The political history of a Great Statesman [The family version]

They say when trying to deal with certain issues from the past It's important to vent and share your pain and sadness, and it's equally important to show your interest in other people's lives. Letting go of painful memories from the past, should mean letting go of ones-self.

In my case perhaps that of my family members too, being related to a prominent figure in society [former President of Zimbabwe] now only remembered for one negative allegation from what may have been a politically motivated creation made to smear his career achievements, it becomes even more difficult to let go of the past as members of the public continually cherry pick on that one event to make examples of various public debates.

The fact that fight for and against Gay Rights has also become a global topic of debate has not made any attempts to forget the past any easier. I personally asked him a year before he died of cancer, when he came for a medical check-up in the U.K about the whole episode of the charges that were levelled against him and he told me that ‘politics is a dirty game, if ever you decide to play do not expect any fairness as there will always be dirty politicians trying to rub some dirt on you so that they can continue manipulating the people’s trust for their own selfish ends. I asked him to be more specific as the statement was more like an analogy than a direct response; he then told me he suspected that because of the close nature of the relationship he had developed with the MDC leader Morgan Tswangirai the CIO personnel who normally accompanied him may have made some false reports to some ZANU PF officials and his relationship with the opposition was not being taken kindly by his former colleagues in ZANU PF. He said that his reasons for continually engaging all political players in Zimbabwe was just to try and get another opportunity to bring them to discuss a more peaceful way forward like he had done in the 1987 Unity agreement. Canaan Banana's name was put forward as a possible broker in peace talks between Mugabe and the MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai, but the Zanu-PF leader pulled out when Tsvangirai launched a court challenge to Mugabe's disputed victory in the March 2002 presidential elections.

I had personally known Jefta Dube during the time he worked at State House and played as a midfielder for Tornados Football Club, a lot of other officials and football players, not once did I hear of any stories related to what came out almost 12 years after Banana had left Office. As Canaan Banana was a God fearing person and my dad, I trusted whatever he told me as the reason for the alleged charges and sentence [Canaan Banana denied being Gay in Court]. Looking from outside inside and based from some statements from the court case, it is possible however that he may have had consensual relationships with most of those who later came forward to claim compensation for the various alleged abuses but it’s difficult to 'conclusively state' so as 'he personally denied all allegations in court'. What remains is people will always make their own judgements based on the information they read from various public authors; well this is the version from a family member who was raised by this great son of the soil.

So let’s look at the good things people have forgotten about the first President of Zimbabwe. Firstly not many Zimbabweans know that Mugabe was once a Prime Minister and Canaan Banana the President of Zimbabwe, the Presidents role was largely ceremonial with the Prime Minister being the head of government and making most of the important governance decisions occasionally consulting the President for the endorsement of new laws. Canaan Banana accepted the position of President after the late Joshua M Nkomo had turned it down as an ineffective position in the new government. Nkomo was also not very happy with the Home Affairs portfolio that he was given for a short period of time, before being moved to Ministry of Public Service and then later became Minister without Portfolio before being dropped in a cabinet reshuffle in 1982.

The Patriotic Front alliance for national unity collapsed and attempts to revive it through the government of national unity floundered after the discovery of arms caches at properties owned by ZAPU. All ZAPU members were expelled from government. The rift between these two parties directly led to the Gukurahundi killings in Matabeleland in which thousands of innocent lives were lost, thousands were raped, maimed, hundreds detained and yet others jailed for collaborating with dissidents. This became a national tragedy. Let me point out at this stage the President at the time Canaan Banana may have been informed about operations in Matabeleland but did not give any orders or receive any detailed operational activities from the commanders the Zimbabwean Army, they reported directly to the head of government in consultation with the Minister of Defence. Banana had no idea of the barbaric levels being perpetrated by army until he was informed by relatives who had been directly affected by the operations. The Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace, the Catholic Bishops Conference, Amnesty International and the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights, all pointed out that the security forces had abused their powers in operations in Matabeleland.

Canaan Banana is credited by all sides with having brokered peace talks which brought about the merger of Joshua Nkomo's Zapu into Mugabe's Zanu-PF. The unity accord of 1987 brought peace to Matabeleland. Canaan Banana then led the World Council of Churches [WCC], Eminent Church persons on sanctions against South Africa in January 1989 and was also co-chairman of the UN Panel of Eminent Persons conducting public hearings on the operations of transnational corporations in South Africa in September 1989. He later became the Organisation of African Unity's special envoy to civil war-torn Liberia.

