Betraying pursuit of economic justice, socio-economic rights?

this critical moment, when the Government of Zimbabwe has presented a framework for equitable distribution of national wealth/natural resources benefiting economically prejudiced and vulnerable Zimbabweans, that human rights NGOs are neglecting to engage a process that clearly raises socio-economic human rights questions.
Being the experts on matters of human rights and having claimed the status of human rights defenders, we can only wonder why NGOs seem paralysed, in a nervous condition betraying our socio-economic rights expectations. Just as much as they have been in denial over the impact of sanctions on socio-economic rights of all Zimbabweans, NGOs now play possum in the face of Zimbabweans indigenising their national wealth to guarantee the very socio-economic rights devastated by sanctions.
Ironically, the missions and visions of these NGOs are clearly founded on an International Bill of Rights whose provisions mandate that socio-economic rights be guaranteed by a country’s natural resources.
The black and white text of Article 2 (1) of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights obliges member states to take steps “to the maximum of available resources” to guarantee socio-economic rights. Even further, Article 21 (1) (5) of the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights provides that a people must freely dispose of their wealth and natural resources in their exclusive interest; while Article 21 (5) calls upon governments to eliminate foreign economic exploitation by international monopolies to enable their peoples to fully benefit from the advantages derived from their national resources.
Is it not a betrayal of these very international human rights provisions that NGOs advocating human rights now avoid taking initiative on the question of the extent to which socio-economic rights in Zimbabwe will be guaranteed by the indigenisation of natural resources to benefit the most vulnerable majority black population?
Is indigenisation not a measure, a framework within which Zimbabwe’s government will ensure that the country’s natural resources are disposed by indigenous people to benefit their socio-economic rights as is mandated by the African Commission?
So far we only hear criticism that Zimbabwe’s indigenisation and empowerment laws are filled with loopholes and are ill-drafted. Quite frankly, “So what?” The question we would think should be asked is: “What is the primary objective, the pursued ends, of such legislation; what was/is the intention of the legislature in enacting the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act?”
If the intent is achieving economic justice in a country whose economy remains defined by colonialism’s skewed distribution of wealth, then the next question would be, “should our human rights experts not be offering their renowned expertise to shape and perfect such laws to guarantee socio-economic rights?”
NGOs are known for raising dust that Zimbabwe’s Constitution does not guarantee socio-economic rights, yet here now are they presented with legislation providing the impetus and foundation upon which socio-economic rights can be made sustainable, only to be reaffirmed in a Constitution.
The very reason why governments across the world have dragged their feet on guaranteeing socio-economic rights, including the USA which has refused to ratify the Covenant on Economic Social and Cultural Rights, is lack of sufficient resources to guarantee and fund such rights.
Yet when we have a government such as ours prepared to ensure that available natural resources become the collateral for socio-economic rights, such government is not encouraged or complemented by human rights advocates. Strange! Zimbabwe’s self defeating partisan approach to critical national issues makes us lucky that the truth regarding natural resources need no longer be reiterated only by Zanu-PF members in government.
Divine intervention has given us precedent in the corroborating letter by MDC-T’s Minister of Finance declaring to the United States of America that to guarantee the socio-economic aspirations of more than 300 000 civil servants Zimbabwe must exercise its sovereign right to dispose of its diamonds without the limitation of sanctions.
Given the undeclared oath by NGOs not to dare be seen on the wrong political side that is Zanu PF side, for indeed jobs will be lost, we would have thought the MDC-T Minister’s letter would have given them opportunity to follow the cue of the “blue eyed” political side and defend the sovereign right, as nicely put by Minister Biti, of Zimbabweans to dispose of their natural resources in guarantee of socio-economic rights.
Yet the only headlines have been of NGOs finding their way to the African Union Summit in Addis Ababa held in January 2012 to express concern over Zimbabwe’s lack of preparedness to hold elections, citing lack of guarantees for civil and political rights.
What of guarantees of socio-economic rights; are these not also critical to guaranteeing free and fair elections within a sovereign state? Surely NGOs must acknowledge the interdependency between an economically empowered people and their ability to participate in polls without their free will being susceptible to the socio-economic dependency and desperation easily manipulated by foreign aid usually accompanied by sinister regime change motives.
