Thin cow of unity
New African June 1987
Prime Minister Robert Mugabe sees Zimbabwe’s seven years of Independence as something akin to a religious experience. Gerry O’Kane takes a look at the miracles yet to come.
AT MIDNIGHT April 17 1987, Zimbabwe celebrated its seventh year of Independence. Although within those seven years the country has been transformed from a war ravaged state to a solid, confident (and in many business areas, profitable) state, it still faces problems. “They have not been quite the biblical seven fat years, nor have they always been thin. We have had a mixture of fat and thin cows. . .” said Prime Minister, Robert Mugabe, in his televised National Day Address.
As if to show the nation what a thin cow looked like, buried in the middle of his speech was the announcement of the breakdown of unity talks: “In regard to the Zapu-Zanu relationship, I am sorry to say that we have been deadlocked for far too long on the question and the Central Committee of my party has recently decided that the talks be discontinued.” As a result the following day’s celebrations were rather subdued when the national hope for unity faded. Dr Joshua Nkomo, leader of Zapu, responded to the statement by leaving Harare the next day and driving to Bulawayo for talks with senior members of his party. He ignored the independence anniversary celebrations planned for the 18th in the new £30m sports stadium, but in an interview the same day Nkomo said that the breakdown in the talks was only a temporary setback and told the nation to be cool and collected.
The two parties, under the auspices of their leaders, had been talking for over 18 months. They began as a result of riots in Harare following the July 1985 elections, when Zanu supporters attacked anyone thought to have voted for Zapu. Mugabe was constantly faced with dissent from members of his own party during the talks. One obstacle was a fear among some of his ministers that an agreement would mean Zapu staff taking positions from them, both in government and party.
Neither has he been able to effectively deal with his own ministers accused of corruption and incompetence.
These are not his only problems. At home there is growing discontent with the economy even though certain sectors are booming. There has been an increase in education for the young by over 300 per cent but youth unemployment has reached nearly 25 per cent. Even the new stadium used for the anniversary celebrations has come under attack - £30m was too much to pay.
White seats
The anniversary also meant that the, clock had run out for the 20 white seats guaranteed during the Lancaster House talks. Now it means that the separate register of white voters for 20 seats in the parliament can be amended by a vote of 70-30. Mugabe has shown great patience in scupulously observing the constitution drawn up at Lancaster House, despite continuous harassment from former Rhodesian Prime Minister Ian Smith (who was banned from Parliament in April), but has said “We shall soon rid ourselves of racial representation”. The 70 votes needed to get rid of the white seats will have to include votes from Nkomo’s Zapu but even with the breakdown in the unity talks, it is unlikely Mugabe will have any difficulty getting support.
One further problem for Mugabe on this front, is what to do with the white electorate after the seats have been abolished. It is far too near the last general election in 1985, to call another with an electoral roll including the whites. Mugabe is hoping that everyone will be reasonable enough to hang on until the 1990 elections for their vote. In the meantime it is expected that the white seats will be filled by people nominated by an electoral college of the 100 MPs, before the whites lose their seats. It is expected that whites will still be represented.
In foreign policy, too, Zimbabwe faces the ‘thin cows’. South Africa’s recent attack into southern Zambia, while probably politically steeling the Frontline states, also creates fear. While Zimbabwe has long been aware of this and knows how important it is to shake itself loose from South Africa’s economic grip, ‘thin cows’ seem to attack every solution.
Zimbabwe’s economic and military involvement in reopening Mozambique’s ports and rail links have, up until now, been successful. Both parties have encouraged foreign financial help and created a more secure Beira corridor than has been seen for some time. But from Mugabe’s point of view it has been an expensive exercise, both economically and in terms of military morale. His 15,000 troops are beginning to ask why they should fight someone else’s war, particularly without any benefits in their wage packet or their bellies.
Official optimism
Overall Mugabe seems optimistic for the future of Zimbabwe and certainly the whites seem quite happy with the way things are going - the farms and firms are making money. Nevertheless, judging by the amount of time he spent in his speech on the problems of South Africa and how he announced the dissolution of the unity talks, Robert Mugabe knows he has problems in the future.
Zimbabwe seventh year of Independence, Mugabe