Outside of the political roles, Canaan Banana was a people leader who spent most of his time amongst members of various Zimbabwean communities. He became known as Zimbabwe’s number one Soccer Fan because of his love for the sport. Sadly some of our international football heroes never mention his name as reasons behind their success. Peter Ndlovu’s move to Coventry City in England was engineered by the late former President so was Benjani Mwariwari’s move to International Football from the University of Zimbabwe where Canaan Banana linked him to his close friend Jomo Sono of South Africa. Many Zimbabwean players can testify that they got their opportunities to play professional football outside Zimbabwe through this great lover of football.

In the early 80’s Canaan Banana and several other political leaders purchased farms from fleeing former Rhodesian farmers, the move was criticised as not conforming to socialist policy in parliament and officials were asked to sell the newly acquired assets. Canaan Banana decided to donate his farm to government, before doing so he converted the farm into an Agricultural College “Kushinga Phikelela”. Apparently it is now called Kushinga Phikelela Polytechnic with little being mentioned about the founder.

Former President Canaan Banana and his family were excluded from the amended Presidential Bill of 1992 that covers benefits for a retired President and his family. Up to this day the Banana Estate still open as there are outstanding amounts that were owed to the former President in terms of back dated pay due to the neglected retirement benefits for the former President and his family. The former First Lady Janet Banana has not been treated as a respectable member of the Zimbabwean society from such a high office, compared to her neighbours Zimbabwe has not been fair in the treatment and welfare of individuals who served in high office and fought for the independence of Zimbabwe. One sometimes wonder’s if it’s a tribal issue that Banana was from the Ndebele clan or perhaps all these benefits currently afforded to the families of former Vice Presidents are based on a special criteria. Is it because of the alleged offence that such constitutional rights had to be removed?

Canaan Banana is the only Zimbabwean President to resign from his official position in government and did not use his position to enrich himself and his family. This is the story of a true and sincere patriot of Zimbabwe, now only remembered for one alleged offence that he became the first to be ever charged for in the history of Zimbabwe. I plead to Zimbabweans and Africans to respect the dead.

Why can't political Leaders in Africa be Fired?

I've watched with fascination and frustration the political discourse in my native country. I have not stayed silent about it from where I am but perhaps my voice is silent at home, because in many respects, I didn't want to add another voice to an arena with so many players and voices claiming to have a solution to our country's woes. However, I think that cry from afar and those of others serves no one. So in this article am attempting to document *some*of the concerns that externalised Zimbabweans have.

To lead a multi-ethnic society while remaining committed to democratic principles or norms is an uphill task. This is because incorporating several ethnic groups into a single political system means bringing together the basic problem of ethnic conflict as well. Group loyalties dividing a multi-ethnic society can, and do undermine, a common identity, national culture, or consensus on democratic values. Zimbabwe is a nation of racial, tribal and religious groups; and for this, governing the society is an enormous job. Given the presence of politically assertive ethnic groups, the stability and survival of the present democratic politics depends on how our leaders control the potential racial, tribal and religious disputes that may arise.

Change is ubiquitous in any society, particularly in that which strives to fulfil human needs. And it takes a committed leadership to accomplish a propitious change in any society. Zimbabwe's short life has been dominated by partisan politics and an upsurge in liberation justified corruption in government and business sectors. There has been the shift from cities to the capital Harare, from rural areas to cities, from agriculture to industries, and now power is centralised with all power being channelled for the capital. These changes have not been for the benefit of the common man. Only those in the corridors of power have gained from those with multiplicity of riches, while the ordinary citizens have remained in wallowing penury. In other words, the masses have been preoccupied with the struggle for daily survival.

For starters, our Leaders have lost the heart of leadership. Leadership has become a way for people to enrich themselves at the expense of others. The heart of leadership is to serve the people with integrity and making their welfare the first priority of what a leader says and does. Unfortunately, you don't have to look further than our newspapers to find a daily chronicle of character assassinations and personal insults that have come to characterize our political discourse. We need a change in the way our leaders carry themselves. We need OUR leaders to think of US again and not themselves. We need OUR leaders to SERVE US again, the people who elected them.

Furthermore, Leadership is about vision- a clear picture of a preferred future-but where are the leaders' ideas? Where is the vision and foresight? Where do our leaders see Zimbabwe in the next 15-30 years? We are yet to see and hear a concrete plan to create jobs and deal with our broken education system. We are yet to hear of how our leaders plan to stimulate the business sector and create opportunities for Zimbabweans. What’s going to happen to the millions of externalised professionals and their families, are they lost because they chose to migrate to try and improve their personal circumstances?

