Mugabe too tired to pull Zimbabwe out of the woods

Posted by: webmaster

By Jonathan Moyo
Source: The Zimbabwe Independent

OF the various problems in Zimbabwe that account for the seven-year-old political stalemate that has precipitated an unprecedented economic meltdown, the one that is now looming larger than any other is the chronic leadership deficit, particularly but not only in the Zanu PF government. So serious is this deficit that the most fundamental issue that explains the palpable despair among Zimbabweans today is leadership, stupid.
Take the case of the economic meltdown. Many, not only among economists but also within the diplomatic community and multilateral bodies such as the United Nations, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, believe that the problem in Zimbabwe has to do with the adoption of wrong policies by the Zanu PF government.

There have been ubiquitous calls to the effect that things could change for the better only if President Robert Mugabe and his ruling lot adopted correct policies underpinned by a new democratic dispensation.

While understandable, these calls have nevertheless been misplaced because those making them have failed to appreciate that policies, including a new democratic constitution, are not value-neutral commodities that can be traded with political ease.

Policies are an expression of leadership to the extent that there must be an ideological connection between the policy and the policymaker. The alternative is an assured circus.

The Zanu PF government has irredeemably failed to get a policy handle on the causes of the political malaise and the collapse of the formal economy in the country not because there are no alternative policies out there that it can adopt. It’s because there is no visionary leadership within the ruling party that is both existentially and ideologically well disposed to the pursuit of alternative national policies capable of getting Zimbabwe out of the woods.

On offer is the self-indulgent leadership of President Mugabe who is now too old despite his photogenic makeup, has become very tired, visionless and beleaguered. Mugabe remains in office not because he is in charge of the goings-on in the wider society but largely if not only because of considerations of his personal and family security in a world that is increasingly becoming hostile to former heads of state with unresolved human rights and corruption issues during their rule.

A leader in this kind of a box in which Mugabe now finds himself tends to invariably construct his own political reality which in turn blunts his ability to tell the difference between winning a popular victory and securing a stolen result at the polls. There is no way such a leader can ever enact correct policies even if they smack him on his face.

This explains why even with the best of intentions by some within his inner circle, Mugabe’s leadership has become inherently limited and in fact doomed to fail. No wonder his associates are now unable to distinguish between defending their beleaguered boss as a person and defending his principles, human ideals or policies.

Mugabe’s two deputies are not in a better position than him vision-wise. Vice-President Joice Mujuru is seemingly content with wanting to become executive state president by crisscrossing the country in the glare of the media hoping to win voters by waving “a pigs-and-chicken manifesto” in an economy whose wheels have fallen off.

Mujuru’s more senior counterpart, Vice-President Joseph Msika, has practically retired on the job but not from it and is now marking his sweet time in office incapable of doing anything meaningful.

If this kind of visionless and self-indulgent leadership is bad for Zimbabwe’s battered economy, what is dramatically worse is that Zimbabweans must for reasons only known to God endure the policy curse of a do-nothing Minister of Finance in Herbert Murerwa who has become an ever-sulking crybaby over money printing and currency reforms as if he has forgotten that it is him who presided over the economic origins of the present crisis in 1997 when he printed money to irresponsibly compensate some veterans of the liberation war and to bankroll the unpopular war in the Democratic Republic of Congo whose political and economic benefits to Zimbabwe remain elusive.

The situation is no better outside government but is worse within Zanu PF’s raging succession war in which the acrimonious factions are united by their lack of a policy.

Meanwhile the crisis continues to widen and deepen despite occasional flashes of recovery through what some now see as cynical manipulation of apparently declining inflation figures at a time when prices are skyrocketing like never before.

History does not have a single example of a nation that has ever pulled out of the grip of a chronic crisis of the magnitude currently bedevilling Zimbabwe without following the path of visionary leadership. Failed leadership always leads to failed governments and ultimately failed states. On this the examples are too many to mention.

The bottom line is that when a nation finds itself in the woods, it simply cannot get out without the guidance of a visionary and capable leadership that first and foremost knows what is going on; is confident that it knows for sure and is able to make it abundantly clear to everyone else that it indeed knows not only what is happening but also what must be done and why.

