tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4114328814539867139.post2107228150660843443..comments2023-10-16T04:22:48.076-07:00Comments on Zimbabwe 2008 and beyond: A Military Junta in Control of ZimbabweAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10123758674536067270noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4114328814539867139.post-85200539570910427832010-01-15T07:38:05.550-08:002010-01-15T07:38:05.550-08:00All this is primarily because the form and charact...All this is primarily because the form and character of the State as introduced to Africa by European colonisers was essentially authoritarian in nature. In particular, in all settler colonies, as Rhodesia was, the State was structured to favour a minority and its elite. The absurdity of such a State then emerged when blacks took over. The State accommodated the elite and their patrons and excluded pretty much everyone else. This model, inevitably, failed spectacularly both economically and politically. This failure is what lies at the heart of Africa's crisis. But never mistake the failure of elites who are clinging on to anachronistic versions of the colonial State as the failure of African people - because those States and their governments are hardly by the people nor for the people. You must surely acknowledge our aspirations - the fact that we desire a different state of affairs, and we thrive in those limited areas of life that we find opportunities to do so means that in an atmosphere of freedom we can achieve success for ourselves. We have taken to education as a method of self-improvement and empowerment - as it stands, Zimbabwe has a massive human resources skills base that lies redundant because the state elites have failed to create an environment where such skills can be applied productively. And so it is that we are now scattered all over the globe where we're making valuable contributions to our adopted countries and are acknowledged for our hard work and industry. What we lack is not ambition and resources, we lack leadership and an enabling environment. When Europeans generally talk of the African crisis they like to make glib conclusions such as after all, this is Africa. They take a structural failure in the distribution of power between state and society to mean a general failure in the African personality. If we were at one with our leaders, why do they find cause to mow us down in the streets with guns and fumigate us with teargas? You must surely acknowledge that there is a burning grassroots aspiration for freedom among African people, there is a clear rejection of the status quo under most of our African leaders and a sense of how better is indeed possible under a situation where freedom reigns. Even those thousands who vote with their feet at the risk of drowning on the high seas as they attempt to get into Europe are seeking no more than an opportunity to put in an honest day's work and get rewarded for their efforts so they can improve their families. If they could do that at home, why wouldn't they? The struggle in Africa is one of a people trying to free themselves from the grip of self-serving tyrants who are using these invincible political/coercive machines called States that were bequeathed to our continent by colonising Europeans. Decolonisation meant dumping these Leviathans in the hands of black successors whose responsibility it was to reform them so they can work to the benefit of the newly independent people, but these hungry successors simply saw an opportunity to cream off the wealth of the country and sod everyone else. Our dreams of freedom have not stopped, and the fight for freedom continues. You're a part of it if you're a white African, because you're also African. The challenge is as much to the black African as it is to the white African. White Africans cannot wash their hands off this crisis and say after all, our people in Europe know we share the same DNA so they know we're not part of this failure. White Africans cannot stand apart and analyse from a distance coz when shit hits the fan as it does every so often, both black and white stink to high heaven!The Chofamba Posthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05259958794432578157noreply@blogger.com