Our nation’s fortunes and a people’s whole being cannot be reduced to the event of elections and the transfer of political power so narrowly defined within the confines of civil and political rights. Did the human rights defenders that spoke on behalf of our aspirations remember to direct the African Union’s attention to our socio-economic endeavours and the matter of sanctions imposed to stop our Government, and Honourable Biti himself, from using the wealth of our diamonds to guarantee our socio-economic rights? We can only doubt they did.
If we are to agree that the underlying objective of the pursuit for political power is to control resources and determine wealth distribution then is it not clear that those funding and dictating our human rights movement would rather NGOs prioritise the civil and political rights being used to predetermine the seat of political power in Zimbabwe.
You must note that over the past 10 years, when foreign donors have made calls for NGOs to submit proposals for funding, matters of good governance and civil and political rights are prioritised as most deserving. So he who pays the piper dictates that we build toilets on perpetually empty stomachs.
We have already seen the heads of the world’s biggest donors, Britain’s Cameron and the United States’ Obama, directing donor funds to be given to NGOs prioritising gay and lesbian rights? We must be weary; dependency on aid shall see many complying and as a result being further alienating the people’s most pressing socio-economic priorities.
It makes sense why western governments and their corporate philanthropists prioritise giving civil and political rights achievement awards, soon to be gay and lesbian rights protection awards, to human rights defenders mostly from “third world” countries.
Once a people’s socio-economic consciousness is alienated they are more likely to forgo laying claim to their natural resources; the better for western economies desperate to keep us from indigenising our natural resources and wealth. Such is the politicisation of human rights.
The critical question that urgently needs answering by Zimbabweans, especially its youth, is whether we shall continue to place our faith in human rights NGOs blind to our most pertinent pursuit for economic justice and socio-economic rights.
The millions of Zimbabwe’s youth must be given an option other than foreign funded human rights interpretations calculated to win over their loyalties and energies; hence the silliness in USA’s Charles Ray being declared by some young Zimbabweans as our youth empowerment hero.
The youth’s energies are in danger of being directed away from the very socio-economic opportunities being offered them by the indigenisation and empowerment programme, to be wasted in pursuit of regime change agendas calculated to serve only foreign economic interests. Yet all is not lost, not yet, should the youth be awakened to define their own priorities that are pursuit for economic justice and prosperity.
It is now most critical that statutory bodies such as the Zimbabwe Youth Council must play a critical role in creating a platform for Zimbabwe’s youth to identify with their socio-economic needs and with the economic opportunities that stand to benefit them most.
Indigenisation and economic empowerment cannot and must not be divorced from socio-economically deprived Zimbabwean youth who can easily be made to forget, come elections, that it was not a Zanu-PF party in government that failed to guarantee them socio-economic prosperity and rights through the indigenisation of their natural resources, but was rather a people divided by the manipulations of foreign economic interests.
The socio-economic awareness and capacities of young Zimbabweans urgently need to nurtured, something many of our NGOs’ current agenda will not do for us. Our youths must also understand and appreciate that it is not about demanding hand outs, or sitting back and expecting the Government and its Ministry of Youth Development, Indigenisation and Empowerment to waive some magic wand and see us all prosperous.
Rather, we must be capacitated to dig deep within our renowned resourcefulness, our entrepreneurial skills and the ingenuity learnt from years of persevering economic hardships imposed by western sanctions.
Unknown to them at the time, sanctions taught us valuable lessons that can and shall complement our socio-economic rising. Ultimately, why must our educated and highly skilled youth seek economic exile in foreign economies whose glamour would fade, as is already happening, without the wealth of natural resources stolen from the very homes from which we flee as economic refugees?
Despite serving these foreign economies with slave like labour we shall never be guaranteed a share in their prosperity well fed by the plundered diamonds, platinum and vast natural resources we left defenseless in our deserted back yards. It was God who wept over his people perishing because of their lack of knowledge.
We can be certain He weeps for Zimbabwean youth He so richly endowed with much wealth yet perish socio-economically, having allowed their inheritance to be usurped by passing strangers.