OK, I admit it. I’m in love with Michela Wrong. Do yourself a favour and check out her regular column on the NewStatesman web site. Her latest essay is about the dispute between Ethiopia and Eritrea. Sections of her writing reminded me of our situation here in Zimbabwe. All over the world we are more alike than we care to realize or admit.

Quite often efforts on the part of foreign governments and international development organizations to ease poverty or conflict in other countries are neutralized by their active involvement in maintaining the status quo through the delivery of foreign aid and humanitarian assistance. Wrong highlights this when she says

Diplomats like to present themselves as powerless in the face of Ethiopia’s famous obstinacy. It’s an argument I have never accepted. Ethiopia’s government, which receives an annual £1bn in aid, relies on donors to feed its hungry, build its schools and provide clean water. Throw into the pot Ethiopian ambitions of seeing Addis Ababa crowned as Africa’s diplomatic and political capital, and you have a perfect scenario for applying pressure. Not inviting Meles to sit on Blair’s Commission for Africa would have been a start.

The other love of my life right now (tomorrow will be a different story) is Violet Gonda, one of SW Radio Africa’s presenters. She recently interviewed Morgan Tsvangirai, president of one of the Movement for Democratic Change factions. Her hard hitting questions were right on the mark – what a pity Tsvangirai couldn’t rise to the occasion.

Violet: OK, you said it was the agenda of the Congress, and one example was the Winter of Discontent, these are the timelines that you give as the opposition, so when …

Morgan Tsvangirai: But it was not a timeline, that’s where you make a mistake. It was not a timeline, it was a metaphor making sure that people are mobilised as a discontent but not on a time-frame as to say that because winter is June to May therefore it should happen during that period. I said as a programme of action the democratic resistance of the MDC will start immediately as we finished our Congress in March and it’s an on-going programme and we haven’t abandoned that.

Violet: But it’s over a year now since you said those things. When are we going to see the programme of action?

Morgan Tsvangirai: Well you wait and see, it’s going to happen.

Don’t know about you but I’m dead keen to tune into this programme of democratic resistance. Can anyone tell me which frequency its on?

I left Zimbabwe in July 2006 with $20 million in my bank account and $20 million in cash. I knew that inflation would be a problem, but I thought I had set aside enough to last me awhile when I got back in December.

I accepted that six months later my $40 million would be able to purchase a fraction of what it had in July. But I wasn’t expecting my currency to stop existing altogether.

I’m not the only one whose money went from hero to zero when the government “restructured” the economy and binned the old bucks. I’m hoping to donate my $20 million (in a thousand $20,000 notes) to an art school looking for innovative wall-or toilet-papering solutions. As for my $20 million bank balance that is now a sorry $14,000 (Operation Sunrise + Bank Fees)? That’s anyone’s guess.

Of course when I got back, I couldn’t stop adding three zeroes back onto all the prices to make more sense of things. And I kept asking myself – would I really have spent $2 million on that coffee? $1 million on that newspaper? $700,000 for that bus ride? And of course I wouldn’t have. Six months ago. But six months is an eternity in 1200% inflation. And head spinning price increases are just part of the routine. It was hard to shake off the feeling that they just chopped off those zeroes so they could keep raising prices – and psychologically people wouldn’t catch on quite so quickly.

Which makes me think maybe the ruling party has a plan. Unlike the opposition.

Earlier this month, the Save Zimbabwe Campaign, a coalition of NGOs and individuals in the pro-democracy movement, announced its next campaign. Its 2007 demand? “We want to vote in elections in 2008.”

But as one person in the audience pointed out, it’s not enough to call for elections any more. If the next Zimbabwean elections are as rigged, or as unfree and unfair as the ones in 2000, 2002 or 2005, they really won’t make much of a difference. So as an afterthought, the Save Zimbabwe Campaign amended its demand to read: “We want to vote in elections in 2008 under a new Constitution.”

As a slogan it doesn’t exactly trip off the tongue. But more importantly, as a strategic campaign platform, it misses the point.

The current regime’s interest in the Constitution is to make it more repressive, not less. Its idea of a People’s Constitution is one in which the people agree to sign over even more power to the ruling party than it has already stolen. Short of that, Zanu PF isn’t interested in reforming the Constitution, or rushing its plans. And until the Save Zimbabwe Coalition develops a carefully thought out, well coordinated, spirit-lifting campaign that mobilizes a significant amount of popular support, the ruling party has no reason to listen to it.

The MDC is facing similar difficulties. It has watched the ruling party rig parliamentary and presidential elections three times in the past seven years. And it has failed to take advantage of popular discontent over these stolen elections each time.

