We need more writers like Chris Kabwato. Every week he shares a refreshing and provocative take on Something. This week it’s leadership. Seen any in Zimbabwe lately? Thought not.

In search of a leader

AN ANCIENT text tells me the following:

A man will seize one of his brothers at his father’s house and say “You have a cloak, you be our leader; take charge of this heap of ruins.” But in that day he will cry out, “I have no remedy…do not make me the leader of the people.”

Now I am hoping as Zimbabweans we shall not end up having to choose a leader of the basis of what English writer Thomas Hardy’s observation that “aspects are within us, and who seems most kingly is the king”. I mean could we choose someone walking down Samora Machel Avenue to lead us just because we liked that person’s beige suit, purple shirt and matching tie.  Surely we demand much more of those that would lead us?

In all the current heat around who is and is not a leader we should confront the frightening reality that we face a dearth of leadership in all spheres – politics, business, religion, civil society and the unions. We remain underwhelmed by a leadership that is divisive, uninspiring, confusing, contradictory and unstrategic. Where then is the leadership that will understand that Africa is on the brink of a fundamental economic and social transformation and thus will make those earth-shattering vision statements that will galvanise us towards a common cause? Where is the leadership that will make us re-imagine Zimbabwe? Who will rise above the bigotry of patriarchy, tribalism and racism?

Those that wish to lead should put their houses in order and those homes are the political parties, government, the private sector, the universities and colleges, the unions, the civil society organisations, the churches and the student movement.

In our political parties there is no culture of robust debate – that necessary contestation of ideas that moves a nation forward. You read through manifestos and congress resolutions and you are amazed at the hotchpotch of uncritical statements strung together in the language of overzealous college students. You listen to their message and you wonder at the lack of coherence. In the case on one party how are they able to issue four different statements on a single issue? Does anyone there understand Communication 101? Or just the basic principle of disciplining the message? But is there a coherent message in the first place?

Civil society’s debacles at the SADC summit last month should have provided an occasion for a frank re-assessment of our supposed collective vision. There we were in Sandton chasing one whisky after the other – waiting for the superheroes to come from Harare and give direction. Those sent ahead had no clue where to begin. Needless to say the end-result was a Tower of Babel – a symphony of cacophony that exposed the faultlines in our supposed single goal of creating a democratic Zimbabwe.

For now it is back to what we know best – self-aggrandisement, grandstanding, competition for resources, duplication of efforts and the usual 3-year strategies tied to donor strategies. Still there is a slight possibility that those activists that still have any principles will ask how we it will be possible to give birth to a new reality when we are locked into constantly shifting external funding strategies. How can we change the political, economic and social edifice of Zimbabwe when we have no sustainable frameworks that inform our vision beyond parroting the usual refrains of good governance outside of the wider context?

On the other hand, I do not know how many young people in civil society today would say they are being mentored or groomed for leadership. Many wallow under the tyranny of the founder-director – of people who are so insecure they see conspirators in every nook. We have chairpersons of organisations who assume executive powers and destroy the potential of people. We have appointed directors of organisations who could never be able to organize a birthday party for a three year old that wishes to invite six friends.

In business we confront the usual same old clique – brilliant at managing businesses they inherited and not great at fostering creativity and innovation. They shout from the rooftop on how the state should protect their shoddy products and services from foreign competition. They don’t invest in the ideas of a younger generation – there is, after all, golf, whisky and “small houses” to take care of. To add salt to injury, those that we thought represented a new generation of entrepreneurs have turned out to be merely a little bit more sophisticated in their thieving than your regular pickpocket at Mbare Musika.

If Charles Mzingeli, that gallant trade unionist of the 1930’s to 50s were to rise from the grave what would he say about the state of trade unionism in our teapot-shaped nation? Would he use the same excuses of decimation of the worker base and the ravages of the last decade to explain the retreat by the unionists from their historical role and giving up space to political and educated elites? Would Mzingeli see in the perennial schism of elites and workers the very battle he had against nationalist leaders like George Nyandoro?

In grappling with the challenge of producing leaders and ensuring there is a successor generation we have tried the route of leadership academies, of books and more books on the subject (Deepak Chopra, Rudy Giuliani, Bismarck, even Alex Ferguson) and countless one day events where you pay top dollar to be told what you already knew. Some have remained in the trenches – the unions and the student movement. But the question remains nagging: where are the fruits of that knowledge and experience?

We need kenge “superheroes” and superheroes to come of their hiding places and speak their minds without fear of being labelled by powerful elites.

Leaders should lead.

Last month I went to the MPOI (Mass Public Opinion Institute) panel discussion on security sector reform. Interesting, but some panelists did not speak on the security sector at all. One of the most interesting/disturbing/amusing panelists was Mr. Goodson Nguni, of Zanu PF. Wow, are some of them racists!

All his presentation – supposedly Zanu PF policy on security sector reform – was, “we will not let the whites take over”. I must assume these are all whites in general, as I know of no white involved in security, and there were only two whites in the room, myself and the panelist Mr. Matyszak. The implication, I assume, was that the MDC was a white party. Which was something I did not know. When I was a member, I was of a very small minority.