Once despair takes hold of a nation in some unprecedented fashion, in the way Zimbabweans today are suffering the indignity of living from hand to mouth in a land of plenty, it becomes necessary for society to produce leaders who are dealers in hope to checkmate the merchants of despair. This happens through either having the incumbents in government reinventing themselves and discovering new visions and new skills or having a new generation of previously unknown visionary and capable leaders emerging to show the way.

When Britain was in the woods during the Second World War, the way out was through Winston Churchill’s leadership. And when the Great Depression battered the American economy, Franklin Roosevelt provided pivotal leadership in the form of his “New Deal”.

The remarkable success of the civil rights movement in the United States was made possible by the visionary leadership of Martin Luther King Jr. Closer to home south of the Limpopo Nelson Mandela’s leadership was decisive in moving South Africa from the apartheid woods to the promise of a new democratic dispensation.

In our own country, visionary leaders such as Joshua Nkomo, Ndabaningi Sithole and Herbert Chitepo were instrumental in laying the nationalist foundation for Zimbabwe’s liberation.

But since Independence Mugabe’s leadership has tragically failed to lay the foundation of a vibrant, dynamic and prosperous nation. While there are a number of explanations for this, the main one is that Mugabe is given to using high-sounding words to put his ambition over and above any enduring human principles or ideals.

During the Tsholotsho saga in 2004 Mugabe demonstrated to the whole world his hostility to democracy as an enduring human principle and ideal even within his own party when he invoked false allegations of a coup in order to prevent his party membership from freely electing leaders of their choice in accordance with Zanu PF’s constitution.

Earlier in 1980 no human principle or ideal informed Mugabe’s rhetorical declaration of national reconciliation which stands in retrospect as cynical propaganda never intended to achieve any racial harmony beyond consolidating Mugabe’s political power. Witness how today Zanu PF is prone to shocking racism. In the 2005 parliamentary election campaign, Zanu PF political commissar, Elliot Manyika, had no qualms about singing at rallies and in the electronic media “Musha une Bhunu ndewani tibhombe?” (Whose house has a white man so we can bomb it?)

Similar trappings are evident in Mugabe’s claims to national unity that are all about self-preservation without any lasting principles or human ideals. Zimbabweans will never understand how a leader committed to national unity could have allowed the madness of Gukurahundi in which over 20 000 people were massacred while many more had their homes and livelihoods destroyed.

The fact that Mugabe has done absolutely nothing of national significance to heal the Gukurahundi wounds even after rhetorically acknowledging the madness speaks volumes about his disdain for enduring human principles and ideals. It is this disdain that has left the door wide open to such evil deeds as Operation Murambatsvina whose victims numbering at least 18% of the population are still trapped in untold misery to this day.

In the same vein, the disastrous failure of the otherwise necessary land reform programme undertaken in 2000 is defined by its lack of grounding in enduring human principles and ideals that can withstand the prejudices of the moment. Mugabe’s self-indulgent propaganda that Constitutional Amendment 17 brought finality to land reform remains dangerous nonsense because, as a trained lawyer, he should know better that there can never be such finality through a law that bars people who lost land during the chaotic reform process from approaching the courts.

Against this backdrop, and given the breadth and depth of the current crisis that has left Zimbabweans in total despair, one does not have to be malicious or mischievous to understand that Mugabe simply does not have the leadership vision and capacity to pull Zimbabwe from the woods. He is just not that kind of leader.

Other Articles..

