ve been plenty of those Yahoo CEOs in the last few years. People must be reminded and I will reiterate this now. RGM has now become an ideology – yes that’s right an ideology! To replace him without proper consultation requires careful and a calculated strategy that ensures that those involved won’t feel the wrath of the Zanu-PF (ZPF) machinery. Those who have felt it will testify, probably not publicly at first. These Zanu people aren’t stupid! To illustrate my point let me use one classic example. I don’t blame or accredit RGM alone for the infamous ‘land distribution programme’ by the way, but look at the effect it has had on other countries, particularly in other developing countries. We all seem to completely ignore the facts and take the easy route and blame RGM for the entire situation. Yet history books will show otherwise. What began as a social issue with the war veterans has now become a political statement. I am looking forward to a time when we are furnished with a plethora of books that clearly detail what actually happened during that difficult period. The truth surfaces eventually. Look at other countries like Brazil and Kenya who also started asking about their land and who actually owns it. This is part of the ideology I’m referring to. When I speak to other Africans and I have spoken to people from Cameroon and Guinea who openly admit that they support RGM in general but more importantly his stance on this land issue. So you see it won’t be as easy as we might think to replace ‘the old man’. Will Zanu find someone with this kind of effect? A few months ago I met a Brazilian and a Kenyan at some event I attended. I asked them about the land issue in their respective countries and their own opinions of RGM. Both of them admitted that RGM has had an effect on some people’s consciousness in their respective countries – some have already started asking who owns the land anyway. The RGM ideology is infectious it seems.

Here is an individual who continues to defy the sceptics. How many times has he supposedly died? RGM must find this extremely amusing. I know I would. However rumours of ill health continue to plague him but like most people I continue to wait to see how things unfold. As I mentioned earlier, the truth always turns up eventually. I often wonder how he really feels about the succession battle. I’m sure he’s already identified a suitable candidate. I’m also sure he hasn’t expressed his thoughts as openly as we would all like him to lest this creates even more divisions within the party. I recall in 2004/2005 hearing rumours of RGM endorsing Joyce Mujuru as his successor. I even heard rumours of a shift in strategy at the British Embassy in Harare and their willingness to soften their stance on Zimbabwe if Mujuru replaced RGM. Then again, these could have just been that – rumours.

One of main issues with this leadership battle is the constant fascination with the post Mugabe era. I’m sure we all wonder what a Zimbabwe without RGM would look like. Let us for a few minutes focus on the current status quo, So RGM has ruled Zimbabwe for over 30 years now. Ever wonder how and more importantly why? You see, my issue with some individuals when this touchy subject comes up is the apparent lack of objectivity. The discussions are often polluted with too many emotions for my liking. I am not being abrasive or insensitive but I want to focus on the facts for a few minutes.

The facts are, there were 2 main parties (headed by Joshua Nkomo and RGM) who both fought for the liberation of Zimbabwe. In fact Joshua Nkomo could have sealed the deal in 1977 with Kaunda’s help and perhaps things would have been different right now. One of these leaders eventually won the first Zimbabwean election and has ruled Zimbabwe ever since. This article is not intended to teach the history but to merely address a few points to an already pertinent issue. A coalition government, (yes that’s right) was installed upon the 1980 election with many unique and interesting faces. Parliament even had 30 seats reserved for whites only. Gukurahundi took place in the early 1980s lest we forget. However we are yet to resolve this particular thorny issue – and this we must if we are to move forward as a nation. Zimbabwe seemed to prosper both socially and economically. An economic meltdown ensued in the late 1990s. The reasons for the economic demise are always being debated. However RGM remained in charge throughout all this and even after the much debated 2008 elections. That tells me something about the situation and even more about the man himself. He’s not fool and I believe there stands a political genius.

