Obama’s Zim Imbroglio

Perspective Stephen Mpofu
United States president Barack Obama is stuck in the jaws of a gargantuan dilemma as to how to extricate himself and his administration from the Zimbabwe illegal sanctions imbroglio and still command the respect of an ethnocentric pride of cubs abroad as the pacemaker in international, political and economic dynamics vis-à-vis poor nations including those on the African continent.

While admitting, just days ago, that the illegal sanctions his country imposed by law on Zimbabwe to try and effect regime change and reverse land reform were hurting ordinary people and businesses, the American leader still had the audacity to say he believed a new “structure” of sanctions was necessary in retribution for “repeated violations of basic democratic practices and human rights inside of Zimbabwe.”

But those who know full well the fertile imagination of American leaders as demonstrated by the creation of “arms of mass destruction” allegedly harboured by Iraq, which led to America’s invasion of that Arab country and the subsequent execution of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, will not be surprised by Obama’s imaginative creation in Zimbabwe of “repeated violation of basic democratic practices and human rights” allegedly by the Zanu-PF government.

The truth is that America finds it difficult openly to admit its blunderers economic embargo on Zimbabwe in the first place in order for the two countries to enter into a new beginning without any scapegoats after the failed regime change project. Talk of any new structure of sanctions, whose colour Obama has still not stated but which he believes will not affect ordinary people and ordinary companies should be dismissed by all as wild imagination because whatever economic activity the imaginary companies will carry out will be part of the Zimbabwean economy and, as such, will still affect the ordinary Zimbabwean people.

Obama’s admission that his country’s sanctions were affecting the generality of Zimbabwean companies and people came in an interview with Zimbabwean ICT entrepreneur Takunda Chingonzo at the recent US-Africa Business Forum in Washington.

All along the US administration has been telling the world that the sanctions on Zimbabwe were targeted at President Mugabe and his inner circle and companies linked to Zanu-PF. Of course, only people living on Mars and with no direct contact with what goes on earth would buy such a laughable attempt at justifying the draconian sanctions that have shut down many private companies, left others reeling and have taken a heavy toll on the lives of thousands of families whose bread-winners lost their jobs as a result.

Now Obama suggests a meeting with young entrepreneurs from Zimbabwe clearly to try to inculcate in them values that run counter to the revolutionary ethos of the Zanu-PF government with indigenisation and economic empowerment — that is, giving indigenous people total control of the economy — as dividends of the armed revolution that secured this country from white, racist rule in 1980.

Obama says by engaging young entrepreneurs in a meeting the Zimbabweans would tell America what they want to do, with the American administration reciprocating with “a strong message about good governance in Zimbabwe.”

Implied in Obama’s remark is that there is no good governance in Zimbabwe — a fallacious remark, indeed, which suggests America’s never-die intent on bringing about regime change and with that a restoration of land and companies to foreign ownership so that once again Zimbabweans would be made to settle for the whey while foreigners skim the cream of this country’s economy.

The youth of this country sacrificed school, jobs and other rainbows of life to take up arms and fight the white oppressors and bring freedom and independence to this former British colony.

In the process many of them sacrificed their lives and their remains lie in unmarked graves, or are scattered like animal skeletons in the bushes of southern Africa.

Zimbabwe’s post independence youth have an important duty as bearers of the torch of freedom, independence and sovereignty that they took over from the young men and young women who bore arms to liberate the motherland.

Now if America succeeds in weaning the present day bearers of the torch of peace and freedom, as is clearly implicit in Obama’s remarks, the young Zimbabwean entrepreneurs would have sold out and become slaves to imperialism and a capitalist tendency where survival of the fittest is a golden rule.

This therefore means that the African and socialist spirit of sharing and sharing alike will be held hostage to a spirit of individualism as propounded by capitalism. Once that happens, young Zimbabwean business people will throw a half-bitten sandwich over the gaping mouth of a fellow African and into a rubbish bin, or do such other individualistic act in conformity with the capitalist spirit of the law of the jungle. In essence, Obama’s enticement of young Zimbabwean entrepreneurs as an alternative way of effecting regime change should be seen as posing a challenge to those Zimbabweans who survived the armed struggle and hold responsible positions in the economy and in society generally.

These are the leaders who ought to have continually grounded young Zimbabweans in business or other national activity on the need for continued cohesion as a people on a revolutionary road without end.

It is they who should make sure that America or any other imperialist state will find it difficult to try to culture young Zimbabwean entrepreneurs or other young people in other pursuits, for that matter, in their own political or economic test tube in order to alienate them from their own government and national cultural values. Obviously, foreign governments will try to dangle succulent carrots – money – to lure unsuspecting young people away from their national practices and policies in order to further foreign, hegemonic agendas, especially in countries where revolutionary political parties are in power.

Moreover, it will be a political tragedy were African governments to allow their youths openly to be drawn under the political spell of foreign governments that have dubious, heinous political records in other countries.