How to Solve the Crisis in Zimbabwe
After its independence in 1980, Zimbabwe had remarkable economic growth and was a model of good governance in Africa. Its beauty was a source of jealousy to any visitor who came to the country. More so, the people of Zimbabwe have always been peacefully coexisting with one another over the years. The events that have culminated to the current situation can be traced back to 1965 when the then leader of Southern Rhodesia, issued a unilateral declaration of independence where the African majority under the leadership of Robert Mugabe of the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) and Joshua Nkomo’s Zimbabwe African Peoples Union (ZAPU) contested in a general election in which Robert Mugabe won and was allowed to form the first government in Independent Zimbabwe. The white minorities were only allowed to occupy 20% of the parliamentary seats. The problems that Zimbabwe is facing today began when President Mugabe started to implement land reforms which involved replacing the vast firms owned by white settlers with the native Zimbabweans. Such reforms angered the west and mostly Britain that was the former colonial master from which most of the white settlers came. The international community started to impose embargoes and sanctions on Zimbabwe unless they stop the land reforms that they had started around 1990s. (Afrol News 2009) This issue was not taken easily by the Government backed by the Zimbabwe War Veterans Association in which Mugabe was and still is the patron. Just to fast track to the current situation is that the 2008 general election was irregular with MDC led by Morgan Tsvangirai and ZANU PF led by Robert Mugabe both claiming victory. This led to a runoff that Mugabe won without a competitor and led to a crisis which ended up with a power sharing agreement which is still facing problems today. (Afrol News 2009)
On behalf of the Zimbabwe War Veterans Association, the following should be adopted by the African Union as a way to end the political deadlock in Zimbabwe and ensure that it goes back to its former glory.
First and foremost, if Zimbabwe is to become a progressing state again, then the west should stop meddling with its internal affairs. This is to say that countries like America and Britain have been known to engage in almost every international debate and internal country politics. This does not mean that they should keep quiet whenever people in a certain country are suffering. For instance, when Zimbabwe was implementing the land reforms in the 1990s, the west should not have meddled in the affairs of Zimbabwe since under the international law the sovereignty of Zimbabwe is guaranteed and should therefore be respected at all times. To add on this is that when Zimbabwe attained its independence, it meant that all those Africans who had been alienated by the colonial British regime were supposed to surrender the titles of those lands they snatched from the Africans and not necessarily leave the country since they could rent the land from their new owners.( Giggy 2009) If the war veterans who fought for the independence of Zimbabwe are languishing in poverty, then what is the meaning of that independence? Zimbabwe can only progress if foreign countries can stop interfering with internal matters and let the land reforms to be implemented and Zimbabweans own their land.
Another thing that can be done to solve the current impasse is to forget about removing President Mugabe from power and concentrate with the process of fulfilling the agreement that was signed in September, 15, 2009. The Zimbabwe War Veterans Association has made observations and has realized that most of the western countries are pressuring the Southern African Development community (SADC), the African Union (AU) and the United Nation (UN) to try and oust Mugabe who has ruled for the last 28 years. It is impossible and such attempts will lead to worsening of the problem as more Zimbabweans will continue to languish in poverty. Instead, the international community should focus on reopening the mediation talks between ZANU and MDC to go back on the table and solve their problems with SADC and AU representatives but not from outside Africa. Such move will ensure that progress is made in the right direction.
The other proposed solution from the Zimbabwe War Veterans Association is that the international community should try and lift the embargos and sanctions placed on Zimbabwe. This is because Zimbabwe like all the other developing countries faces many monetary challenges, meaning that they mostly depend on foreign donations and grants from the developed nations. In addition to that, the people of Zimbabwe also need humanitarian assistance since the country is faced with acute food shortages, diseases as cholera that is killing many people, unemployment and inflation rates which has reached historically dangerous levels. Instead of imposing sanctions the international community needs to provide assistance. (Africa Report 2007)
Another way to solve such issues is to ensure that western countries such as the United States do not take sides with any political party. It was reported recently that the US was funding parallel government structures. As if that was not enough, the US government also admitted that it also funded parallel government structures in the prime ministers office and also their constitution agenda and electoral reform. Such deep marauding is the one which splits the government and acts for setting up parallel state structures that can be deployed as a destabilizing force and can lead to coup attempts. The west should therefore recognize only one Zimbabwe.
The Zimbabwe War Veterans Association also advocates for a complete constitution dispensation. This means that the people of Zimbabwe should start the process of looking for a new constitution that will clearly design government structures in a way that resources reach the grassroots. The constitution should also involve extensive land reform which clearly ensures that all the native Zimbabweans have access to land resources. This is important since the land issue has been the genesis of the current conflicts. In addition to that, the families of the freedom fighters need to be compensated for their struggle in the process of fighting for independence.
