By Bernard Bwoni
The Conservatives party victory in the UK is not going
to bring truckloads of cash and investment to Zimbabwe or Africa as a whole.
That is a fact and things are pretty much going to remain the same as they have
been over the past 5 years. Since taking over from Labour the Conservatives
under David Cameron have however offered Zimbabwe and the ruling party
sovereign space and a much more deserving level of respect compared to Tony Blair
and his Labour entourage. If we are going to be honest, David Cameron has never
uttered a disrespectful or demeaning word against Zimbabwe or President Mugabe
and that is in stark contrast to Tony Blair. There may have been a few wayward
remarks from the likes of Boris Johnson but that is expected of the London
Mayor, but then it is imperative to take his ‘last vestiges of white power’
statement seriously. The ruling party in Zimbabwe and the Conservatives share
the same traditional principles in their own different contexts, and they have
had a long history of civil engagement from the time of the liberation
struggle. It is against this background that Zimbabwe would rather the
Conservatives than Labour. Of course the local opposition would have preferred
a Labour government, which is understandable for they were in power during
their founding and funding.
The ruling ZANU-PF party and the people of Zimbabwe
have enjoyed cordial relations with the British people especially so under the Conservatives.
Zimbabwe attained her independence when the Conservatives were in power and the
Lancaster House negotiations were concluded under a Conservative government. It
was Tony Blair and the Labour government who came and undid all the hard work
to the disadvantage and detriment of Zimbabwe. It was the British Labour
government’s betrayal of the Lancaster House agreement that precipitated the
fast track land reform in Zimbabwe. It was under a Labour government that the
regime change outfit masquerading as
opposition was founded and funded with former white farmers in the
background. It was the British government under Labour that imposed economic
sanctions against Zimbabwe and ever since the Conservatives took over from that
Tony Blair, the re-engagement with the Zimbabwe government has been building
momentum and the sanctions have in fact been eased to the point of being
completely removed. It was only in October 2014 that saw the refreshing
entrance by the new British Ambassador to Zimbabwe Ms. Catriona Laing. In her first
statement she was forthright, respectful and that proved a refreshing and
positive sign of thawing relationships and a step towards mutually respectful
engagement synonymous with the Conservatives and celebration of genuine
reopening of top-level ties between the two countries. Ambassador Laing was
optimistic and shared the government of Zimbabwe’s vision about the robustness
of the Zim-Asset economic blueprint and had this to say ''We want to build on the very good Zim-Asset economic blueprint that
has been developed,” she said. “We are encouraging our investors to come here,
there are many companies in the UK wanting to come to Zimbabwe''. President
Mugabe has always made it clear that he would rather deal with the
Conservatives as he said in one interview “We
have always related better with the British through the Conservatives than
Labour," and described the Tories as ‘bold’ and people who ‘know how
to relate to others’. The President was absolutely right about the
Conservatives and their recent victory will mean less interference and more
respectful dialogue.
Basically there are two political philosophies in this
world, you either know what is best for you or someone else knows what is best
for you. The ruling ZANU-PF party knows that it is the electorate who knows
what is best for them and hence the people-orientated policies which resonate
with the majority of people in the country. The recent Afrobarometer survey
findings are in keeping with the mandate President Mugabe was granted by the
people on July 31st, in 2013. The opposition in Zimbabwe believe that
Tsvangirai knows what is best for the people of Zimbabwe hence his ‘leeching
tendencies’ having lost every election since the formation of the MDC-T.
Since the inception of the MDC-T, the T in the MDC has
been present and lost every single election to the ruling ZANU-PF under
President Mugabe. The difference between President Mugabe and Tsvangirai is
that the former can legitimately claim wiser political stewardship and his
party leadership as a victor in democratic elections (he has the people's
mandate to govern), whilst the latter cannot honestly justify his parasitic
stranglehold having been, to put it bluntly, a perennial election
underachiever. As his party claims democratic principles, he possibly should
take a cue from his British Labour movement leader Ed Miliband, who immediately
resigned following a crushing defeat at the hands of the Conservatives. We all
know it and his party knows it, Tsvangirai has nothing to offer the electorate,
he is just a figure who finds solace and comfort within the opposition ranks.
This I say with all due respect to Tsvangirai, but fact of the matter the man
has always been on the losing end since 2000 and his party is in disarray with
splinter group after splinter group.
The fact of the matter is that it is highly likely
that the Conservatives are not going to fund any Tony Blair-Labour founded
opposition parties in Zimbabwe as the MDCs have come to realize in the last
five years of the Tory-Lib-Dem coalition. It is not by accident that opposition
funding dried up from the formation of that coalition onwards and fact of the
matter is that this is going to continue. There is absolutely no way David
Cameron is going to shoulder Tony Blair’s irresponsibility and political indiscretions.
Now this is David Cameron and he has offered Zimbabwe nothing short of respect.
Having said that I would agree with Professor Ian Scoones’ recent analysis that
warned ZANU-PF to thread carefully with the Conservatives should the likes of
Boris Johnston become Tory leader. In his column in the Telegraph on the 23rd
February 2015 this is what Boris Johnston had to say “Readers will remember the 1979 Lancaster
House Agreement, by which Margaret Thatcher granted independence to Rhodesia.
At that time the country was a breadbasket, a flourishing agricultural producer,
with about 6,000 commercial farmers. The only trouble with those farmers was
that the most successful of them were white – and Mugabe’s long reign has been
characterised by one overwhelming objective: to exterminate the last vestiges
of white power, whether political or economic”. The last
sentence by Boris Johnston, “to exterminate the last vestiges of white power”
is a telling and worrying statement indeed and to be taken seriously. Rhodesia had a
very strong historical and birthright identification with Britain and with the
likes of Boris Johnston still talking about the ‘last vestiges of white power’
then the ruling ZANU-PF has to continue as before and never let the guard down.
The ruling party in Zimbabwe has remained unfazed and steadfast in its quest
to empower and economically emancipate the people of Zimbabwe. That is the
determination that has over the last 14 years seen economic sanctions imposed,
tightened and relaxed and then continued again. The Labour government under
Tony Blair imposed economic sanctions against Zimbabwe. The Conservatives took
over from Labour in 2010 and although relations with Britain have continued to
thaw, the Conservatives have not really pressed the EU to completely remove the
sanctions against Zimbabwe. It is an intriguing five years ahead for Zimbabwe
and Africa, and may the respectful Conservative spirit prevail.
bernardbwoni.blogspot.com
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