Yes, some progress has been made but we've been waiting for 30 years to see some tangible results; to see change come to the common man. Enough with the talk and statistical progress. Leadership is about results and the absence of results simply means the Leadership has failed.

"Where there is no vision, the people perish."
Proverbs 29:18

Preparing the terrain for an out-going generation of leaders

What future is there for African politicians after retirement from public Office?

Some time back I wrote an article titled “Preparing the terrain for a new generation of leaders”. I thought it is only sensible and right to also look into preparing the terrain for our out-going end of term limit leaders.

The first President of independent Zimbabwe Canaan Sodindo Banana was one of the very first government officials to retire after serving a seven year term as a largely ‘ceremonial head of state’ to make way for a new ‘Executive Presidency’ led by then Prime Minister Robert Gabriel Mugabe. After helping broker the signing of the 1987 Unity Accord between ZANU PF and ZAPU, President Banana seemed to spear-head what seemed a panacea for the problem of sit-tight leaders in Africa, although his retirement was presented as a noble way of bridging the strong differences that existed between the two main liberation parties at the time, it also meant that he had to end his political career in active politics at an early aged 51.

President Banana’s retirement package was meant to be designed to give him some comfort and peace of mind after his service to the nation. He doubtless expected to spend the rest of his life comfortably doing what people expect of retired statesmen. Many people look forward to retirement and plan to do all the things they couldn't do while attending to the demands of their careers. Other people look forward to retirement, but do not view it as a time of leisure. They instead look at this life transition as a time to explore a new career. This article will address the issues faced by political retirees or those approaching retirement and the end of their terms in positions of authority.

Although his accomplishments as a Zimbabwean national leader have largely been erased from Zimbabwean history books, Banana had had an honourable career as an opponent of the Smith regime, and as a radical theologian. He is the only leader from Zimbabwe to have progressed to an International Peace broker role serving on the United Nations commission of eminent churchmen (World Council of Churches) investigating business in South Africa in 1989. Furthermore at the end of 1991 he was one of a group of Commonwealth "Eminent Persons" which observed CODESA (Convention for a Democratic South Africa). He also played an active part, on behalf of the Organisation of African Unity, in seeking to broker peace in Liberia.

Besides the Presidential role, notable other retirements were Hon Victoria Chitepo who served in the Ministry of Tourism, Hon Fay Chung Deputy Secretary Ministry of Education and Chikowore as as Minister of Transport and Energy with a few others. Most were either dropped from government or demoted to lower ranks

I appreciate that most African countries are still going through their initial stages of democratic dispensations and as such the mistakes that have resulted in the current dilemma faced by African’s in terms of governance, transparency and accountability should be viewed as lessons and referenced as examples of bad and good leadership for future aspiring leaders. Former President Obasanjo suggested that perhaps heads of governments in Africa should be forgiven for their mistakes and allowed to retire home in peace without being made to face trials for their actions. He believes this would encourage them to exit power; however wouldn’t it also encourage successive leaders to also adopt the same bad behaviours knowing they will be held responsible for their actions?

The former Nigerian president said the fear of being tried for the crimes they committed while in office is largely responsible for refusal of many leaders in the continent to yield power until forced to do so. However I would challenge his statement by asking why did they commit the offences in the first place? Let them be tried perhaps not at the Hague but by an African approved court, composed of experienced African judges and a jury made up of different member’s from the African society, externalising criminal justice to courts outside Africa is an insult to African democracy and self-emancipation.

“When one looks at the political horizon, sit-tight leaders are becoming extinct species,” Obasanjo stated. “Very few of them are left. They should look and see that those who have taken their exit are not worse for it. I am here. I know that ex-President Mbeki is also there. There is life after the State House. And if they know that and also appreciate that there is something they can do to be useful to their country, Africa and humanity, maybe they would be encouraged to vacate.”

“Whatever the challenge of a new age, in the end what really counts is not the years in our lives but the life in our years. It is not about longevity, but the depth of life. Long ago I learned that age does not wither the mind if people remain positive. No one is too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream. It is a mind game. As Churchill suggested, "The empires of the future are the empires of the mind."~ Singapore Retiree JENNIE CHAU

So what plans do we have for retiring leaders? Should it be our responsibility as a nation to reward our leaders with retirement packages that would enable them to continue playing an effective but advisory role to successive governments without them worrying about their welfare needs and well-being? I think much as we worry about who we elect for leadership we should equally look at what opportunities will be there for them after retirement, without planning for future leadership we will continue to have what President Obasanjo calls ‘sit-tight leaders’.

