THE most significant aspect of the Southern African Political Economy Series (SAPES) Trust convention held in Harare in June was not only the gathering itself, but the content of the presentations which now point to an escalation and change of tack in the push for regime change in Zimbabwe.
Despite the programme being posited as a ‘discussion’ on a Zimbabwe that is said to be in ‘transition’ and purportedly looking for investment, there were too many issues linked to a fresh onslaught against Harare.
But such has been the dishonesty of those pursuing regime change that they pretend to be doing something positive for the country, to be pushing for Zimbabwe’s development when they are in fact doing the opposite.
For instance, Dave Peterson, the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) representative at the SAPES dialogue even had the audacity to say his organisation was not involved in regime change, but the truth was there for everyone to see.
And it followed in his very next utterance.
“NED is not pushing for regime change,” said Peterson, feigning ignorance of the damage that his organisation has wreaked on Zimbabwe.
He went on:
“….but we support human rights, independent press… we work with the civil society and we have 20 years’ experience. We want to strengthen democracy.”
There are two issues that emerge from Peterson’s statements which have yet to be fully unraveled and unpacked.
In the first instance is the lie that NED is not pushing for regime change in Zimbabwe.
It has and it was very actively involved in the ill-fated formation of the MDC in September 1999.
Consider the following 2011 report on the activities of NED in Zimbabwe published by WordPress:
“To fulfill his wish, George Soros enlisted the services of many Zimbabweans, including Dr Reginald Matchaba-Hove, a medical doctor and former lecturer at the Medical School, University of Zimbabwe.
Dr Matchaba-Hove is now a very senior officer in the National Endowment for Democracy (NED).
Further confirmation of Soros’ OSI being part of the NED is that Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty which was once owned by the CIA was handed over to the Open Society Initiative (OPS) in 1993.
It is strongly suspected that Soros reports to and takes orders from David Lowe, the vice-president and international head of NED and NED’s point man in its regime change activities against Zimbabwe.
The Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN), received a grant from the NED in 2004 to ‘train and organise 240 long-term election observers throughout Zimbabwe’ and ‘produce monthly reports for distribution to the media as well as the national and international community’.
(Dave) Peterson, the senior director of the NED’s Africa programme, said the ‘local grantees, such as the ZESN, Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, the Media Institute and the Crisis Coalition, among others, noting that these groups appreciate the NED’s willingness to support vital core costs, such as salaries, rent and equipment, which allow groups to survive despite hardship and enable them greater freedom to identify other sources of funding and support’.
The total sums of money involved are, relatively speaking, quite large and while the NED distributed around
US$1 million to Zimbabwean groups in 2006, since 2002, the US Agency for International Development has contributed nearly US$600 million to humanitarian operations in Zimbabwe.”
In 2008, the MDC-T’s Zimbabwe Resistance Movement promised to take up arms against the ZANU PF Government if the poodles who run the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission failed to declare Morgan Tsvangirai the victor of the presidential run-off election.
We leave it there for ZEC chairperson Justice Rita Makarau to create a link between the 2008 violence threats and the current efforts to demonstrate against the electoral supervisory body.
The second lie is that NED wants to strengthen democracy in Zimbabwe.
Lost to Peterson as he exalted the democracy strengthening mantra was the fact those issues he raised were, and still are, at the core of supposed concerns that regime change apparatchiks here in Zimbabwe lament about.
At SAPES, there was no doubt that presenters like Peterson had an agenda — that of reviving the initial MDC intellectual point of entry strategy.
Equally astounding was the shocking statement by SAPES leader, Dr Ibbo Mandaza, who justified his invitation of NED and Chatham House, which was represented by our own Knox Chitiyo.
It is common knowledge that the West has perfected the art of using locals when pursuing their nefarious agenda in any targeted nation.
“The context of this meeting is primarily national dialogue and there is nothing wrong with national dialogue,” said Dr Mandaza in his opening remarks.
He then followed it up with the revealing statement that:
“We believe the Zimbabwe issue always requires an international dimension hence the decision to invite the Chatham House.”
What Dr Mandaza and others have failed to comprehend is that it was the likes of Chatham House and NED, at the behest of the British Government, that internationalised what was simply a bilateral dispute between Harare and London.
The idea behind Britain’s move was to mobilise the European Union (EU) and the US to ‘convict’ Zimbabwe for committing the crime of restoring and resolving a lingering historical imbalance.
This is where Finance and Economic Development Minister Patrick Chinamasa’s presentation at the same event becomes crucial.
Minister Chinamasa was brutal in both his response to the gathering and to the presentations made therein.
He pointed out to Dr Mandaza that if the SAPES Trust was about the economy, how then could the ‘too much politics’ at the meeting be explained?
Minister Chinamasa also explained the rationale behind the much maligned Land Reform and Resettlement Programme of 2000 and the ongoing Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Programme.
Said Minister Chinamasa:“We can only develop our economy if there is increased participation by locals.
“Any revolution disrupts production.”
Zimbabweans have to guard their territory against undue interference.
Let those with ears listen.