There is a new British Prime Minister complete with a new
cabinet! If I had to name one thing has made democratic nation prosper, it will
have to be their willing acceptance of democratic competition and refreshing renewal.
Whereas monolithic dictatorship like Zimbabwe, Uganda and many other African
countries where democratic competition is shunned, under the pretext that it
promotes disunity, and change is ruthlessly suppressed under the pretext it
promoted instability; have suffered from stagnation and regressed.
PM Theresa May is the sixth British Prime Minister since
1980 and in the same period Zimbabwe has had the same person at the helm,
Robert Gabriel Mugabe, surround by a number of the same tired and confused looking
faces of three decades ago. If old age, disease, natural wastage, factional
fighting, etc. had not claimed many of the first cabinet and parliament, there would
be even more old, tired and confused faces in parliament and cabinet. President
Mugabe, at 92 years of age, is still talking of running for president in 2018.
He reminds me of Headmaster Mapanzure’s rusted old banger.
When Mr. Mapanzure bought the pickup truck, it was
already old but still it was his pride and joy. He kept it going for many years
even when it was more trouble than it was worth. It must have broken his heart
to cannibalized cutting off the back to make a scots cart. He did not have the
heart to throw away the rest; the hallowed out shell has rusted away next to
his house, an integral part of his home decor.
The Mugabe regime reached the stage of Mr. Mapanzure’s
old banger of more trouble than it was worth a long time ago. Unlike Headmaster
Mapanzure who swallowed his pride and cannibalized the old banger, we are well
and truly stuck with this corrupt, incompetent and tyrannical Mugabe regime.
After 36 years in power President Mugabe has become
something of a permanent fixture of Zimbabwe politics; but given his poor
health and advanced age, it is clear he is not going to be around for much longer.
His inevitable departure, to a nation that has resisted changed for all these
years, has the whole nation tense as a cat walking on hot coals. Whilst we would
want to see renewal we fear that all those fighting for the crown would want to
establish another monolithic dictatorship after their own image. We dread the very
thought of decades of the same stagnation and regression!
PM Theresa May’s appointment of former London Mayor,
Boris Johnson, in her cabinet is the biggest surprise. He would have been her
main challenger in the leadership race if he had not dropped out. In a democracy
one has to put yesterday’s rivalries aside because her stay in No 10 Downing
Street will depend on how well her government performs in the next years. If
the electorate is not pleased with her they will vote her out of office. And so
to keep her job she has to appoint people whose performance will help her keep
her job.
In a monolithic dictatorship were the electorate have no meaningful
say in who rules the nation tyrants like President Mugabe will surround
themselves with the most subservient yes-men,
“vakadzi vaMugabe” as Margaret Dongo aptly called Zanu PF bigwigs, he can get.
In a healthy and functional democracy the pressure is on
to field your best team to win the game or else you are all out. In a
monolithic dictatorship the team will play regardless its performance and so
the pressure is on to field the worse team so the captain has the chance to
shine and claim all the credit for the accomplishments, even when there are
none. It is little wonder that democracies are constantly renewing themselves
and progressive whereas dictatorships are stagnant and regressive!
In appointing her cabinet PM Theresa May will have made a
determined effort to get the best, if not the best then the best there is, on
the team; there is no attempt on her part to pick subservient members, “vakadzi
vaPM”. We are in this political and economic hell-hole because for the last 36
years this nation has been ruled by a corrupt, incompetent and murderous tyrant
with his subservient “wives”. If we are ever to get out of this hell-hole then
we must implement ALL the democratic reforms agreed in the 2008 GPA. There is
no other way out!
The very prospect of President Mnangagwa, President Grace
Mugabe, President Joice Mujuru or President Morgan Tsvangirai with his/her
harem of “vakadzi va Mnangagwa”, etc. fills me with dread! And yet with not
even one single reform implemented so far, that is exactly where Zimbabwe is
heading.
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