By Takudzwa Hillary Chiwanza
18
April is a special day in our calendar – Independence Day. It is the country’s
chance to travel back in time and relive the liberation war from which Independence
was won. It was a painful but inevitable struggle, and it must be permanently
etched in our memories.
A
lot has since happened since 1980, both in positive and negative terms. The thinking
that influenced the new nation-state upon Independence has metamorphosed in
aligning with the order of globalization where capital takes precedence over
the immediate needs of people. This thinking has completely seized all sections
of Zimbabwean society.
The
country’s post-independence journey is one in which neocolonial interests have
reigned supreme. With the leaders capitulating to the whims of global private
capital, either for self-aggrandizement or fitting within the capitalist global
order, the country is losing its impetus for respecting local contexts. Both
the leaders and the citizens have come to believe that if Zimbabwe’s
initiatives are not approved by the “international community” – either the West
or East – then they lack substance. It is a regrettable reality but one that
obtains in the post-colonial society.
Energy
is expended towards getting the attention of the West and the East, and all
this is done to massage some egos. This is true on either side of the political
divide. The social forces that fought for sovereignty and self-determination
are continuously neglected – the political economy is characterized more by
pandering to the interests of private capital, either local or international
and less of genuine, transformative participatory democracy.
Neoliberal
capitalism is taking centre stage more than ever. This is a stark contrast to
the desired socialist principles that drove the liberation struggle and some
post-independence policies. The country is being privatized at a frightening
rate, and where we expect this to be an obvious assumption, it is not.
Mnangagwa’s mantra “Zimbabwe is open for business” sums up the ruling
establishment’s relentless neoliberal path.
The
effects of neoliberalism – which Mugabe perfectly imposed on the country – have
been detrimental to national consciousness. Such narratives may not be
fashionable but they aptly reflect Zimbabwe’s position 41 years after attaining
independence. Because capitalism worships money over humanity, we now have a
society marked by narcissism, individualism, consumerism/materialism. It is now
difficult for many to think in terms of public interest.
This
is a direct result of the government’s neoliberal policies of privatization and
deregulation. Public services are continuously outsourced to the private sector
when it is the state’s prerogative to be the primary guarantor of life. The
private sector is only concerned with profits and not paying taxes. Health and
sanitation, water, education, power, housing, land, public transport should be
provided by the state, but the state is giving these to private capital. It is
a moral affront that government has neglected its duties. It is antithetical to
all the values that espoused the struggle for independence.
This
is the consciousness we must reclaim as we celebrate 41 years of self-determination.
The less individualistic we are as a society, the more progress we make. Inequality
is ever-rising and in all honesty, this is not what was envisaged at
Independence. Rural areas continue being neglected, viewed with colonial scorn
yet these were the backbone of the liberation struggle. Any progress in
Zimbabwe will be meaningful if the rural peasantry is economically empowered
and emancipated. This will inspire inclusive development in the urban areas as
well.
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