The Herald
Alexander Kanengoni
7 May 2009
Harare — THE most dominant feature in Zimbabwe at the moment, straddling the political and social landscape of the country is the inclusive Government.
Different people perceive it differently, that is inevitable.
Some people see it as a monster foisted on us by outsiders that we are better off without. Others like myself see it as that largely unmarked path through thick jungle leading to a relief our beleaguered country desperately needs.
And more importantly, it is, as the English saying goes, the bird that we have in the hand. It is certainly worth much, much more than two — or even a dozen — birds still in the bush!
In my contribution to The Herald of 29 April, I mentioned a political meeting in Mt Darwin where an old man could not understand how working with Morgan Tsvangirai would be considered difficult if in 1980 we managed to work with Ian Smith.
In the heated discussion that followed, something else amusing was said.
A woman compared the inclusive Government to a wedding between Zanu-PF and the two MDC formations.
I did not agree with that comparison because a wedding is an occasion to cement a permanent arrangement; a marriage.
The inclusive Government is not a permanent arrangement.
It is a temporary agreement to achieve an immediate objective — a new constitution followed by an election.
During a keynote address to business executives at a local hotel in February, Prime Minister Tsvangirai gave the impression the inclusive Government was a permanent arrangement but President Mugabe quickly corrected the impression during his birthday interview the following week and said there would be elections.
But the question still remains, could there be things we are not being told?
Or was it, from the Prime Minister’s perspective, more like the Biblical story of Christ taking his apostles up a mountain and revealing to them the eternal beauty of the Kingdom of God that they refused to come down, preferring to stay pitched, forever soaked in that amazing splendor?
If the inclusive Government is a temporary vehicle to take us through to the next general elections, then three things are of critical importance: success and achievements of the inclusive Government, the new constitution, and outcome of the elections.
The fact that the inclusive Government has to succeed cannot be over-emphasised.
And it has covered considerable ground since its inception. The shelves of the supermarkets are full once more.
The introduction of the rand and the greenback has eased the transaction burden and people no longer have to spend countless hours at the bank.
Although the money is hard to get, at least people can buy food for their families that is readily available in the shops.
These are the bread and butter issues that eventually translate into votes at election time.
Therefore it’s not only in the interest of the people that the inclusive Government succeeds, it’s also in the interest of the different political parties that form it.
A party that is credited with the success of the inclusive Government will unquestionably reap the benefit at elections time.
That is why working against the success of the inclusive Government or merely assuming a stand-aloof position, as some Zanu-PF members seem to be doing, will ultimately work against the party.
There is need for all members of the party to come out and also claim ownership of the inclusive Government as members of the MDC are demonstrating otherwise they will walk away with all the credit for the achievements of the inclusive Government.
That is why I said in a contribution to The Herald earlier we should move beyond blaming each other over who is responsible for the mess that we are in.
Whilst some of us are expending all our energy witch-hunting and pointing fingers others are busy rectifying those mistakes of the past and taking credit for it.
The tragedy is we seem to believe bringing the MDC to admit it helped to bring upon the nation the scourge of sanctions is sufficient to win us the next general elections.
It won’t.
It’s flying around the world asking for re-opening of lines of credit as Tendai Biti is doing and sitting with teachers representatives and international donors to sort out the issue of teachers’ salaries as David Coltart is doing that will eventually translate into votes when the elections come.
It is the strategy that works.
That is taking ownership of the inclusive Government and not merely watching from the sidelines with folded arms, almost disclaiming it or wishing the temporary arrangement collapses.
To the people, the argument that it’s the opposition that helped to bring about sanctions is far-fetched and academic.
They are more interested in the removal of the effects of the sanctions on their difficult lives.
And it’s those who they see helping them to ease that burden who get the credit and their votes.
It is as simple as that.
There are also ministers in Zanu-PF who are claiming ownership of the inclusive Government and making sure it succeeds.
When Cde Herbert Murerwa goes to Chegutu farming area to find out what is happening on the ground, the farmers there feel they have not been abandoned.
When you suspect by reading the press that Cde Walter Muzembi might not be sleeping as he tries to make sure our tourist facilities are ready for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, you see commitment and a total desire to see the inclusive Government succeed.
The same applies to Cde Saviour Kasukuwere.
The strong empowerment drive with youths across the political divide across the country that he is undertaking is a robust claim of the ownership of the inclusive Government.
To me, that is the strategy that will eventually translate into votes when the time comes.
Besides claiming ownership of the transition Government and its subsequent achievements, Zanu-PF should avoid putting itself on the defensive that in most cases is needless.
Mikhail Gorbachov told us in that meeting in Holland that his strategy to manage the disintegration of the USSR and the eastern bloc was premised on openness and frankness (glasnost and perestroika).
Openness and frankness leaves no room for doubt and ambiguity.
That is why when we appear to be resisting a land audit because it is being called for by the MDC we are placing ourselves on an unnecessary defensive.
If we have always been saying we needed an audit to clear the dirt plaguing the way land was allocated during the Land Reform Programme, why should we be suddenly jittery when MDC calls to do exactly that?
Why should we appear guilty when we are innocent? Why do we see threats where there are none?
It’s a weakness that the MDC has noticed and it is capitalising on it to the maximum in order to get the credit for the success of the inclusive Government.
It is this unnecessary defensive mode that is inhibiting some members from claiming ownership of the inclusive Government.
If there is anything that we have learned from the inclusive Government, it is that all things are important depending on how you manipulate it.
Those portfolios that were considered less important and given away to the opposition have become talking points because the opposition is manipulating them with dexterity obviously eyeing the coming elections!
There are other issues standing in the way of the success of the inclusive Government like the issue of the appointment of provincial governors, ambassadors and permanent secretaries but one hopes they will be addressed soon.
The issue of ambassadors and provincial governors was an issue that kept coming up again and again during the Sadc-brokered negotiations and a commitment was made it would be resolved once the transitional arrangement was put in place.