Sanctifying social covenant with the povo

HClemence Machadu OWDY folks!

A big lesson that can be learnt from events of the recent past in the Republic is that power resides with the people.

Folks, governments and leaders are installed by the people on the strength of their promises and clarity of their resolve to deliver on them. This means they should always draw their mandate from the people and there are serious consequences for not doing so.

The events of November 18, 2017 when Zimbabweans from all walks of life willingly and wittingly came out in their numbers to send a clear message to former President Robert Mugabe that he should step down serve as an unequivocal referral point in the post-Independence era. They point to a social covenant that had broken down.

Whenever such a covenant with the people is breached, they will wage a revolution to reclaim their power, marking the evolution of a new social covenant.

Right now, people are already melting into a new equilibrium that was created by this revolution. Folks, those elevated to positions of power should always be accountable to the people. Simba rehove riri mumvura.

History now serves to remind us what happens to those who break the social covenant with the people by ceasing to draw their mandate from the people; choosing to rather listen to a coterie of selfish individuals with an agenda far removed from the aspirations of the povo. Such approaches are always guaranteed to backfire.

This is why a certain cabal which thought it could think on our behalf, act on our behalf, eat on our behalf and enjoy on our behalf was chased right to the gates of hell where it belongs.

Povo yakazviramba! Power resides with the people, folks. Even our sacrosanct Constitution begins thus: “We the people of Zimbabwe . . .”

So, it always has to be about the people. The reality of leaders who made the cardinal error of drawing their mandate from wrong sources is that they failed dismally on the day of reckoning when the people asked them what they did with their talents.

Having dug in the ground and hid the talents entrusted to them by the people, as in that Biblical parable of talents, they found themselves with nothing to show.

As a leader, you are a servant of the people, and the people are your masters. You cannot serve two masters — the people and a cabal. We learn all this from the November 18 affair.

Under the mistaken illusion and erroneous impression that the people are docile and will never rise, some leaders broke every cardinal rule in “Kune nzira dzemasoja” until mass yatadza kunzwisisa zvakananga musangano and sought redress. Folks, we can’t deny that prior to the intervention of the people and other stockholders, the country was no longer able to harness its full potential, as leaders then opted to take the escapist route.

Instead of accounting for jobs, we were told that more than targeted jobs had been created already — yet our young people were rambling in the streets. What an insult to the masses! As we move away from that unfortunate era, the new leadership in Government should now put the interests of the people of Zimbabwe at the centre of progress. In other words, nothing about us without us! Government should cement and recalibrate the existing social covenant with the people.

But just what should it look like and what opportunities should it provide for the masses? Those are the questions we should be seized with. Folks, it is clear that the political landscape of the country has changed, ushering us into a new dispensation that is already showing more political will to implement progressive reforms.

Prior to the new dispensation, political will was a scarce commodity and that alone was the biggest threat to Government’s social covenant with the people then. In the 2018 National Budget, Finance and Economic Planning Minister Patrick Chinamasa highlights that corrective measures to address apparent fiscal indiscipline have been constantly proffered over the years, with Cabinet actually embracing a number of recommendations for implementation.

He, however, bemoaned that those measures were “arbitrarily reversed or ignored, reflective of lack of political will”, obviously by the previous leadership.

Folks, political will is a tone set at the top, and the previous leadership chose not to show it at a time when it was needed the most, much to the anguish of the generality of the populace.

However, signs of political will are now visible wherever one sets his/her eyes. Minister Chinamasa calls it a “new economic order”.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa set the right tone in his inauguration speech when he said: “While we cannot change the past, there is a lot we can do in the present and future to give our nation a different positive direction . . .I implore you all to declare that never again should the circumstances that have put Zimbabwe in an unfavourable position be allowed to recur or overshadow its prospects.”

Folks, we are coming from an era where things were sometimes done, with the masses said to be the intended beneficiaries. Yet, those in the corridors of power variably emerged as intermediary beneficiaries; winners taking it all. That narrative should change. There is a lot of inequality in this country.

A look at Zimbabwe’s Gini co-efficient will paint the picture better. We, therefore, cannot be content with just being in a new era with old circumstances still existing. Certain things should change and Government should focus on redistributing income and, especially, resources.

For example, is a particular generation solely entitled to land? Young people seem to only get land as an inheritance.

Right now, it is difficult for them to access land and some are actually having to rent ivhu from older people who were fortunate enough to get the resource but are not using it. Yet, Section 3(2)(j) of the Constitution talks about the need for “equitable sharing of national resources, including land”.

Further, Section 289(c) states that, “The allocation and distribution of agricultural land must be fair and equitable, having regard to gender balance and diverse community interests.”

Looking at land ownership statistics, I do not think that equity has been satisfied. Equality should, therefore, be the focus, folks.

Inequality was one of the reasons why Zimbabwe waged Chimurenga. You see, after we obtained Independence in 1980, the first policy launched by the new Government was “Growth With Equity”.

So, without equity, there can never be any concrete social covenant with the people. In reviving the social covenant with the masses, Zimbabwe’s new leadership should also pay attention to ensuring everyone understands what is being done and that no funny business is tolerated in communicating messages.

If the understanding of the “ordinary person on the street” is still far removed from the intentions of Government, then the people and Government will not be in harmony and there won’t be cooperation as they will only be pulling in totally different directions. The people should, therefore, primed to understand the actions of Government and the intentions behind those actions.

The people are the ones who determine the success or failure of every policy or programme and can only be ignored at one’s peril. While Government is pursuing capital amnesty, for instance, what is the understanding of average folks on the street about amnesty and what it takes for its results to be realised?

The other day, I passed by vendors who were discussing that more than a month has already passed without any cent having been repatriated under the amnesty, apparently implying that Government “has sold us a dummy” — which is, however, not the case. Do they have correct understanding of how the amnesty should happen and if not, what would be the impact of that misunderstanding on their will to work with Government?

Again, what is the layman’s view on fiscal consolidation measures such as retrenching some employees in Government?

Further, Government should not be seen to contradict itself on issues that have a bearing on confidence. If the message is that bond notes are still with us and a local currency will come at a later stage, then those communicating this message must not confuse the people. Government should, therefore, build consensus and foster buy-in from the masses by ensuring everyone understands the bigger picture. Vasingazivi ngavadzidziswe! Folks, in this new dispensation, we all have a role to play in the important nation-building process and carving a reloaded social covenant that optimally works for us and that will never again be abused by politicians.

Later folks! Clemence Machadu is an economist, researcher and consultant. He writes in his personal capacity