Now, the MDC has announced its support for the Save Zimbabwe Campaign, and is joining the chorus calling for elections in 2008. This despite the fact that the party is under funded, under staffed and lacks capacity to take on any national issue, much less a national election.

And a national election which everyone knows will be rigged demands even more resources and better organization. The parallel tabulation systems, the independent vote counters, support for post-election demonstrations to demand an honest tally of the ballots all require substantial funding and preparation. Unfortunately, if MDC President Morgan Tsvangirai’s prevarication on SW Radio Africa’s Hot Seat this week is anything to go by, the opposition is far from prepared for this.

Zimbabwean pro-democracy activists need to harness some speed from the inflation rate and become faster thinking and more adaptable. And they need to learn some lessons from the ruling party, not in vote rigging, patronage or authoritarianism. But in strategy development, campaign planning and organization.

Last year, leader of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change, Morgan Tsvangirai, said that “a broad-based alliance of democratic forces” was “putting the final touches to a comprehensive programme of rolling mass action designed to push the regime to the long awaited negotiated settlement.” To help you determine how realistic Tsvangirai’s calls for mass action are, our electronic activism campaign discusses lessons from Unarmed Insurrections: People Power Movements in Nondemocracies by Kurt Schock.

Using the struggle to end Apartheid in South Africa as an example we observe that social and political transformation occurs only after a sustained period of challenge in which multiple forms of resistance are engaged. Between 1983 and 1990 activists in South Africa used at least twelve different tactics within major campaigns aimed at challenging the entrenched power of the white regime.

To check out the major nonviolent action campaigns and events in South Africa, between 1983 – 1990 please click here.

Two basic conditions must be met for a challenge to contribute to political transformations: (1) the challenge must be able to withstand repression, and (2) the challenge must undermine state power.

Generally, when the interests of political authorities are threatened, repression is used as a means to control or eliminate the challenge. Unlike democracies, where dissent is expected and tolerated, nondemocratic regimes cannot simply ignore protest, as its mere existence represents a threat to the regime. If protest is ignored, the regime will appear helpless in the face of defiance, and resistance will spread. Thus, those engaging in overt challenges to nondemocratic regimes should expect a violent response by the government.

The organizational template most useful for challenging the state through nonviolent action in repressive contexts is network-oriented rather than hierarchical. Compared to hierarchical organized challenges, network-organized challenges are more flexible, are more adept at expanding horizontal channels of communication, are more likely to increase the participation and commitment of members and the accountability of leaders, are more likely to innovate tactically, and are more likely to weather repression. The more diverse the tactics and methods implemented, the more diffuse the state’s repressive operations become, thus potentially lessening their effectiveness. Protest and persuasion help overcome apathy, acquiescence, and fear. Noncooperation undermines the legitimacy, resources and power of the state, and the collective withdrawal of cooperation from the state promotes cooperation and empowerment among the oppressed.

Having a tooth taken out at 8am on a Monday isn’t the best way to start the working week but having suffered a Sunday of throbbing toothache I thought I’d better Do Something. So a strapping Serbian called Dr Paul put paid to my molar, finally managing to extract it after about an hour or so of pushing and pulling.

As I lay there trying to Dig Deep and deal with the pain my mind wandered to a DVD I’d watched the night before called A Patriotic Force. This is a newly released documentary commissioned by the Solidarity Peace Trust in South Africa. The documentary chronicles the behaviour of the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) over the last decade or so. It includes frightening scenes illustrating the abuse of police power in Zimbabwe with some survivors discussing the brutal treatment that they have endured at the hands of our police force. So when I saw Zimbabweans being beaten with batons, or swathed in bloody bandages from their run-ins with the ZRP whilst exercising their democratic right to engage in peaceful protest, I lay in the dentist’s chair thinking that my pain probably palled in comparison.

At Kubatana we’ve been sending out copies of A Patriotic Force to Zimbabweans from all walks of life, all over the country in an awareness raising exercise. If you would like to receive a copy why not write to the Solidarity Peace Trust.

But hang on a sec. Just thinking of the title of this DVD you wouldn’t be the odd one out if the title confused you. In fact a few of the titles of documentaries on the Zimbabwean situation produced by the Solidarity Peace Trust confuse me. Why not just use plain simple titles that tell it like it is. The ZRP is anything but a patriotic force; instead they obey their one master – Mugabe.

Other strange titles include No War in Zimbabwe and a Legitimate Election. At first glance with titles like these you’d think things were hunky dory in Zimbabwe. Instead they’re anything but.

