Zanu-PF primaries, manifesto and ABBA
The peaceful transition ushered in by last November’s Operation Restore Legacy is a classic case of Zimbabwe being a peaceful and tranquil environment where capital will go undisturbed as hardworking Zimbabweans put shoulder to the wheel.
AT THE time of writing, results of primary elections in Zimbabwe’s ruling party, Zanu-PF, are trickling in and revealing a picture on a cast of talent that will do duty for the revolutionary party in elections that are effectively and constitutionally due in less than 90 days.
The results, and indeed an assessment of the candidates, will require an iteration of their own.
However, it is critical to pass a few key remarks on the process that has just taken place, as a barometer of the party’s organisational capacity and a glimpse into its emerging leadership as represented by the people who competed, won or lost.
Two main points can be made in this connection: a) Zanu-PF remains a mass party that appeals to a broad section of society, and; b) Zanu-PF has an organisational issue that requires urgent attention. These primary elections are the first to be held post-November 2017 when former leader and president, Robert Mugabe, was removed and replaced with Emmerson Mnangagwa. Indeed, the upcoming elections will be the first in which Mnangagwa does battle in a presidential poll. This, overall, means that the transitional and renewal process in the ruling party is ongoing and will be confirmed, crowned and concluded with the crucial elections in mid-year. The primary elections have thus afforded us a crucial glimpse into this process.
A wide array of candidates in this mock election, indexed on differential measures such as gender, race, age, faith, vocation, among others, has given the ruling party arguably its most diverse and competitive field in many years. Expectedly, some interesting news about how the candidates fared kept Zimbabweans enthralled. We await confirmation of these thrills and spills. That Zanu-PF has been able to attract new and diverse talent, among them former Diasporans, young businessmen and racial minorities, cements the notion that it is the country’s most important political institution, something that is also confirmed by the interest, sometimes obsession, that was witnessed in this process including from the opposition.
It is a weight that the revolutionary party should be feeling on its shoulders both as a function of its historical obligations and as a reasonable expectation for an old and respectable institution.
This brings us to the second point to be made regarding the primary elections that of the party’s state of organisation. A glaring, if shocking, shortfall in organisation - that duty to mobilise structures, human and material resources which falls on the new political commissar, has been identified. To put it bluntly, the poor organisation of these elections has been the bigger story of the exercise and the organisation’s chief has been found wanting. President Mnangagwa, who is Zanu-PF’s First Secretary, has called the chaos, teething problems. Many would argue that is to put it mildly - and it’s true.
This level of disorganisation, on the eve of a crucial election should worry the Zanu-PF faithful and call for urgent redress by way of deploying talent and resources to ensure that Zanu-PF does not throw its apparent advantage going into election 2018. A multi-disciplinary and diverse team or taskforce needs to now be put in place to assist the party’s organising department otherwise known as the commissariat. Ideally, it should be a team that is modern (as in belonging to the 21st century), imaginative, energetic, responsive and given to scientific methods of doing things, all building on the institutional memory and culture of the organisation. That can still be achieved to avoid an unlikely upset for the ruling party.
No doubt, an introspection of this nature is taking place within the ruling party in the aftermath of the sometimes farcical and disastrous process. We call it a post-mortem.
The coming manifesto
Just as well, these primary elections are coming before the ruling party launches its campaign manifesto on Friday, marking the official beginning of the season of winning the hearts and minds of the electorate by Zanu-PF.
Our common understanding of a manifesto is that it is a set of promises politicians make to prospective voters, on the strength of which they will get and execute a mandate. At the time of writing, I have not yet laid hands on the document, for all modest efforts I have made to relevant people for it to be availed for academic purposes. Be that as it may, we will attempt to discuss the coming manifesto on the basis of the ruling party’s last manifesto, the nation’s broad expectations and suggest a simple and effective way to underpin the presentation of the next grand promises by Zanu-PF to Zimbabwe and beyond.
Ahead of general elections in 2013, Zanu-PF presented a manifesto that was anchored on the theme, “Indigenise, Empower, Develop and Create Employment”. The main message that issued from there, at least by popular interpretation and newspaper soundbite, was that the ruling party promised to create 2,2 million jobs after winning.
It was a promise that became so notorious and subject to much discussion. It offers, also, a key lesson which one would hope that the ruling party learnt. After Zanu-PF won against the main opposition MDC-T, then led by Morgan Tsvangirai, its election manifesto became the basis of a policy blueprint called Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable Socio-Economic Transformation (Zim-Asset).
A fair assesment will be that Zim-Asset was not able to completely measure up to the expectations of the people, in as lofty terms as the 2,2 million jobs promise.
Many a time, the policy was rudely waved in the face of the ruling party amid socio-economic problems that beset the country. Some, if not all, persist to this day and into the next election.
It is an uncomfortable reality that Zanu-PF, in its transition and promise of a “new dispensation”, must confront.
The parameters for this new set of promises will be discussed below.
Economy, economy, economy
But it is useful to outline some key expectations that the manifesto - and delivery on the same - must capture.
There is no doubt that the single most important issue for Zimbabweans at home and in the Diaspora are worried about is the economy. Just that. Just so simple! People reasonably expect the economy to recover following more than two decades of de-industrialisation, negative growth and decay.
It is a sorry story that is now well told, all with the shame to go with it. Many Zimbabweans have been reduced to a state of penury at home and refugee and destitute abroad. Zimbabweans would want restoration and addressing the economy will be key to that.