If ED and Chamisa made up, sanctions will be lifted and all will live happily ever after - how naive and flippant W Mukori

“Imagine President Emmerson Mnangagwa and opposition leader Nelson Chamisa embarking on an international campaign against sanctions. That move alone would be a sign of political maturity and patriotism and would contribute to national common purpose and unity. But to do so the two would need to agree on what sanctions mean to Zimbabwe. This kind of consensus will not happen any time soon because they have both weaponised the sanctions for political gain,” wrote Trevor Ncube in recent Bulawayo 24 article.  

“Many in the opposition, including Chamisa himself, argue insincerely that all sanctions are targeted and have no effect on the man on the street. Their view is that sanctions are a fitting punishment for those in the ruling party who have played a big role in Zimbabwe's worsening misfortunes.

They purposefully ignore what scholars have long unveiled, namely that sanctions are a form of warfare - Fourth Generation warfare. (See Nicholas Mulder: "The Economic Weapon: The Rise of Sanctions as a Tool of Modern War). According to Mulder, sanctions are intended to cut "off a country from all access to the international economy and wait for it to exhaust itself or succumb to political revolution or social collapse."

He further postulates: "Economic sanctions have long been considered a nonviolent deterrent, but ironically they have become a tool of modern warfare."

It is clear that Mr Ncube not only agrees with Signor Mulder that sanctions are a weapon of war but more significantly that the sanctions imposed by the West on Zimbabwe are a weapon of war!  

“Chamisa is overly aware of this lethal effect of sanctions on Zimbabwe but because he sees them as a weapon to fight his way to State power, fat chance that he can team up with Mnangagwa to fight for their removal,” he writes.

It is important to remind the reader at this stage who Trevor Ncube is. He signed off as “Alpha Media Holdings chairman”, the biggest independent print and electronic publications in Zimbabwe and owner of Mail and Guardian is SA.

The media is often considered the fourth pillar in a healthy and functioning democracy (other three being Executive, Legislature and Judiciary) tasked to inform and educate the people. Democracy, as government of the people, for the people and by the people will not work unless the people are informed. In a country like Zimbabwe the importance of the independent media is even more important than ever given it has the added task of countering Zanu PF propaganda from the dominant public media.

By describing the sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe as “weapon of war” was giving traction to the Zanu PF propaganda lie that sanctions are the root cause of Zimbabwe’s economic meltdown.

Zimbabwe’s economy was already in serious trouble long before the sanctions were imposed in 2001. The country adopted the IMF and WB sponsored 1990 to 1995 Economic Structural Adjustment Programme (ESAP) precisely because the economy was in trouble. When that programme failed to revive the economy, the country signed another one, the 1995 to 1999 ESAP. That too failed to revive the economy.

It was at the end of the second ESAP that the IMF and WB stopped giving Zimbabwe any financial assistance because the country was failing to service its debts. Many other financial institutions followed IMF and WB’s lead sending the country’s credit rating to junk status.

“Sanctions bar banks from doing business with the targeted country,” argued Trevor Ncube.

Indeed, when the West imposed sanctions on Zimbabwe, Mugabe was very dismissive claiming he would do business with the East. His “Look East!” mantra did not last long because the Chinese too stopped giving Zimbabwe financial assistance for the same reason, “Nǐ bù huánzhài!” (You don’t pay your debt!) the Chinese obliged to told Mugabe to his face!

“High-level corruption is a tax on the already overburdened taxpayer. Apart from taking from the poor and giving to the political elite and politically connected, high-level corruption has created a subculture of corruption everywhere. Corruption is a national cancer that is crippling provision of basic services to the poor and marginalised and must be decisively dealt with,” Ncube argued.

After going to town about economic hardships brought on by sanctions it is a damp squib to then give the real root cause of Zimbabwe’s economic meltdown and political paralysis a passing coverage.

One more key point Mr Trevor Ncube failed to point out is that sanctions is one of the tools used to pressure the ruling party to concede the need for meaningful democratic changes including the holding of free, fair and credible elections. Whilst the economic and political UN sanctions imposed on white-ruled Rhodesia caused far more economic hardships than the current West sanctions, all the black nationalists called for their imposition. They argued the economic hardship were worth the sacrifice to help end white colonial oppression. We are now being asked to believe that sanctions will not help end black oppression!

“Imagine President Emmerson Mnangagwa and opposition leader Nelson Chamisa embarking on an international campaign against sanctions. That move alone would be a sign of political maturity and patriotism and would contribute to national common purpose and unity!”

The sheer naivety of that statement beggars belief! I would expect that from one of the brainwashed Zimbabweans, not a leading intellectual and trailblazer!

The West will never allow murderous demagogues like Mnangagwa and/or incompetent sell outs like Chamisa dictator their foreign policy. Zanu PF and MDC cooperated, at least in the sharing of the spoils of power, during the 2008 to 2013 GNU and were of one accord in the call to lift the sanctions. The West ignore the call because there was no evidence of Zanu PF dismantling the dictatorship. None!

Interestingly, the economy registered a 12% growth in 2009 to 2010, although sanctions had remained throughout the GNU, largely because the GNU scrapped the Z$ forcing the hyperinflation to fall from the dizzying height of 500 billion percent. Proof the economic meltdown was not caused by the sanctions. A few sound economic policies were enough to restore some sanity in the economic and generate some economic growth.

The economic recovery registered in the first year of the GNU fizzled out when it became clear MDC, much less Zanu PF, leaders were going to implement any democratic reforms to dismantle the Zanu PF dictatorship.

Although the EU 2018 Zimbabwe election observer mission issued a damning report on the elections. The EU Foreign Ministers decided to lift all the sanctions imposed of Harare, that has not translated into any meaningful economic recovery because Zimbabwe is still a pariah state plagued by mismanagement, corruption and lawlessness.

Zimbabwe is heading for new elections next year, 2023, and there is already overwhelming evidence to show Zanu PF is rigging the elections. There not even one reform recommendation has been implemented, there is no verified voters’ rolls, cases of Zanu PF orchestrated political violence are on the rise, etc., etc.

The suggestion that the sanctions will be lifted and Zimbabwe will enjoy peace and economic prosperity if only Mnangagwa and Chamisa kissed and made up; regardless of the reality of the country remaining a pariah state with rampant corruption, etc.; is laughable. Especially when the foolish suggestion is coming from someone who should know better!

Still, the foolish suggestion explains why Zimbabwe is in this seemingly intractable economic mess and political paralysis. If Zimbabwean intellectuals are so flippant about the country’s economic and political crisis, why should the rest of the world care when we  clearly don’t care!