By Bernard Bwoni
Zimbabwe under President Robert Mugabe
has posed a real threat to an economic system that only functions smoothly when
resource-abundant African countries remain confined to the edges and the lower
ranks of any meaningful global economic activity. This is the same economic
system that flourished on the back of cheap slave labour and free resources during
slavery and colonialism respectively. Robert Mugabe represents what can accurately
be described as the last outpost and final frontier for genuine African
Renaissance. He represents real hope for total economic independence that is
meaningful for present and future generations. It is important to emphasise the
word ‘meaningful’ here and not the misleading narrative of political
independence that most if not all African countries had to settle for whilst
neglecting real economic freedom. Mugabe has held the fort with unparalleled Pan
African resolve which has fully opened the gateway towards genuine economic
empowerment and whatever anyone says that is the only route towards economic
emancipation. Let us get our facts right from the start, economic independence
does not in any way replace global economic interdependence but rather
compliments it.
The economic sanctions against
Zimbabwe were and are still a retaliatory attack against the country's land
reform programme that sought to address a biased land ownership pattern of the
colonial era. The reason why President Mugabe remains under sanctions is to
send a clear message that any attempt to disturb this unfair economic status
quo will be dealt with decisively and in a manner that will turn citizens
against their leaders who are working for them rather than against them. The
outcome is the emergence of some regime-change outfits nationally and in the
countries where Zimbabweans have settled in large numbers. There are invisible
hands everywhere you look and the meddling will not stop until the Robert
Mugabe idea of a new economic order and social construct is dead and buried.
The stirring happens behind the scenes and the noise is loudest on social media
networks and some small corners with unrelated and simple-minded ideas under
trees somewhere. It is the usual disconnected
ramblings of the purblind black Zimbabweans and their offshore handlers who
cynically clutch to the hope of separating Mugabe the man from Mugabe the Idea.
The truth is that this is not an Idea you just erase by sprawling on the
pavement outside Africa Unity Square in the hope that someone takes notice,
delete the idea from the indigene and the selfless saviours from ashore will
regenerate Zimbabwe for us and usher in this ‘special kind’ of democracy that
is so different to what we have in free and independent Zimbabwe.
Mugabe is the symbol of this African
economic genesis and to separate this unique symbol from the people is through
the continuation of the economic sanctions packaged as ‘restrictive measures’
or ‘travel bans’ and to publicly humiliate the Head of State. The ploy is
cleverly designed to make it appear that the economic measures have been lifted
to save the ordinary man and woman on the street and all that remains is the
Robert Mugabe for the alleged ‘violation of human rights’. The fact that
President Mugabe remains under any form of sanctions or measures is a direct
hit at this African quest not request for economic emancipation. The implied
consequence of sanctions on the Head of State is that the entire country is
excluded from any meaningful dealings as this deliberately and disingenuously
creates the impression that Zimbabwe is bad for business in the eyes of
potential investors. The intended outcome of this scenario is that the ordinary
person who continues to shoulder the burden of the economic sanctions views
President Mugabe as the main source of their suffering. How in God’s name do
you deal with an entire government whilst excluding the Head of that
Government? That is underhanded,
condescending and deliberately meant to demean a man whose ideas threaten the elite
club of those who will stop at nothing until the economic status quo is
restored.
If sanctions on Heads of State were
based on ‘violations of human rights’ and ‘democracy promotion’ then definitely Mr Li Keqiang and King
Abdullah bin Abddulaziz will be right on top of the
list. The talk of human rights violations in China from Western circles are
always in the form of hushed rebukes owing to the Chinese economic muscle.
China is owed money and a lot of it. King Abdullah bin Abddulaziz owns oil and
a lot of it. He who owns a lot calls the shots. President Mugabe owns land and minerals and plenty of the resources, the
only problem is that he tampered with a status quo that sought to forever
upgrade a settler minority at the expense of an indigenous majority. President
Mugabe was never and will never be forgiven for his radical land reform policy
which rectified the racially-skewed land tenure pattern designed by the
colonial system. Robert Mugabe’s major crime is that he developed insight into
Africa’s development construct just like Muammar Gaddafi did and just like
Gaddafi paid the ultimate price with an inhuman and humiliating murder
President Mugabe and Zimbabwe have remained under US economic sanctions and EU
so-called restrictive measures or travel bans.
The threat exist not
necessarily from Mugabe the man but the big ideas that he has instilled and
continue to sow in present and future generations, the principles that he
stands for and by without looking back can only be emulated by the historically
marginalised indigenous population. The removal of sanctions against Robert
Mugabe (The Idea) will send a signal to others that it is ok to challenge the
historically unfair economic structure. The Mugabe Idea will be derided,
stamped on and trampled upon, dismissed and portrayed as the cause and effect
the sanctions-induced suffering that burden the ordinary man, woman and child
in Zimbabwe. The assault on Mugabeism and the Mugabe Big Ideas will covertly be
initiated and engineered miles away from our borders with some local
cheerleaders doing the footwork under the gullible banner of democracy
promotion and all the high-sounding themes of ‘human rights’, ‘legitimacy’ and ‘rule
of law’. It is no longer just about Mugabe the man, but the deeper meaning
behind Robert Mugabe’s call to not just settle for political independence but total
economic emancipation. These are the values and principles that resonate with
indigenous population in Zimbabwe and continent-wide. It is that belief and
lifelong commitment to liberating the black indigene and that resolve to place
African resources back into the hands of their rightful owners that invite the profound
and unwarranted hatred from the coalition of the erstwhile architects of the
twin wrongs of slavery and colonialism. The unrelenting and unethical
denigration of Mugabe the man is just a red herring to frustrate the Mugabe
ideas of total economic independence, self-reliance and self-sustenance. The
Mugabe idea is here to stay, it has no boundaries and will continue to intrigue,
to challenge and to provoke minds of the historically deprived indigene until
lives have been enhanced and upgraded. You can put sanctions on Robert Mugabe
the man but you cannot put measures or shackles on the seed that has been sown
by the Mugabe ideas. These are ideas beyond any tether; these are ideas that
leak through any exploitation-packaged ideology disguised as democracy promotion,
rule of law and rights. The Mugabe ideas have found a permanent base in African
minds and all that is left is execution.
bernardbwoni.blogspot.com
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