AddThis Social Bookmark Button [Mail to a friend]

« Prev item - Next Item »
---------------------------------------------

Comments


pharmchemical - 12 May, 2009 - 06:03:33

http://www.pharmchemical.com , http://pharmchem.3322.net , E-mail: hero[at]pharmchemical[dot]com , zyongfu[at]netease[dot]com , ZHOU XI FEN PHARM CHEMICAL PRODUCT LIST ZXFPC20090512 I, Sell Abiduoer HCl Acarbose Acemetacin Acitretin Aclacinomycin Actarit Acyclovir Adapalene Adefovir Dipivoxil Adenine Adenosine Ailamode Alantolactone Alendronate Sodium / Alendronic Acid Alfacalcidol Alfuzosin HCl Aloin/Barbaloin Alosetron hydrochloride Alovudine Alprostadil Altretamine Ambroxol HCL Amifostine Amiloride HCl Amisulpride Amlexanox Amlodipine Besylate / Maleate Amorolfine Amphotericin B Ampiroxicam Amrinone Anhydrovinblastine Aniracetam Apigenin Arabinoadenosine Arabinofuranosyladenine Monophosphate Aranidipine Arbidol Hydrochloride Arbutin Arctigenin Argatroban Armillarisinum Asiatic Acid Asiaticoside Atomoxetine Atorvastatin Calcium Atovaquone Azasetron HCl Azatadine Maleate Azelastine Hydrochloride Azelnidipine Azithromycin /Azithromycin Dihydrate Aztreonam Bacitracin Zinc Balofloxacin Benazepril HCl Benidipine hydrochloride Betacarotene Betahistine HCl Betulin Betulinic Acid Biapenem Bicalutamide Bilobalide Bleomycin A5 / Pingyangmycin Bleomycin Sulfate Boanmycin HCL BOC-N-Me-PHE-OH Bosentan hydrate Brimonidine Tartrate Bromfenac Sodium Bucillamine Buflomedil HCl Bulleyaconitine A Buparvaquone Butenafine Hydrochloride Calcium Folinate Calcium Levofolinate Camptothecinum Candesartan Cilexetil Candicidin Capecitabine Capreomycin Sulphate Capsaicin Carbazochrome Sodium Sulfonate Carbidopa Carboplatin Carmofur Carmustine Catharanthine Sulfate Cefixime Cefminox Sodium Cefotaxime Sodium Cefozopran Cefpirome Cefpodoxime Proxetil Cefprozil Cefsulodin sodium Ceftazidime Cefteram Pivoxil Ceftiofur HCl Ceftiofur Sodium Ceftizoxime Acid Cefuroxime Sodium Centella Asiatica Extract Cephalomannine Ceramide E Cerivastatin Chenodeoxycholic Acid Chlorcyclizine HCl Chlorogenic Acid Cholecalciferol / Vitamine D3 Chymotrypsin Cilastatin Cilostazol Cimetronin Bromide Cinepazide Maleate Cinildipine Cisplatin Citicoline sodium (CDPC) Cladribine Clemastine Fumarate Clofarabine Clopidogrel Hydrogen Sulfate Cobamamide /Vitamin B12 Coenzyme A / Q0 / Q10 Colchicine Cyanocobalamin /Vitamin B12 Cycloheximide Cyclophosphamide Cyclosporin A / B / C / D / H Cytarabine HCl Cytidine Triphosphate Disodium(ctp) Dacarbazine Danshen Root Extract Daphnetin Daptomycin Darifenacin Hydrobromide D-Biotin / Vitamin H Decitabine Demecarium Bromide Dequalinum Chloride Desloratadine DexKetoprofen Trometamol Dexrazoxane Diacerein Diammonium Glycyrrhizinate Didanosine(DDI) Dideoxyadenosine (DDA) Digoxin Dimercaptopropanesulfonic sodium Dirithromycin Dobutamine HCl Docetaxel Anhydrous / Trihydrate Dofetilide Domperidone Doripenem Hydrate Dorzolamide Doxazosin Mesylate Doxifluridine Doxofylline Doxycycline Hyclate / Monohydrate Ebastine Efavirenz Eflornithine HCl Elastase Elcatonin Emodin Emtricitabine Enalapril Maleate Enalaprilat Enocitabine Entecavir Epalrestat Epibrassinolide Epinastine HCl Eplerenone Eprosartan Eptaplatin Eptifibatide Ergocalciferol / Vitamin D2 Ergosterol Esculin Etidronate Disodium Etofibrate Etoposide Everolimus Ezetimibe Famciclovir Fangchinoline Faropenem Sodium Felodipine Felypressin Fenofibrate Fenofibric Acid Fenoldopam Mesylate Fernmented Cordyceps Powder Fexofenadine Hydrochloride Flecainide Acetate Fleroxacin Flucytosine Fludarabine Flunixin Meglumine Fluocinolone Acetonide Fluocinonide Flutamide Fluvastatin Sodium Fmoc-Gly-Osu Folinic Acid Foscarnet Sodium Fosfomycin Trometamol Fosinopril Fudosteine G-418 Sulfate Solid Gabexate Mesylate Galanthamine Hydrobromide Ganciclovir Gatifloxacin HCl Gefitinib Gemcitabine HCl Geneticin Sulfate / G418 Sulfate Genistein Gentamycin Sulphate Gimeracil Ginkgolide B Glabridin Glibenclamide Gliclazide Glimepiride Glipizide Gliquidone Gotu kola P.E. Granisetron Base Granisetron Hydrochloride Guanosine diphosphate disodium salt Guanosine triphosphate sodium salt Halofuginone Hexoestrol Homoharringtonine Homovaniuic Acid Human Urinary Trypsin Inhibitor (UTI) Huperzine A Hyaluronic Acid Hyaluronidase Hydralazine Hydrochloride Hydroxocobalamin / Vitamin B12 Ibandronate Sodium Ibandronic acid Ibudilast Ibutilide Fumarate Icariin Idebenone Ifosfamide Imatinib mesylate / Gleevec Imidocarb Imiquimod Inamrinone Indapamide Indinavir Sulfate Ipratropium Bromide Irbesartan Irinotecan HCl Trihydrate Irsogladine Maleate Isoalantolactone Isometamidium Chloride Isophosphamide Isoprenaline Hydrochloride Isotretinoin Itopride HCl Itraconazole Ivabradine HCL Kallikrein Kanamycin Monosulfate A Kasugamycin Hydrochloride Ketanserin Ketoconazole Ketotifen Fumarate Kunity Trypsin Inhibitor or Aprotinium Lacidipine Lafutidine, Oncology, Anticancer, Antivirus, Antibiotic,API, etc.