The increasing turmoil brought about by the harsh economic conditions has resulted in the mushrooming of many vendors along the streets of Harare. Street vending in Zimbabwe is a cocktail ranging from fruits and vegetables, flowers and medicinal herbs, rat poisons and pesticides, green backs and the much needed fuel.

Welcome to Temba Mudzengereri’s world. He’s a flower vendor plying his trade with a friend of his at the Newlands Shopping Centre. His voice has graced the parking bays of this complex for 6 months now. A professionally packed bouquet goes for at least Z$4,000.00, and on a good day Temba gets as much as Z$15,000.00. Next to him is Nicholas, a 26-year-old fruit vendor with nicely combed hair and a winning smile. “We have been here since 2003″ he tells me with a smile. Temba runs off to meet a potential customer. His face lights up with the possibility of compelling the potential client to choose his fruits rather than the other vendors. Expressions of repulsion or morbid aloofness often meet his salesman’s smile, but he shrugs them off, confident that he will come across someone who will eventually buy his wares after lengthy cajoling.

Nicholas has a younger friend in tow; his name is Arnold. Both have cultivated that kind of trust which is key to all business partnerships. Street vending for the two is a way of life that has generated employment and secured a decent income. Like many others, Nicholas and Arnold rent accommodation in the southern surbubs of Harare for as much as ZIM$25,000 a room which they pay for through the proceeds they get from their vending.

The job of a street vendor is no walk in the park. The ever-increasing municipal police presence has made it difficult to exhibit all the wares on the street whilst maintaining the decency that comes with everyday labour. Many vendors carry just enough wares to allow them to disappear the moment municipal police arrive at the scene. Book vendors are a case in point. They have resorted to looking like regular streetwalkers and putting up posters along the city’s pavements advertising their wares. They usually stand at a distance and only provide assistance to potential customers who venture to read the posters showing particular interest.

A case of government criminalising efforts to make a living?

I think back to Operation Murambatsvina and I realise that the Mugabe regime will not formalise informal vending as long as it do not suit the greater political agenda. My memories bid me to ask Temba and Nicholas how their experience has been with the authorities.

“The Municipal police are an everyday menace,” Nicholas volunteers. “They come here at least twice a day,” Temba juts in, adding, “We run away each time they come, they say we do not have licences to trade, but they will not give us the licences”.

Vending for a living in Harare is a tough process demanding bravery in the midst of adversity.

Morgan Tsvangirai has been in the press a lot lately making largely depressing reading. First I saw an article in The Herald that reported on an alleged meeting between Dell the US Ambassador in Zimbabwe and both factions of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). Both meetings were separate of course. Anyway when I discussed this article with a friend today she said that the supposed US$1million being offered by Dell to the MDC if they sorted out their differences and united should rather be spent on suffocating the MDC because its become as much of a liability to democracy in Zimbabwe as Zanu PF.

Then I note in the Financial Gazette today that Tsvangirai is apparently “talking tough”. Unfortunately that’s about all he can do – Mr All Talk And No Action. I mean maybe it’s just me but aren’t you sick and tired of statements like “the time to act is now” (duh) or “we are guided by an urgent call to save our country”? In fact in the fatuously entitled email, “The MDC President Speaks” published by the MDC yesterday, the phrase “the time to act is now” was used at least three times.

It appears that the MDC is banking on two things to “save Zimbabwe”. One is the Save Zimbabwe Campaign. I found it rather disheartening to read that the leader of our largest opposition party is “pinning his hopes” on a seemingly fictitious coalition of civic organizations acting under the rather worn out name of the Save Zimbabwe Campaign. What does this say about Tsvangirai’s vision of his own political party and their ability to seriously challenge Mugabe? Of course whilst I completely agree that its time that pro-democracy forces within civil society support the MDC’s call for political change, I wonder what exactly about the Save Zimbabwe Campaign gives Tsvangirai all this hope and confidence? Have you had the opportunity to meet the leaders of the Save Zimbabwe Campaign? Have they encouraged your participation in the formulation of civic campaigns? Have you attended one of their events? Do you know how and where to contact them if you wanted to get involved and find out more?

In short, have you ever seen any of them?

And then Tsvangirai believes that elections are the way to go, either in 2008 or whenever. Never mind that we’ve had the last several elections stolen from under our noses. Yes of course we agree that the conditions need to be rectified in order to hold accountable and transparent elections but we also know that this is the very last thing that Mugabe will allow because it would be shooting himself in his own small foot.

So therefore we have the two dominant political parties in Zimbabwe playing the same old games. Zanu PF is bound to win, and the MDC is bound to lose – unless the MDC stops ploughing the same old barren fields of thought and action.