And secondly, two months ago, while painting MacDonald Park pool, I was asked by the local area (Zanu PF) Chairman if I would consider being the local area Zanu PF Treasurer. So I am left to wonder some more. On the one hand, I am being asked to join them in a senior position (take over their money), on the other hand, their stated aim is not to let the whites (and I am quite sure I am one) take over. So I am forced to consider – amongst all the multiple political parties, and splits, and mergers, etc. are there now two Zanu PFs? The Zanu PF (Rational) Party, and Zanu PF (I am completely out of my tiny little mind) Party? Not that I joined either.

The audience also found some humour in his presentation. There was a lot of sniggering going on. A couple of people stood up and walked out, and from their asides as they were leaving, and the sniggers in response, they found something amusing!

A woman a couple of seats down asked me why I did not respond. I just shrugged. First, it did not need any response. Second, while I may be a racist, I do my best to avoid racial discrimination. And I was there to hear about security sector reform, not engage in a racist debate with a rabid racist. I thought the RF was gone? As a racist (which I think we all are), I notice what colour skin you have. Just as, as a sexist, I notice if you are male of female (I love females!) and as an ageist, I notice how old you are. Discrimination involves taking some action for or against someone depending on their predisposition (skin colour, sex, age). So the Zanu PF policy, as pronounced by Mr. Nguni, is racial discrimination. It involves taking action (keeping them out) based on a skin colour (white). This is a bit disturbing. As a Zimbabwean, I am to be kept out of my national security! However, I console myself by believing that he is only one of the Zanu PFs out there. And the Zanu PF in my area, judging by my area chairman, considers me a Zimbabwean.

According to the latest Parliamentary Update from the Southern African Parliamentary Support Trust (SAPST), the Thematic Committee on Human Rights has prepared the committee’s first report on the state of prisons and prisoners in Zimbabwe.

Following visits to Harare Central Prison, Chikurubi Maximum Prison, Mutare Prison, Mutimurefu Prison and Whawha, the committee made a number of observations including:

• Prisoners’ living conditions left a lot to be desired mainly due to budgetary constraints. Inadequate funding made it difficult for the ZPS to operate effectively and prisoners found the life in prison hazardous, as they had to make do without most of life’s basic necessities.
• Prisoners’ diet, uniforms, bedding, transport to take them to referral hospitals and courts, constant supply of medication especially ARVs and ablution facilities were critical for the health of the prisoners while they serve their sentences.
• Mutare Remand Prison Complex was in a dilapidated state and needed refurbishment as a matter of urgency as it was no longer fit for human habitation. There was need for urgent maintenance to avoid eruption of diseases and other communicable infections. The complex was built with punitive intentions during the colonial period and should be renovated to suit a Rehabilitation Centre.
• Nursing mothers in prisons fed their children from the rations they received. Children were being forced to survive on sadza served with beans and/or vegetables. Lack of balanced diet affected the growth of these children. There were no crèches/pre schools for these children and this affected their rights to basic education.
• The Committee noted with great concern the length of time the prisoners stayed on remand especially those convicted of murder, stock theft, robbery and rape. Some had gone for more than 6 years without trial.
• Young offenders were affected by lack of transport to transport them to Whawha Young Offenders Prison and sometimes stayed at Remand Prisons for more than 3 years. There were no facilities at the Remand prison to protect young offenders from being sexually molested by adults.
• Lack of balanced diet was another critical issue that was raised by inmates. A number of inmates showed signs of malnutrition.
• The Committee noted lack of legal representation for most of the prisoners. Most of the prisoners said that they did not afford lawyers and they had lost their cases even if they were innocent because they would be competing with those that were fortunate enough to have legal representation.

Kind of curious really that Zanu PF says civil servants can’t get a pay rise because of Western Sanctions. Meanwhile MPs salaries and associated benefits aren’t affected by Western Sanctions. The real impact of sanctions is being minimised by Zanu PF’s most pathetic stance that absolutely everything wrong with Zimbabwe is because of Western Sanctions, and nothing else. Get real guys, you’re looking stupid.

Here is an excerpt from the latest bulletin from the Southern African Parliamentary Support Trust:

Motion on the Plight of Civil Servants

Hon. Moses Mare (MDC-T Chiredzi West) seconded by Hon. Greenbate Dongo (MDC-T Goromonzi South) introduced a motion in the House regarding the “low levels of remuneration for civil servants and everyone paid through the Treasury”. The motion noted that the country’s resources were not being utilized in the best interest of the nation, in particular the lack of transparency in the distribution of the proceeds raised from the sale of the diamonds at Chiadzwa. The motion further bemoaned the existence of “ghost workers” who were drawing salaries from the fiscus.

The motion called upon the House to;

- Ensure that all proceeds from previous sales of diamonds from Chiadzwa are properly accounted for and remitted to Treasury;

- Put in place the necessary legislation and mechanism to enable Treasury to take full control of all diamonds mined in the country;

- Ensure that all minerals are sold to the best advantage of the country;

- Remove all ghost workers from the Government payroll and;

Members across the political divide were generally agreed on the dire plight of civil servants in the country, they differed on the causes of the situation. MDC-T Members blamed what they called mismanagement of resources, especially proceeds from the mining sector, in particular proceeds from the Chiadzwa diamond fields, corruption and “ghost workers”.