pharmchemical - 12 May, 2009 - 06:13:42

http://www.pharmchemical.com , http://pharmchem.3322.net , E-mail: hero[at]pharmchemical[dot]com , zyongfu[at]netease[dot]com , ZHOU XI FEN PHARM CHEMICAL PRODUCT LIST ZXFPC20090512 II, Sell Lamivudine (3TC) Lamotrigine Lansoprazole Lappaconitine Hydrobromide Latanoprost Leflunomide Lenalidomide Lercanidipine Leucovorin Calcium Levamlodipine Besylate Levetiracetam Levobetaxolol HCl Levocarbastine HCl Levocetirizine Hydrochloride Levosimendan Linezolid Liranaftate Lisinopril Dihydrate L-Leucovorin Calcium L-Methyldopa Lomerizine HCl Lomustine Lonidamine Loperamide HCl Lopinavir Loratadine Losartan Potassium Lovastatin Low Molecular Weight Heparin (LMWH) Lycopene Madecassic acid Malotilate Manidipine HCL Mannatide Mecobalamin /Vitamin B12 Medicinal Evodia P.E Meglumine Antimoniate Meleumycinum Melphalan Mequitazine Meropenem Meso-2,3-Dimercaptosuccinic Acid Metaraminol Bitartrate Methotrexate Disodium Methyl Cantharidimide Mevastatin Micronomicin Sulfate Midecamycin Milrinone Miltefosine Minocycline HCl Minoxidil Mitiglinide Calcium Hydrate Mitomycin C Mitotane Mitoxantrone HCl Mizolastine Mizoribine Moexipril Montelukast Sodium Moxonidine Mupirocin Mycophenolate Mofetil Mycophenolate sodium Mycophenolic Acid N-Acetylneuraminic Acid Nadifloxacin Nafamostat Mesilate Naftopidil Natamycin 50 PCT Minimum + Lactose Nateglinide Nebivolol Nedaplatin Nelarabine Nelfinavir Neridronate Netilmicin Sulfate Nevirapine (NVP) Nicardipine HCl Nifekalant Nigericin(Sodium) Nimustine HCl Nisoldipine Nitidine Nolatrexed 2HCl Nonivamide Norcantharidinum Octacosanol Octylonium Bromide Officinal Magnolia Bark Extract Olmesartan Olopatadine HCl Olpadronate Olprinone HCl Olsalazine Sodium Ondansetron HCl Orlistat Oteracil Potassium Oxaliplatin Oxybutynin HCl Oxymatrine Oxymetazoline Hydrochloride Ozagrel HCl / Sodium Paclitaxel Paeoniflorin Palonosetron HCl Pamabrom Pamidronate Disodium Panipenem Pantoprazole Sodium Paromomycin Sulfate Pazufloxacin Mesilate Pemetrexed disodium Pemirolast Potassium Penciclovir Pentoxyverine Citrate Perindopril Phentolamine Mesilate Phenylephrine Hydrochloride Phosphatidyl Serine Pidotimod Pilsicainide Pimobendan Pioglitazone HCl Pirenoxine Pirenzepine Hcl Pirfenidone Piribedil HCl Pitavastatin Calcium Platinum Dioxide hydrate Podophyllotoxin Policosanol Polyadenosinic acid Polycytidylic Acid(polyc) Polycytidysic acid Polygonum Cuspidatum P.E Polyinosinic acid Polymixin B Sulfate Polyuridinic acid Pravastatin Sodium