After the constitution has passed through the national referendum and starts to work, the government should now call for new and fresh democratic elections which are to be conducted by an independent electoral commission. Most importantly is that there should be no international interference in the elections. This is important because in the controversial elections of 2008, though MDC was perceived to have slightly won the first round, the Zimbabwe War Veterans Association and majority of the Zimbabweans thought that Mr.Tsvangirai was nothing but a political puppet of the west who was to be used to remove President Mugabe from power so that they can champion their interests. (Muzondidya 2008)
In conclusion, it is important to state that most of the problems that Zimbabwe is facing today are mainly result of imposed sanctions which are a retaliatory tactic the West use to ensure that a country suffers economic, political and social difficulties and is forced to succumb to their will. Well that is at least according to the Zimbabwe War Veterans Association. The above possible solutions need therefore to be implemented as soon as possible in order to save a once prosperous nation from totally collapsing.
On behalf of the Zimbabwe War Veterans Association, the following should be adopted by the African Union as a way to end the political deadlock in Zimbabwe and ensure that it goes back to its former glory.
First and foremost, if Zimbabwe is to become a progressing state again, then the west should stop meddling with its internal affairs. This is to say that countries like America and Britain have been known to engage in almost every international debate and internal country politics. This does not mean that they should keep quiet whenever people in a certain country are suffering. For instance, when Zimbabwe was implementing the land reforms in the 1990s, the west should not have meddled in the affairs of Zimbabwe since under the international law the sovereignty of Zimbabwe is guaranteed and should therefore be respected at all times. To add on this is that when Zimbabwe attained its independence, it meant that all those Africans who had been alienated by the colonial British regime were supposed to surrender the titles of those lands they snatched from the Africans and not necessarily leave the country since they could rent the land from their new owners.( Giggy 2009) If the war veterans who fought for the independence of Zimbabwe are languishing in poverty, then what is the meaning of that independence? Zimbabwe can only progress if foreign countries can stop interfering with internal matters and let the land reforms to be implemented and Zimbabweans own their land.
Another thing that can be done to solve the current impasse is to forget about removing President Mugabe from power and concentrate with the process of fulfilling the agreement that was signed in September, 15, 2009. The Zimbabwe War Veterans Association has made observations and has realized that most of the western countries are pressuring the Southern African Development community (SADC), the African Union (AU) and the United Nation (UN) to try and oust Mugabe who has ruled for the last 28 years. It is impossible and such attempts will lead to worsening of the problem as more Zimbabweans will continue to languish in poverty. Instead, the international community should focus on reopening the mediation talks between ZANU and MDC to go back on the table and solve their problems with SADC and AU representatives but not from outside Africa. Such move will ensure that progress is made in the right direction.
The other proposed solution from the Zimbabwe War Veterans Association is that the international community should try and lift the embargos and sanctions placed on Zimbabwe. This is because Zimbabwe like all the other developing countries faces many monetary challenges, meaning that they mostly depend on foreign donations and grants from the developed nations. In addition to that, the people of Zimbabwe also need humanitarian assistance since the country is faced with acute food shortages, diseases as cholera that is killing many people, unemployment and inflation rates which has reached historically dangerous levels. Instead of imposing sanctions the international community needs to provide assistance. (Africa Report 2007)
Another way to solve such issues is to ensure that western countries such as the United States do not take sides with any political party. It was reported recently that the US was funding parallel government structures. As if that was not enough, the US government also admitted that it also funded parallel government structures in the prime ministers office and also their constitution agenda and electoral reform. Such deep marauding is the one which splits the government and acts for setting up parallel state structures that can be deployed as a destabilizing force and can lead to coup attempts. The west should therefore recognize only one Zimbabwe.
The Zimbabwe War Veterans Association also advocates for a complete constitution dispensation. This means that the people of Zimbabwe should start the process of looking for a new constitution that will clearly design government structures in a way that resources reach the grassroots. The constitution should also involve extensive land reform which clearly ensures that all the native Zimbabweans have access to land resources. This is important since the land issue has been the genesis of the current conflicts. In addition to that, the families of the freedom fighters need to be compensated for their struggle in the process of fighting for independence.
After the constitution has passed through the national referendum and starts to work, the government should now call for new and fresh democratic elections which are to be conducted by an independent electoral commission. Most importantly is that there should be no international interference in the elections. This is important because in the controversial elections of 2008, though MDC was perceived to have slightly won the first round, the Zimbabwe War Veterans Association and majority of the Zimbabweans thought that Mr.Tsvangirai was nothing but a political puppet of the west who was to be used to remove President Mugabe from power so that they can champion their interests. (Muzondidya 2008)
In conclusion, it is important to state that most of the problems that Zimbabwe is facing today are mainly result of imposed sanctions which are a retaliatory tactic the West use to ensure that a country suffers economic, political and social difficulties and is forced to succumb to their will. Well that is at least according to the Zimbabwe War Veterans Association. The above possible solutions need therefore to be implemented as soon as possible in order to save a once prosperous nation from totally collapsing.
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