People often want or perhaps prefer to completely separate Zimbabwe today with a pre-Independent Zimbabwe. Let us never forget how difficult it is to replace a revolutionary party like ZANU-PF. Ask the DA or COPE in South Africa. I’m sure they both have some interesting stories to share. People often forget how historically connected the army, the air force and ZANU are. We often brush aside the work being done by the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) and more importantly who their direct boss is. Perhaps we don’t fully appreciate our history and I’m referring to pre-1900s or thereabouts. We should perhaps look at the relationship between the tribes (both the Shona and Ndebele) and the white settlers. As I continue to study our rich history, I am starting to understand why relations between the Shona and the Ndebele are the way they are right now.

I believe our history has a massive effect on the current political landscape. There are those amongst us who had hoped that with the economic demise in the last 10 to 12 years would force the Zimbabwean to revolt in the Tunisian style and push RGM out of office. No! What some of us didn’t quite appreciate about the majority of the population in Zimbabwe is that revolting similar to both Tunisia and Egypt just wouldn’t work. Personally I just can’t see it happening for a number of reasons. Not that I think we are too passive (and perhaps we are) but instead we would rather find a way of ‘making a plan’ with every difficult situation thrown at us. It was once suggested to me that were the Ndebele tribe the majority in Zimbabwe, then we might be looking at a totally different situation. Who knows?

I recall reading a tweet from @GarethCliff a few months ago, which read:
Are Zimbabweans cowardly or so traumatised by Mugabe that revolution there is impossible? I mean this with respect
Without wasting time I responded with this:

Interesting tweet re Zim & revolution but I kindly urge you to visit the history of Zimbabwe B4 tweeting i.e. holistic approach

Essentially what I was attempting to point out to Gareth was for him to look at our Zimbabwean history before tweeting like that. I should have taken this conversation further than I did that day and perhaps this is my opportunity. There are still some issues which can explain why the old man still stands and I hope that I have addressed some of those issues. We could start with the opposition for example. I grew up reciting ‘united we stand, divided we fall’. Without going into the reasons and the multitude of theories but, the MDC split for some reason. How can they mount a proper challenge whilst they are divided like this I often wonder? We mustn’t ignore how effective the ZPF machinery is and naturally how difficult it is to remove a revolutionary party. Morgan Tsvangirai (MT) has offered ‘change’ to as an alternative. There are people who want that ‘change’ to be quantified. There are also people who question Tsvangirai’s strategies and whether they are in fact his own. All these things have some bearing on this leadership battle I believe. We also have to remember (just in case we forgot) that RGM has supporters who support and agree with him (that ideology angle again) and not necessary his ministerial team. There are many moderate voters who would still vote for RGM assuming age wasn’t an issue for example. I can’t give you numbers but I know these kinds of people exist. This is part of the history I was referring to and there’s more to it than this.

I believe that the battle for Zimbabwe continues. Those who are working hard within ZPF to take over will indeed find their own set of challenges. With the death of Retired General Mujuru and the effects of the wikileaks episode, it seems that the leadership battle is further for reaching a conclusion. Whilst those who battle continue to do so, I would suggest that we also pay closer attention to other contenders like Oppah Muchinguri – Zanu-PF Women’s League boss, Sydney Sekeramayi – Minister of State Security and the young turks like Savior Kasukuwere – Minister of Youth Development, Indigenisation and Empowerment and Walter Mzembi – Minister of Tourism & Hospitality. I don’t believe we have seen the last scene of jockeying in this seemingly never ending battle.

I have come to realise that the people with some of if not the majority of Zimbabwe’s solutions are the ones who suffer the most typically from the lack of real action by those decision makers hiding behind big offices & expensive suits.Zimbabwe’s 85% is not stupid despite their noticeable silence on the matters that affect their own lives.

NB: – The 85% I’m referring to represents the ‘lower’ or ‘working’ class citizens.

I have spoken to many people about the Indigenisation & Economic Empowerment laws in Zimbabwe. I am still trying to fully grasp what all this actually means to me as a Zimbabwean. How does it assist the people I know (or more importantly those people I don’t) who could actually benefit from the various programmes the government have either put in place or intends to put in place?