Prazosin HCl Pregabalin Primaquine Phosphate Proglumide Prostaglandin E1 Prostaglandin E2 Prulifloxacin Puerarin Quinapril Rabeprazole Raceanisodamine Racecadotril R-alpha Lipoic Acid Raltitrexed Ramipril Ramosetron Hydrochloride Ranolazine Rapamycin / Sirolimus Repaglinide Reserpine Resveratrol Retinamide Rhamnose Ribostamycin Sulfate Rifabutin Rifamycin O Rifapentine Rifaximin Rilmenidine Risedronate Sodium Risedronic acid Ristocetin A Ritonavir Ritonavir Rizatriptan Benzoate Rocuronium Bromide Rofecoxib Ropinirole HCl Rosiglitazone Base / HCl / Maleate Rosuvastatin Calcium Roxatidine Acetate HCl Rubescensin A (Oridonin) Rubitecan Rupatadine Fumarate S-adenosylmethionine toluenesulfonate Salicin Saquinavir Mesylate Sarpogrelate HCl Sarsasapogenin Sequoyitol Seratrodast Sertaconazole Sesame P.E. Sevelamer HCl Shikimic Acid Simvastatin Sirolimus(Rapamycin) Sisomicin Sulfate Sitagliptin Phosphate Sodium Aescinate Sodium faropenem Sodium Ferulic Sodium Folinate Sodium Hyaluronate Sodium Usnic Acid Sofalcone Solifenacin Succinate Sophocarpine Sophoridine Spectinomycin Hydrochloride /Sulfate Stavudine (D4T) Streptozotocin Strontium Ranelate Sumatriptan Succinate Tabersonine Tacrolimus Tanshinone IIA Sulfonate Taurocholic Acid Sodium Salt Taurolidine Tazobactam Sodium Tegafur Tegaserod Maleate Teicoplanin Telmisartan Temocapril HCL Temozolomide Tenatoprazole Sodium Tenofovir Disoproxil Fumarate Tenoxicam Terazosin HCl Terbinafine HCl Tetrandrine Thioguanine Thiostrepton Thiotepa Tiagabine Tigecycline Tilmicosin Tilorone Tiludronate disodium Tiopronin Tiotropium bromide Tirapazamine Tirofiban HCl Tobramycin Sulphate Tolterodine Tartrate Toltrazuril Topotecan Hydrochloride Torasemide Torasemide Tosufloxacin Tosylate Tranilast Trapidil Tretinoin(Retinoic acid) Trifluridine Trimetazidine Hydrochloride Triopisetron HCL Tropicamide Tropisetron HCl /Mesylate Troxipide Tubeimoside A Tulobuterol Hcl Ubenimex Ulinastatin Unoprostone Urapidil HCl Uridine diphosphate disodium salt Uridine diphosphate glucose Ursodeoxycholic Acid Ursolic acid Valdecoxib Valiolamine Valsartan Vancomycin Vinblastine Sulfate Vincristine Sulphate Vindesine Sulfate Vindoline Vinorelbine Bitartrate Vinorelbine Tartrare Vinpocetin Vitamin B12 Vitamin D2 Medical Grade Vitamin D3 Medical Grade Voglibose Voriconazole Xylometazoline Hydrochloride Zafirlukast Zalcitabine Zeatin Zidovudine (AZT) Zofenopril Calcium Zoledronate Sodium Zoledronic Acid Zolmitriptan, Oncology, Anticancer, Antivirus, Antibiotic,API, etc.

