WAS MADHUKU RIGHT?

Imagine waking up one morning to find out that your mission or what you stand for has become irrelevant? No one is interested in hearing what you have to say or your business. It seems like no one cares about what you have to say or do. This is tragic and sad especially if one used to have some clout especially when it comes to influencing events. This is the sad story of the National Constitutional Assembly which disapproved the constitution making process citing irregularities such as that the process is being led by politicians. When they announced that they were not going to participate in the process they were harangued by many and accused of living in past glories especially the 2000 referendum when they campaigned for a “no” vote. Many questioned why the NCA had become more critical of the process. Many Zimbabweans thought that the opportunity to write a constitution had come especially at a time when there was an inclusive government in place. The NCA crossed swords with most civic organizations especially when it came to the issue of the constitution. It was a the bane of unthinking egocentricism.Many thought that the inclusive government was going to ameliorate the lives of many and eliminate the dark cloud that had hung over many people’s heads over whether or not a new constitution was going to be written by the people. When the constitution making process kicked off, many anticipated that within the GPA specified time, the constitution was going to be written and follow the whole procedure of meeting the time frames. One thing that has characterized the process from its inception is bickering and continued dragging of feet especially among the three main political parties who have proved to the rest of the world that they will continue to push for their own parochial interests at the expense of the expense of the whole population. Now with the debacle of the constitution becoming a reality, many critics of the NCA are beginning to give Dr Madhuku some respite while others remain adamant that the process should be given enough time. One reality that every Zimbabwean has to awaken to is that the Constitution making process has failed due to one obstacle – politicians. This group of carders that is to include all the political parties are all enjoying the benefits from the gravy train known as the inclusive government from where they have adopted meaningless titles such as ‘honorable’ which do not reflect the dismal performance of the establishment and appear reluctant especially on the need to come up with a new constitution as stipulated in the GPA. . For the MDC, the mere fact that they overlooked the issue of people driven makes them delinquent because they call themselves the ‘people’s party’. It really becomes inane especially to its supporters who have received a raw deal since the inception of the inclusive government. They have been sidelined from the beginning. The MDC is always in chronic denial under the delusion that people should be patient with the inclusive government for it to deliver. On the other hand, ZANU PF has been enjoying the whole moribund process because that gives then time to scheme and come up with better and more successful tricks to lure the MDC to give out more concessions like in the beginning. From the time the inclusive government came into effect, ZANU PF has tested the competence and effectiveness of SADC, the guarantor of the GPA by violating the agreement. To their advantage, SADC is as incapable, useless in bringing an end to the current stalemate just like MDC. This is not to let Dr Madhuku and company off the hook. Of course they have been masquerading as people who sympathize with the people. I am amused by the kind of camaraderie that they purport to have with the people. Madhuku has openly vowed that he will decampaign the whole constitution making process. What if people after all want to be part of the process? In the event that the people don’t buy into the NCA’s manifesto, then that will take them into extinction. Speaking at a recent Quill speak, Dr Madhuku described the moribund constitution process a farce. I do agree with him there but what they stand for as NCA appears insipid because he says that NCA was created to oppose politicians not to lead the constitution making process. What if politicians really come out successful by writing a perfect constitution for this country?.Then what it means for the NCA is that they should close shop because they would have run out of business. Of course I don’t want to take credit from them because at least they predicted the failure of a monster called GNU which was going to reduce people to unthinking robots, who are incapable of contributing something meaningful to the development of society. The inclusive government has failed. It is no longer news to anyone who seems to care. The politicians have failed to write a constitution not for the people but for themselves just like what Madhuku predicted. Rawlings Magede is a free thinker who writes from Nkayi, Matebeleland North. He can be contacted at rawedge699@gmail.com