Does the average person understand the meaning of DEMOCRACY?

The way the term ‘Democracy’ is used in various social and academic circles makes one wonder whether the average person really understands the full meaning and purpose of the term. Is it really practically possible to enforce an internationally acceptable standard in all socio-economic and political environments when there are already different classifications of society based on religious, cultural and ideological beliefs?

I will  try not to explore too much on the democratic argument in my article for the simple reason I do not believe there is a universally accepted standard definition that can be measured or proven as a successful example. Not even the so called champions or inventors of democracy can make claim to having democratic societies. I believe there is a close link between democracy and human rights that makes even economic rights a necessity in order to have a global democratic society that fairly addresses the needs of all communities.

"Democracy is the most valued and also the vaguest of political terms in the modern world." ~D Robertson, 1986

Robertson went on to stress that the word ‘democracy’ only starts to mean something tangible in the modern world when it is prefixed with other political words, such as direct, representative, liberal and parliamentary.

This belief is based on the right of every citizen over a certain age to attend political meetings, vote on the issue being discussed at that meeting and accepting the majority decision should such a vote lead to a law being passed which you as an individual did not support. In almost every democracy a common observation is not all the citizens of a country are fully aware of the political scenario in their environments. The majority masses usually with a limited standard of education may not be aware of the political issues in society and this may result in them making the wrong choices during election periods, this is what is termed voter 'education'. Perhaps voter education should be something that is taught from primary education, so that citizens grow up understanding their rights and the role politicians, justice, security and the private sector plays in nation building.

In most countries the government is subject to change after every election term, as such the authorities may work with a short-term focus. As they have to face an election after the completion of each term of office, they may lose focus on working for the people and rather focus on winning elections. In their attempts to secure election victories they may use mobs to influence people as has been the case in Zimbabwe. Sometimes citizens may simple vote in favour of a party under the influence of the majority not because they understand their election manifestos but because they feel compelled or influenced by the philosophies of those around,  such persons may not voice their true opinion. 

There is little argument today about whether or not there is a relationship between capitalism and democracy. The essential nature of capitalism is social harmony through the pursuit of self-interest. Under capitalism, the individual's pursuit of his own economic self-interest benefits the economic self-interests of all others. The system means the complete separation of economy and state, just like the separation of church and state.

The reasons for this side of looking at things are also justified, and in most cases, completely accurate. The major drawback here is that bigger and richer capitalists can then exploit their workers, and can prohibit other competitors from entering the market by monopolizing resources. If this happens, the entire purpose of capitalism is destroyed, but sadly this is a very real occurrence.

Moreover, a capitalist economy becomes very materialistic and money-oriented in nature, and this affects the people of that country morally and spiritually. The impact here is not a direct and explosive one, but more like a mild poison, slowly corrupting the minds of people. Economic disparities begin to rise, and this leads to a rise in many social evils and the crime rate. Overall, the society suffers some negative consequences which it could have surely done without. The biggest drawback though is that of exploitation, which stems as a natural result of wanting to earn more and more. People and resources are exploited ruthlessly here, and this leads to severe consequences in the long run.

The answer to whether capitalism good or bad lies firmly in the manner in which capitalism is embraced in any country. No matter what system of economy one employs, there will always be certain bad seeds and corporations that will try to take advantage of the weak and helpless. This is an inevitable evil of society, and even socialism is not excused from this. In Africa because of a long history of oppression and poverty, the opportunity to capitalise on access to wealth by  both political and business leaders makes building democratic societies a much more difficult challenge especially taking into account the fact that most of the structures of governance were adopted from their predecessors who used them to manipulate the majority disadvantaged, they find the election periods too short to set  their development goals, that they end either changing their terms of office or simple rigging elections to remain in power.

I think for Africa the key to good governance would be having none partisan Justice & Security Officials. A mixed economy approach that combines the best of all ideologies and focuses on helping a largely disadvantaged in society by at least ensuring that basics rights to education, health and economic sustainability are easily accessible would be a good starting model. As we live in an ever changing world, ideology should also be flexible based on the best proven examples of success. In the long run it will be the most innovative economies that will constantly have an advantage over their competitors. We must never be afraid to try out new strategies.