Apart from the western model of democracy, can you give us any other form of government system which has proved to be superior?
Sunday Opinion with Tirivashe Chikumbirike
Communism’s failure culminated in the disintegration of the Soviet Union. Currently the remaining communist countries are few, like China, Vietnam, Cuba and Laos.
Consider Cuba for instance, one may argue for communism because there is a high literacy rate (98,9%) and a well functional health system, but people do not enjoy life in that island. In short communism is a failure hence the need to re-orient ourselves towards the western model of democracy, which promotes human rights and is strongly associated with economic and social development.
Stop sowing seeds of a retributive agenda which will only foster hatred, racism, disunity among a plethora of other evils. This propaganda you are spreading is typical of the cold war time where the communist bloc would speak against the capitalist bloc and vice versa. Do not try to put your ideas in our minds.
I bet Joseph Goebbels is smiling in his grave right now seeing how some people are still perpetuating his legacy.
How can you tell us to like the Russians and the Chinese, when the Chinese are engaging in illegal business dealings with a coterie of Zanu PF politicians? In their country the Chinese have an ingrained system of patronage.
Party affiliation not only opens the door for career opportunities, but also allows access to political resources for economic gain. In all, the regime gains loyalty by rewarding those that collaborate with it. In their quest to emerge as the world’s economic giant, the Chinese are taking advantage of African states.
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How are they taking advantage of us? The answer is simple: In return for protection in the UN Security Council. It is mainly the Chinese and Russians who use their veto power against any decisions by the Americans against most African states like Zimbabwe.
The Chinese goods are inferior in quality and only perpetuate poverty. Their goods are threatening the very survival of our locally made products and it is alleged that the Chinese are not being affected by the indigenisation.
The reason why authoritarian regimes opt to conduct business with China is because Chinese aid comes with no conditions of human rights and democracy.
The western world will not recognise any government that violates human rights and rig elections. Given this background, they do not extend financial aid to such regimes, they will only give humanitarian aid.
How then can two walk together unless they agree? China being a non-democratic polity is a good friend of Zimbabwe, the Chinese practise a form of state capitalism (a refined version of it is found in Brazil).
There are human rights violations and there is no political pluralism in China. The Chinese are also good at propaganda under the pretext of public diplomacy. They are doing everything in their power to spread their ideologies, beliefs and culture. China is not a high-tech producer, but just a place for foreign companies to exploit cheap labour — the assembling factory of the world.
In China there are fast-emerging social inequalities: that a rural migrant worker has to work 16 or more hours a day for seven days a week to earn about US$80 a month, and we cannot call that “development”.
Finally, Amai Jukwa, Zanu PF has an ideological belief of ruling in perpetuity. Just because they took part in the armed struggle, they now believe it is their God-given right to rule us forever. If the people want a new government, who are you to deny them of their democratic rights? It is up to the masses to choose who they want to rule over them. Let’s not all forget that this is a social contract: The people have agreed to elect people who represent them as leaders.
The only reason why we even choose MPs in the first place is because it is no longer practical for a nation of over 12 million citizens to convene and craft their own laws, hence the need to trust a few individuals based on their charisma and understanding.
Back in the days it was still practical in places like Rome (Athenian democracy) mainly because the population then was not as big as it is now.
People would convene under a tree and collectively agree on what would become the law.
Unfortunately when the leaders we have chosen start enjoying power and the spoils of corruption, they start believing that it is God who has chosen them , yet is us the people who have chosen them. The people have the right to terminate this contract whenever they feel their leaders have failed to translate their pre-election pledges into concrete policies. If the people want the west to rule over them, let them shape their own destiny.
Amai Jukwa is a character with a Facebook page. Most of her posts are in support of Zanu PF and its policies.
