Source: Nkosana Moyo: A man with a vision but without a viable political project? | The Financial Gazette July 11, 2017
By Arnold Chamunogwa
DR Nkosana Moyo announced on Thursday 29 July that he will be running as an independent presidential candidate in Zimbabwe’s 2018 elections, and he also presented his vision to rebuild and reconstruct the country after several decades of Zanu PF’s largely destructive post-liberation politics.
Despite the announcement sparking debate and speculation about whether he should run, and how he should run and with whom, the pertinent question is whether his Alliance for People’s Agenda (APA) is a viable political project which can overthrow Zanu PF’s entrenched authoritarian system, and eventually lead to the improvement of the social and economic welfare of the country and its people.
What was missing from Dr Nkosana Moyo’s presentation of his presidential bid is a clear articulation of the path from the present crises to the new Zimbabwe which he envisions. What is the route to a new Zimbabwe presented by Dr Nkosana Moyo premised on? Is it his presidential ambitions which will probably be advanced through a well-financed campaign run through a network of volunteers across the country or a people-centered project of emancipation premised on social and political mobilisation of the disparate social forces across the country?
The various pronouncements made by Dr Nkosana Moyo prior to and when he presented his presidential bid give the impression of a top-down elite-driven project of national reconstruction that begins with his election as President. Yet the long-suffering people of Zimbabwe require immediate political action through a well-coordinated and people-driven democratic struggle that can systematically challenge, erode and eventually overthrow Zanu PF’s authoritarian politics. That being the case, an emancipatory politics is necessary prior to reconstruction. This includes the emancipation of rural people trapped in cycles of poverty that force them to rely on Zanu PF patronage networks to sustain their livelihoods in return for voting for the ruling party.
The emancipation of the millions of people such as makorokoza (artisanal miners), vendors, cross-border traders etc. who struggle to make a living in the informal sector, which is tightly controlled through corruption and violence, orchestrated by the state to the benefit of Zanu PF. The emancipation of hundreds of thousands of resettled families who strive to improve their livelihoods by tilling the land under difficult conditions, but are violently coerced and threatened to support Zanu PF during elections because their ownership of land is not fully secure.
There are millions of people who have lost hope, do not have jobs, cannot pay school fees for their children, cannot provide habitable shelter for their families. Others have sacrificed their dignity by engaging in immoral activities such as prostitution, drug dealing and crime to eke out a living. A large section of society has lost faith in elections as a pathway to an improved existence and their hope can only be restored when they are re-incorporated into the people’s democratic struggle which goes beyond the mere promise of a better future.
Given these social and material conditions of the majority of Zimbabweans, it takes a viable political project premised on democratic struggle to set the right conditions for national reconstruction. Is Dr Nkosana Moyo offering to lead the people’s democratic struggle towards a better society or is he presenting his presidential candidacy in 2018 as the route towards the new Zimbabwe?
The two are different. Leading a democratic struggle against a militarized regime such as Zanu PF requires a lot patience, courage and sacrifice. This is the only way people can believe in a leader and the vision that unites them together. Challenging the deep-rooted system of dictatorship set-up by Zanu PF requires a political project driven by vigilant cadres who will work with makorokoza, villagers, resettled farmers, people working in the informal sector, urban youths etc. to identify and address local pressing grievances and problems. This is the only way people can identify with a political project offering to transform their lives. Overthrowing the system of state patronage used by Zanu PF to control people requires a political project that mobilises resistance and civil disobedience. This is the only way people can realise their political power and regain their confidence that change can be achieved.
Considering these realities, is a presidential campaign alone a reliable route towards the new Zimbabwe Dr Nkosana Moyo presented as part of his vision? A presidential campaign is event-driven, it will not go beyond the election in 2018. The ordinary villager will ask: “Dr Nkosana Moyo, where were you before the 2018 elections, and if you lose the election in 2018 will you go back to South Africa, and leave us behind to continue suffering under the misrule of Zanu PF?”
The young people will ask: “Dr Nkosana Moyo, how far are you willing to go to ensure that your vision of a new and prosperous Zimbabwe is realized in our lifetime?” These are some of the questions that beg answers as we wait and see whether Dr Nkosana Moyo is offering the people of Zimbabwe a viable political project beyond elections, and whether his political project will re-incorporate the disparate sections of Zimbabwean society, in a democratic struggle that confronts their present circumstances and will eventually improve the social and economic conditions of the country and its people.
Arnold Chamunogwa is a concerned Zimbabwean who writes from Oxford, United Kingdom.
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