(HERALD) MDC-T and EU should respect Sadc

MDC-T and EU should respect Sadc
By Tarwireyi Tirivavi

ZIMBABWEANS should be dismayed and disgusted by the arrogance shown by a European Union delegation during a recent visit, the first such visit by the bloc in seven years, that ended up as the Shakespearean tale "told by a fool, full of sound and fury yet signifying nothing".

We of Zimbabwe Heritage feel that MDC-T and their sanctions-wielding backers are insulting not only Zimbabweans, but Sadc as well by misrepresenting that Zimbabwe is not under economic sanctions.

Furthermore, they have the temerity to claim that sanctions are not an outstanding issue under the Global Political Agreement. The EU and their MDC-T allies would like us to believe that the economic sanctions regime, which they misrepresent as travel bans, has nothing to do with the economic downturn of the past decade.

In other words, they are telling the world that it is only these ‘‘targeted people’’ who should not receive balance of payments support from international financial institutions and not the Zimbabwean economy.

They are also saying that United States citizens serving as directors at multilateral institutions are instructed to vote against any assistance to Zanu-PF officials and not the Zimbabwean economy.

This is what the EU delegation told us and our own Right Honourable Prime Minister and his MDC T. We agree both the EU and MDC-T have the right to make these ridiculous claims, but our major worry is what they take us for when making such statements.

Honestly, what does a person who claims sanctions have not ruined the Zimbabwean economy take Zimbabweans for? Perhaps MDC-T supporters can tolerate such baseless rhetoric seeing as to it that they can believe their leaders if they promise a flood in the middle of a desert.

MDC-T leaders are now in Government and, as such, they should think of the whole nation, including those who won’t believe their rhetoric.

It is clear that the Europeans and their MDC-T allies think they can trick Zimbabweans out of their heritage by misrepresenting issues.

In any case, the Europeans never learn. Even in 1978 they saw Bishop Muzorewa, and his Dzakutsaku supporters and auxilliaries as representing the aspirations of Zimbabweans when there were thousands of patriotic freedom fighters in the rural areas, in the forests and throughout the region.

We have been there before, and we know fully well what quisling politics is all about. European settlers did, even during the liberation struggle, win the hearts of some of our brothers and sisters because of their money, but again there are always those Zimbabweans who have principles that are higher than money.

We say so because MDC-T leaders are telling Zimbabweans that Zanu-PF is the source of the country’s problems because it is not prepared to listen to the West and Minister Gorden Moyo actually expects Zanu-PF to apologise for liberating the country and reclaiming our heritage from colonialists.

We understand how insightful President Joseph Kabila was recently when he took over the Sadc chair, and pointed out that the greatest threat to the inclusive Government was the issue of sanctions.

It is indeed a great threat to the GPA and everything it stands for considering the position MDC-T has decided to take in relation to the economic realities on the ground and Zanu-PF’s unwavering stance on the sanctions.

MDC-T leaders expect Zanu-PF to agree that there are no sanctions but only "restrictive measures" targeted at a few people in the party. This hypocritical assertion implies that half of the inclusive Government does not even see any sanctions or their effects anywhere and these are the people in charge of key portfolios such as finance, health, housing, labour and social services, economic development etc.

On the other hand, Zanu-PF contends that the socio-economic problems stem from the illegal economic sanctions.

Of the two positions, it appears the Zanu-PF position holds sway in Sadc because looking at it practically and objectively the following facts are indisputable:

The illegal economic sanctions are there and some measures, like the so-called Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act, are public historical documents.

The sanctions are against Zimbabwe since the Government borrows on behalf of the people.

There is empirical evidence of how the sanctions destroyed and are still destroying the economy and livelihoods. Companies like Ziscosteel and healthcare institutions come to mind.

The pre-split MDC vigorously campaigned for the sanctions.

It is irresponsible for a whole Zimbabwean leader to refer to the sanctions as "targeted" or as mere "restrictive measures".

It is the height of arrogance for Europeans to come to Zimbabwe and tell the cholera survivors, and starving civil servants that the sanctions are targeted at their leaders.

We always say that it is an insult to African institutions and their leaders to assume that Africans do not know what is good for them or that they cannot correctly analyse situations and come up with solutions.

Worse still, it is unfortunate for an African to engage in politics in Africa with a serious inferiority complex towards Europeans.

We do not believe that EU money can make the EU better informed about Zimbabwe and its GPA more than the Sadc chairperson and the rest of the Sadc leadership. It is not the Sadc leaders’ fault that they cannot believe unsubstantiated stories of alleged massive human rights abuses, genocide/mass graves, farm invasions, selective application of the law etc. These are simply not there and to expect Sadc to endorse fiction is clear departure from sanity.

It appears there is also the notion that a European presence will intimidate Zanu-PF and Sadc, which again is an example of serious misunderstanding of modern-day Africa.

Honestly, imagine Sadc going to the UK to take up David Cameron’s case against Gordon Brown or should we say Sadc taking up ETA’s case against the Spanish authorities.

That would be a travesty and contrary to how MDC-T views African issues, we believe the EU should respect Sadc and listen more to Sadc as it is the Southern Africa Development Community, which means that it is the authority in southern Africa.

Sadc knows its struggles throughout history.

Sadc leaders know of Moise Tshombe; they know of Nyadzonia; they know what kind of leader President Mugabe is, never mind what MDC-T says.

They know of Zanla and Zipra, equally so, they know of Africans who vehemently resisted liberation in the Rhodesia African Rifles, Selous Scouts and Pfumo Revanhu.

Sadc leaders know all these people which is why they are better placed to respond appropriately when a Selous Scout approaches them under the guise of democracy, good governance and human rights.

It is, therefore, normal and appropriate for Sadc to be respected in Sadc matters, even when they see that Zimbabwe’s problems are best solved by the removal of the illegal economic sanctions. This resolution should be respected.

We believe this is an informed decision and when Sadc refers to the full implementation of the GPA, they are referring to the Global Political Agreement, not individual party demands such as the appointments of personnel. We believe that Sadc correctly noted that implementation of the GPA in full implies zeroing in on what the agreement was supposed to solve, that is the deteriorating socio-economic situation in Zimbabwe.

Sadc then noted that the removal of the illegal economic sanctions would definitely improve the situation in Zimbabwe regardless of who was posted where.

Having said that, for the EU to come to Zimbabwe to try to justify the illegal sanctions and offer 90 million euros to the so-clalled Multi-Donor Trust Fund for their NGOs and civil servants is unacceptable arrogance which Zanu-PF and Sadc should nip in the bud.

We all know the EU’s stake in Zimbabwe and this is in the huge farmhouses with several swimming pools and those weekend sunset braais by the poolside. We understand their anger against Zanu-PF and why they will maintain the illegal sanctions regime even if it is increasingly becoming embarrassing to try to justify.

We are, however, becoming increasingly irritated that a supposedly Zimbabwean political party is the lone voice in Africa calling the illegal sanctions "restrictive measures" and that is done while preaching national healing and inclusivity.

MDC-T’s argument is that they want the economic sanctions to continue until and only when their fellow Zimbabweans are fired from their jobs for no apparent reason apart from the desire to spite Zanu-PF and to make the Europeans happy.

We say so because in all their noises about Dr Gideon Gono and Mr Johannes Tomana MDC-T leaders have never offered the nation possible replacements and the reasons thereof.

Theirs are just noises that the two officials should go, in typical ‘‘Mugabe must go’’ rhetoric. Africa will concede anything on this issue which we are told is linked to Western aid when, ironically, the International Monetary Fund released US$510 million to the same Gono the MDC-T claim blocks aid.

We do not know how many insults Zanu-PF is prepared to take on the issue of sanctions just to keep the GPA relevant and the MDC-T sanctions mongers in the inclusive Government.

We do not know how long Zanu-PF leaders are going to receive delegations of people who do not know that there are economic sanctions they imposed on the country and sit in Cabinet with ministers who claim there are no economic sanctions and will have nothing to do with their removal.

We do not know how Zanu-PF will tolerate a donor-funded Zimbabwean police force as they have tolerated a donor-funded civil service and close security unit.

We do not know how Zanu-PF will fight the internal sanctions its people are being subjected to, including the blocking of the US$510 million IMF loan.

We do not know but we feel the GPA is in the same arrogance-induced danger area that an organisation called the Commonwealth put itself in, in relation to Zimbabwe some time ago.

We fear that MDC-T is getting carried away buoyed by the visits from the US Congress and the EU possibly to help shore up the ‘‘targeted’’ sanctions mantra.

For it was thought that if the sanction-imposers themselves tell Sadc and the suffering Zimbabweans that the sanctions are targeted, they stand a chance to be believed more than MDC-T leaders.

Where we expected an African delegation to go to Europe to call for the removal of the illegal sanctions, we actually have American and European delegations coming to hammer the sanctions deeper and thereby in a bid to subvert the anti-sanctions drive.

We fear for the GPA. Time will tell

The writer, Tarwireyi Matsika Chifambayi Tirivavi, is a member of the Zimbabwe Heritage Project. He can be reached on zimheritage@rocketmail.com