Chronicle Editor
Wallace Musakanyi and David Makora, Correspondents
THE political arena is a hub that can guarantee transformation.
With a crop of determined and forward looking politicians and bureaucrats, the nation’s developmental trajectory will take shape but when the field is congested with sellouts, stooges and “yes men”, they can stalk development and turn the progressive path upside down.
As such, politics as a governance framework must be regulated and controlled in order to ensure that the brand, image and interests of the state are appealing and intact for the state machinery and institutions to function effectively and one way of doing so is by enacting regulatory legislation.
In light of the above, Zimbabwean legislators recently passed a noble piece of legislation which is termed the Patriotic Act.
The law is critical in stimulating a sense of belonging, national pride and has enormous benefits of bringing sanity to the political discourse.
The law creates the crime of willfully damaging the sovereignty and national interests of the state and severely punishes individuals who consider or plan an armed intervention in Zimbabwe through the aid of foreign governments.
It further disciplines individuals who connive with foreign players to subvert a constitutionally elected government, as well as those working in cahoots with external players considering, implementing or extending sanctions and trade boycott against Zimbabwe.
The legislation is a revolutionary development in Zimbabwean politics as it seeks to reinvent and transform an ideology of political polarisation towards an inculcating spirit of national consciousness.
It arranges Zimbabweans across the diverse political and social backgrounds into a single file in relation to the matters of statehood and nationalism which is pertinent in ensuring that citizens find each other as well as planting the culture of peace and harmony.
In addition, it speaks volumes to the benevolent work which is in sync with the contributions propounded by post-colonial theorists.
This can go a long way in facilitating Zimbabwe’s national healing and reconciliation agenda that seeks to place matters of national consciousness and identity at the forefront of Zimbabwe’s political discourse.
Taking cognisance of the Nyika Inovakwa Nevene Vayo/Ilizwe Lakhiwa Ngabaninilo philosophy, which is alive in the development oriented New Dispensation led by President Mnangagwa, the enactment of the law is befitting and complementary.
This is because it is part and parcel of a deconstruction strategy that aims to liberate native Zimbabweans from the intellectual, political, economic, social and cultural systems that advance external interests at the expense of internal development.
With the hefty punishment to the offenders, the law has the overarching effect of whipping into line sellouts and traitors as well as converting them into patriots who as per norm by the mere fact of being stakeholders of the nation must take part in the developmental trajectory of their country.
It can be seen as the resurgence and continuation of the nation building strategy that seeks to foster a sense of belonging and attachment to a particular territory.
This is simply relatable to other nation building strategies adopted in Africa in the earliest years of independence such as Ujama and Harambe experience in Tanzania and the South African Renaissance nation building project.
The law will go a long way in moulding a “Zimbabwe First Initiative”, that is a communitarian approach that takes individuals as members of a particular territory that is defined more than that of global citizens as might be assumed by the cosmopolitans.
It in turn creates an obligation for the individuals to participate and take seriously national matters as of first priority as they are deemed as their immediate needs which create room for applauding home-grown political attitudes, behaviours and patterns of expressions that are in tandem with the historical structures of Zimbabwe’s political landscape.
The legislation brings lucidity to the field of foreign policy and international relations because it reserves the prerogative of diplomatic and state to state communication with foreign and external players to government officials only.
It happens at a time when the Second Republic has been utilising economic diplomacy as a foreign policy tool to unlock and forge new partnerships, trade and other economic agreements.
On the contrary, scores of opposition political players have also been working in cahoots with external players loudly calling for the imposing of sanctions, seeking regime change as well as blocking lucrative investments through a spirited smear campaign of the republic.
Part of this logic emanates from the fact that the opposition politicians are remote controlled from the Western world, profiteer and gain massive political mileage at the expense of the suffering of the ordinary populace.
Progressive as well as like-minded citizens must welcome the Patriotic Act with both hands because it values and prioritises the primacy of national interests and sovereignty over the demonisation and derogation of the republic.
This is critical in ensuring that Zimbabwe realises its domestic and international goals. It is a check-mate to the regime-change premeditated Western inspired propaganda and greatly advances the cause of nation as well as image building.
l Wallace Musakanyi and David Makora can be contacted on [email protected] and [email protected]
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