Foreign Correspondence

[fuagf]

Who next, should Mugabe, Tsvangirai go?
Jakaya Goremusandu .. May 7, 2009


President Robert Mugabe

AFTER Joice Teurai Ropa Mujuru was controversially appointed vice president of Zimbabwe,
debate on the succession of President Robert Mugabe was firmly shut. There was a lot of
intimidation that left the country aghast with no hope for planning and checking out the future.

Mujuru upstaged Emmerson Mnangangwa, whose ambition claimed the political life of
six Zanu PF provincial chairmen and buried the fortunes of political veterans, Thenjiwe
Lesabe and Shuvai Mahofa, plus opportunists like Jonathan Moyo and many other upstarts.

Five years down the line perhaps it is important to revisit the Mugabe succession issue, for its impact on
the entire country is debilitating, let alone catastrophic, whatever we may consider desirable for debate.

The departure of Simba Makoni and Dumiso Dabengwa from the Zanu-PF just before the March 2008 elections threw the succession race wide open. But one of the salient features of this important issue is that few would dare talk about it openly either in Zanu-PF or outside the party. This is a tragedy, given that Mugabe has been with us for close to 30 years and anything that happens to him has a strong bearing on our national fortunes, whether we like it or not.

One of the hidden social costs of the three decades of a regressive dictatorship in Zimbabwe appears
to be the slow but permanent slide of the people into a nation of poor planners and forecasters.

Never at any time does the critical national agenda of leadership succession become a dinner-table discussion point. We live in the forlorn hope that nothing untoward happens to either Robert Mugabe and/or, of late, to Morgan Tsvangirai. No preparations come to the fore as the people cake themselves in denial, literally positioning their telescopes away from tomorrow.

Succession planning dominates all progressive nations which use today to shape tomorrow. Since Mujuru’s 2004 forced victory over Mnangagwa, talk about Mugabe’s possible mental or physical incapacity, retirement or even death was effectively cut out of public discourse.

Uncertainty dogs Zanu-PF as a party and, by extension, Zimbabwe if anything unexpected were to happen to Mugabe today. The country, judging by the state of the nation at the present moment, could instantly find itself in utter turmoil, with hardliners seizing the golden opportunity to hasten Zimbabwe back into a failed state status - a condition the corrupt and avaricious are comfortable with, as they use such a scenario to erase any traces of accountability.

Such an unfortunate situation, sadly one which you and I are uncomfortable discussing, or simply debating, could defer the Zimbabwe’s dream for peace, equal opportunity and safety for an even longer period. Mugabe has become an indispensable part of Zimbabwe, and Zimbabwe badly needs him to crawl back onto the rails. He is both a key problem and a useful solution at the same time.

Debate on Mugabe’s fate must be re-opened in the light of his stubborn refusal to accelerate Zimbabwe back to normalcy through a speedy resolution of the mess he has created. He continues to sit on the solution while Zimbabwe burns because the latest constellation remains alive, confusing ordinary people at home and elsewhere.

What compounds the situation is that Mugabe brooks no nonsense about discussion of any possible successors, making it impossible for the young generation or investors to plan. He appears to have lost total control of the pillars of the state, as evidenced by the daily policy flip-flops he radiates.

The case of the re-detention and subsequent release of human rights activist Jestina Mukoko and 17 others is a case in point. But to show his doubly confusing character, he maintains that farm invasions must continue and even refuses to swear in Roy Bennett.

Surely, what kind of life do Zimbabweans lead, following which values? Are these contradictions insufficient for the people to question the kind and style of leadership in their own domain? What are the implications for public policy and for governance, generally? Khuzekube nini, bakithi? For how long can nation endure these contradictions in silence?

To cut a long story short, does Mugabe contemplate standing again in the next election, even after his March 2008 public humiliation by Morgan Tsvangirai and the loss of a Zanu-PF parliamentary majority? The true position is that Mugabe and Zanu-PF have had their day. They possess neither a viable economic policy nor an ideology beyond farm invasions, looting and hate.

For the MDC, if Tsvangirai is unfortunately declared comatose by a medical expert on the basis of the major accident he was involved in and the loss of his grand child, what contingency measures exist for his meaningful replacement in the MDC, in the inclusive government or in the leadership of Zimbabwe?

Zimbabweans must get out of that state of denial about their fate, open themselves up and explore options before accidents occur. Mugabe’s age is staring in your face, yet you decide to do nothing about it. When he goes so too will Joseph Msika, Joice Mujuru and all the service chiefs. Where would that leave Zanu-PF?

What about the prospect of peace across the nation?

Zimbabwe needs a multi-party political environment. Does Tsvangirai have a plan to occupy the vacuum that will be created by any sudden turn of events? If so, how does he hope to deal with such a delicate transition when he is obviously failing to handle simple issues like the release of Gandhi Mudzingwa and others?

It is high time Zimbabweans started to seriously debate their lives and the future.

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