RTMbuya - 29 Oct, 2009 - 07:18:43

jonathan you are a shame and you know it.
this country would have been better without you.

mbt shoes - 22 Jun, 2010 - 04:33:58

http://www.salesmbt.com/mbt...
http://www.salesmbt.com/mbt...
http://www.salesmbt.com/mbt...
http://www.salesmbt.com/mbt...
http://www.salesmbt.com/mbt...

men air max shoes - 06 Aug, 2010 - 02:11:36

Tucked away in our nike air max 2010 mens running shoes subconscious is an idyllic vision. We see ourselves on a long nike air max 2010 trip that spans the continent. We are traveling by train. Out air max 2009 windows, we drink in the passing scene of cars on nearby highways, of children waving at nike red air max 2009 crossing, of cattle grazing on air max 95 black distant hillside, of smoke pouring from a power plant, of row upon nike air 95 row of corn and wheat, of flatlands and valleys, of mountains and rolling air max 90 hillsides, of city skylines and village halls. But uppermost in our minds is the final destination. On a certain blue air max 90 for women day at a certain hour, we will pull into the station. Bands will be playing and flags nike air max 180 waving. Once we get there, so many wonderful dreams will come true and the pieces of our black nike air max shoes lives will fit together like a completed jigsaw puzzle. How restlessly we pace the aisles, bing the minutes for nike air max light shoes loitering --waiting, waiting, waiting for womens nike air max station.Sooner or later, we must realize there is no station, no one air max ltd classic place to arrive at once and for all. The true joy of air max shoes store life is the trip. The station is only a dream. It constantly outdistances us.So stop pacing the aisles and counting the miles. In stead, climb more nike air max white mountains, eat more ice cream, go barefoot more often, swim more rivers, watch more women air max shoes sunsets, laugh more, cry less. Life must be lived as we go along. The station will come men air max shoes soon enough. http://www.sellnikeairmax.com/ LIJ

Hair Straighteners - 24 Aug, 2010 - 22:43:34

Purple is a very beautiful color,GHD IV MK4 Purple is a Purple ghd hair straighteners,bright purple,the eyes have moved by the people attracted to purple on the outside with a layer of white decorating,extremely fine.hair straighteners performance,I would like to like to know that hair design,superior performance to attract subjects to buy
These fantastic mini stylers are easy to use,with slimmer ceramic iron plates that smoothes your hair in minutes.Our Ghd mini straighteners are perfect for shorter hair and provide that salon approved shine every time.GHD IV Purple Hair Straighteners
In this day and age, when every woman is trying to find some way to get and keep her hair straighteners ghd there companies like Pink ghd straighteners that are relatively new to this hair straightening trade have come up successfully with some pretty awesome products that surely carries the message of the company and the manufacturer that how promising they are not only in words but also in their performance.The popularity itself is the indication of their efficiency.All of the products from GHD and CHI feature the newest technology that not only aims to GHD IV Salon Hair Straighteners. http://www.ghdhairstraighte...

Leave comment

:

:
: