Accountability and transparency are the quintessential elements that safeguard the integrity of governance. However, it appears the Zimbabwean political landscape, epitomised by the actions of Zanu pf, is attempting to negate these crucial pillars. The recent distribution of cars to Political Actors Dialogue (POLAD) members, purportedly from the benevolent coffers of a Zanu pf high roller, Tagwirei, unveils a facade with a dual core utility. Initially, these vehicles act as blinkers, shielding the glaring misdemeanours of power retention. Secondly, they serve as an incentive, sweetening the bitter pill of a burgeoning autocracy Zanu pf envisions.
The recipients of these POLAD cars have been riding on a frail argument that it’s the government, not Zanu pf, bestowing these gifts. This argument is fundamentally flawed as it bypasses the pressing exigencies and the raison d’être of POLAD. If the government and Zanu pf were indeed separate entities, the constitutional quagmire would be non-existent. Yet, POLAD was conceived as a means for Zanu pf to skirt around the glaring elephant in the room – its illegitimacy stemming from unconstitutional power retention.
This illegitimacy is a byproduct of the intertwining of the sadistic and criminal elements within Zanu pf with a now stymied state governance system. This entanglement is marked by a burgeoning centralisation of power, lacking the requisite checks and balances that independent state organs, a non-partisan military, and an unfettered fourth estate would typically provide. The constitution, the supreme law of the land, should ideally act as a bulwark against such autocratic tendencies. However, Zanu pf, employing a captured judiciary and a legislative numerical superiority, has continually mauled the constitution to further its agenda.
The perennial devaluation of the constitution by Zanu pf has ushered in an era of rule by law and impunity, engendering an environment ripe for uninhibited looting and plunder. These nefarious activities are primarily motivated by Zanu pf’s desire for a one-party state, ensuring an unfettered access to national resources for self-enrichment at the dire expense of the populace’s welfare and service delivery. This disdain for constitutionalism fuels Zanu pf’s infringement on fundamental human rights and the blatant diversion of public resources for private gain.
The essence of this discourse is to underscore the undeniable constitutional crisis pivoted on legitimacy, popular will, and consensus. The flawed reasoning of POLAD beneficiaries, who argue that Zanu pf isn’t the government and that the cars are instruments of POLAD’s barren philosophy, only deepens the crisis. The acceptance of these vehicles insulates the troubling conflation and subsequent paralysis of the state from scrutiny.
In this quagmire, Zanu pf manipulates POLAD into a state of sycophancy, submissiveness, and subservience. The beneficiaries, now beholden to Zanu pf, become pawns in a grand scheme to present a facade of inclusivity, democracy, and reformation. This deception enables Zanu pf to cling onto power, leaving accountability and transparency as mere casualties. Consequently, the vicious cycle of rule by law, impunity, and state paralysis continues unabated. The bleak reality is that these compounded tragedies stymie Zimbabwe’s transition into a democracy, leaving the nation in a perpetual state of looting and plunder while the POLAD pawns and their new cars fade into oblivion.
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