On the other hand, some ZANU PF Members argued that government was not able to pay civil servants decent salaries because of the “economic sanctions imposed by the West” on Zimbabwe. There was also unanimity by backbenchers that the issue of civil servants’ salaries should be depoliticized and focus more attention on ways of improving the economic situation and broadening the revenue base so that government can be able to pay its workers decent salaries.

Electricity consumers may soon see a welcome credit to their accounts, following the resolution of an outstanding argument between consumers and ZESA dating back to 2009.

According to The Herald 13 July, “Zimbabwe Electricity Authority is now required to revert to the US$40 per month for consumers in low-density areas and US$30 per month for high-density consumers for the period between February 1 and November 30, 2009 as directed by Government.”

This was ordered by Justice Susan Mavangira at the High Court on Monday 11th July 2011. Since the change over of the currency to the US dollar people have complained over the manner in which ZESA was handling its billing for electricity usage. The Competition and Tariffs Commission conducted investigations based on these complains from the customers and filed an application.

All those customers who had paid for electricity usage in US dollars before February 2009 will have the amounts credited to their accounts.

But before I can start to celebrate over the recent High Court ruling on ZESA let me alert people to the mid year statement made by the Zimbabwe Power Company Chairman, which amongst other things warns the country about an upcoming tariff increase.

The Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN) issued a statement today commenting on Zimbabwe’s electoral road map.

COMMENT ON ELECTION ROADMAP TIMELINES

12 July, 2011-Harare – This statement is a response to the timelines set and agreed by the three political parties in GNU for Zimbabwe’s electoral roadmap as reported in the Herald of 7 July, 2011.  First and foremost, the Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN) notes with concern the continued disregard of the voice of the people of Zimbabwe as witnessed by the lack of commitment to consult the people in the whole negotiation process.

ZESN is of the view that the timelines that have been set are unrealistic and fail to address a number of pertinent concerns that are essential before the country can hold a new election.

ZESN believes that the 30 days given for voter education and mobilization for voter registration are insufficient as the successful completion of the processes is likely to exceed the set timeline given the many dimensions the processes demand.

ZESN is also concerned with the 60 day timeline given for voter registration and preparation for a new voters’ roll and reckon that the timeline must be increased taking into account the number of existing registered voters in excess of 5 million and those of first time voters that would need to be captured. This is compounded by the proposed Electoral Amendments Bill which seeks set up a polling station based voters’ roll. The proposed system would necessitate the ‘re-registration’ of all existing voters and allocation to specific polling stations. The time allocated for this process should be cognizant of this, to ensure no eligible voters are excluded. The time and resources required for voters to register also needs to be considered so that the process is not too onerous as to discourage citizens from participating.

It is depressing to note that the parties failed to agree on essential reforms that we believe are fundamental to creating an environment suitable for credible, free and fair elections in Zimbabwe in particular the need for enhancing the independence and resourcing of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC).

ZESN also reiterates the need for security sector reforms as a critical element in paving the way for violence -free election. ZESN is concerned with the fact that security sector reforms remain unresolved yet this is a critical issue on how the elections will be conducted as this will influence its outcome.  The early deployment of observers is also essential as it enables them ample time to assess the situation prevailing in the country.  ZESN maintains that an innovative combination of election observation methods should be used to ensure scrutiny of the pre-electoral environment by regional and international observers at least three months before and one month after the election as a deterrent to politically motivated or electoral violence. ZESN reiterates the need for legal reforms to ensure that repressive legislation is repealed or amended before the next election. The rejection to amend the Public Order and Security Act is unwelcome especially at a time when there is need to allow more freedoms in regards to public gatherings.

Furthermore the basis and interest of the negotiating political parties are unclear as they seem to have disregarded the ongoing constitution reform process which inevitably will bring a number of changes in the electoral process.

ZESN therefore proposes the following as an alternative to tackling the issue of timeframes in the implementation matrix for the negotiators:

- Timely gazetting of polling stations.
- The determination of a mechanism for the type of voters’ roll and registration methodology to be used and how this will relate to the proposed polling station based system.
- A clear agreed framework and timeframe for registration of both old and new voters and clean-up of the roll.
- The delimitation of constituencies based on outcome of the new constitution and based on accurate voter registration information as well as the finalization of the voters’ roll.
- Voter education and mobilization needs to be a continuous part of the entire process.
- A constitutionally stipulated election period to avoid uncertainty on election dates.

ZESN stresses that the roadmap needs to create an enabling environment for free and fair elections. Setting unrealistic timelines will likely result in another disputed election. The constitution reform process needs to be completed first. The roadmap should promote transparency in all electoral processes and critically deal with issues that have hindered credible elections in the past. SADC needs to take an active role and urge the political parties to commit to the letter and spirit of the roadmap once it has been signed. ZESN emphasises on the need to instil confidence in the electorate and the creation of enabling environment for the holding of credible elections that reflect the will of the people of Zimbabwe.

ZESN