Nevertheless, I have come to the conclusion that BEFORE we speak about Indigenisation in Zimbabwe, we should perhaps read or at least preview the documents attached below. We might actually be surprised…

Indigenisation Regulations

http://www.box.com/embed/xxehd3p9vb0gggq.swf

Here is the Seeff 1st Quarter Real Estate Report: - First_Quarter_Property_Report[1]

If you’re like me, you’ve been watching the news every day and the situation in Syria gets worse and worse it seems. Incidentally I also remember the first time I watched the movie Hotel Rwanda. I kept wondering where the world was when all those atrocities were taking place. Did we just simply ignore Rwanda? We couldn’t have done that could we? Today, I came home and finally understood where the world was back then when Rwanda was on fire. Simply put, the rest of the world continued living, the reporters travelled and reported on their version of reality and yet the world at large stood by and ignored the situation. How misguided is our moral compass when we can still continue existing in our own lives? It seems we have chosen to simply ignore what’s happening in Syria while we wait for some UN resolution or some referendum the Syrian government promised the same people they’re killing today.  Men, women and children continue to die in daily conflict in cities like Homs? What is wrong with us I ask? I am not a politician but it seems to me that we spend more time and effort attempting to stop Iran from developing their nuclear programme than handling real conflicts in places like Syria. I have slowly come to the conclusion that our moral compass must indeed be off the charts and we simply don’t care anymore; either that or we never really did.

I could be wrong…

I firmly believe Zimbabweans have every right to know how the diamonds are adding value to their own lives. Here’s a Global Witness report dated February 2012 entitled Diamonds A good deal for Zimbabwe? What are your thoughts?

Brendah Nyakudya was the first to ‘inform me’ of the Virgin Active Gym race issue issue. I say ‘inform me’ but she was merely tweeting about this incident and I was listening/reading as I was preparing to leave work after yet another one of those hectic Mondays. You don’t want to know about my Monday by the way. I could tell my friendo i.e. Brendah was err how shall I put it – extremely ticked off and I’m being diplomatic here? I stayed at work a little longer and continued to read up on the issue using various other social media channels. In short I was reminded once again that racism is alive and well. However most of us know this already or have either experienced racism in some form or shape.

Not to belittle this sensitive and extremely important incident but….I have a fundamental issue with this recent incident. You see my problem revolves around how we seem to be drawn to some forms of racism versus others. To clarify myself here; it always seems easier to discuss racism when it’s white on black as opposed to the other way round. Some argue that blacks know more about racism than whites. Is this necessarily true? However, racism like most things in life continues to evolve. I firmly believe that we should tackle racism in general. Let us approach it from a holistic stand point and do what we can to address this destructive element.

I recall when I was living in Sydney many years ago now. I had just finished work and was heading home. I worked in an affluent part of Sydney. I jumped onto the bus as usual and sat down at the front for a change. Opposite where I chose to sit was a middle-aged white lady who immediately stared at me and proceeded to clutch her handbag. Everyone around me noticed this and there was an air of discomfort. What would the black man do next? I was extremely hurt to be honest. Here I was making an honest living and I was riding the bus from work with this lady, who figured I was going to rob or mug her right there in this bus full of other passengers headed on their way. I proceeded to inform this lady that I wasn’t planning on mugging her that day. I think my exact words were ‘I don’t usually mug white ladies on Tuesdays; I usually mug them on Fridays when I’m looking for that weekend cash flow’. She was extremely embarrassed and most of the people around me laughed at my little joke. I think I made my point that day.

Anyway I digress.

What I was attempting to illustrate with this scribe is our collective need for racial tolerance in general. I would like us to acknowledge and address racism even when it’s black on Indian, black on white, white on mixed race et al. In other words, let us not just react as we have with this Virgin Active Gym race issue just because some white gentleman referred to a black lady as ‘bloody k*****’. Let us simply address racism in general. Let us be mindful of government policies that encourage resentment and help perpetuate this seemingly never ending race issue. Let us always be mindful of those around us from different backgrounds, different socio-economic groups and so forth. Let us also make a big deal about racism when blacks are the perpetrators. Racism is still an ugly act irrespective of who is committing the crime. As this incident has clearly illustrated, we still have a long way to go in the fight against this form of segregation.

Aluta continua….