THERE is a repulsive truism in the West’s barometer of what they call ‘good’ leadership which is underpinned in the abuse of the word democracy.
According to this barometer, democracy comes first before development while purported democratic nations are said to be ‘progressive’.
Zimbabwe has since April 18 1980 never been ranked among those countries that fit into the bill of so-called Western democratic tendencies.
These approval ratings have been at the bidding of the West which constantly condemns the people of Zimbabwe for being ‘undemocratic’ due to refusal by the leadership to tow the Western line.
Since independence, Zimbabwe has been covertly and overtly hammered by the West for refusing to tow the line.
Yet there is nothing unusual about these feverish attacks on Zimbabwe because in the eyes of the West, post-colonial states must remain at the mercy of their erstwhile colonisers.
The resentment of Zimbabwe is manifest through the attempt by the West to negate people’s empowerment initiatives that have been embarked on by the Government since 1980.
It was the constant reference to delivering the promises of the liberation struggle that unsettled the West and made them devise ways of making ZANU PF’s stay in power a short-lived affair.
But the West’s anger has not deterred the leadership from delivering these historical and cultural entitlements which come in the form of land and ownership of resources.
The biggest challenge to the country’s politics has been its struggle to dismantle the colonial shackles.
South Africans must be feeling the same heat as that country’s President Jacob Zuma embarks on the arduous journey to deliver on the promises of the liberation struggle.
In I Speak of Freedom, Kwame Nkrumah wrote:
“It is clear that we must find an African solution to our problems, and that this can only be found in African unity. Divided we are weak; united, Africa could become one of the greatest forces for good in the world.”
The attempt to isolate Zimbabwe was borne out of the realisation that the success of the country’s indigenisation and empowerment initiatives could inspire Africa to do the same.
An empowered Africa does not bode well for a resource-hungry West.
In his Arusha Declaration, published in February 1967, Julius Nyerere declared African socialism as the model for African development.
Said Nyerere:
“Contrary to the Western model of economic development, Ujamaa socialism, and African socialism generally, emphasised collective responsibility and advancement in place of the individual.
It is stupid to rely on money as the major instrument of development when we know only too well that our country is poor.
It is equally stupid, indeed it is even more stupid, for us to imagine that we shall rid ourselves of our poverty through foreign financial assistance rather that our own financial resources.
From now on, we shall stand upright and walk forward on our feet rather than look at this problem upside down.
Industries will come and money will come, but their foundation is the people and their hardwork, especially in agriculture.
That is the meaning of self-reliance.”
This is where Morgan Tsvangirai and his benighted MDC-T come in.
They, like their British and Western handlers, have this outlandish mentality that the success of the country lies with the West and not the resilience and hard work of the people.
They turn a blind eye on the success of the Command Agriculture Programme (CAP) because it is a programme driven by the people’s hard work from resources harnessed locally.
A June 23 2008 report titled Disenfranchising the people of Zimbabwe by Brendan O’Neill unravels the tragedies of relying on outsiders for salvation.
“And yet the effective cancellation of the election followed Tsvangirai’s calls for the United Nations (UN), the African Union (AU) and South Africa to intervene in order to prevent a ‘genocide’ also shows the dangers of internationalising local conflict.
The events of the past 24 hours demonstrate that Western governments’ relentless exploitation of the Zimbabwe ‘crisis’ has helped disenfranchise the Zimbabwean people.
Literary the logic of Western pressure has made the MDC reliant on the favour and flattery of external forces, rather than on the grit and the votes of its own mass support (of which it had none).”
This is the point that those opposed to ZANU PF are woefully detached from.
Speaking in Marondera during his 90th birthday celebrations, President Mugabe buttressed this poignant point.
Said President Mugabe: “ZANU PF won.
ZANU PF had the support.
ZANU PF had the message.
ZANU PF had the history.
ZANU PF is the people.
The people and ZANU PF are one.
You cannot separate the two.
You talk to the people, the majority are ZANU PF.”
The people are ZANU PF because it represents their wishes, dreams and aspirations which is why it is under constant attack from the West.
Our independence is perpetually threatened because in ZANU PF we have a people that stands up for what is right and what is right is that people must own and control their land and resources.
Happy 37th anniversary Zimbabwe!