 (photo: Khumbulani Ndlovu) Today, children's dream job in Zimbabwe is a street vendor, because it's the only trade where cash transactions take place. |
Esa Salminen, Harare
Translated by Linus Atarah
Power sharing among African politicians is like allowing leopards and hyenas to decide what is good for the goat, says, an official of Zimbabwe’s biggest trade union.
The office of Zimbabwe’s biggest central trade union federation, ZCTU, is in the centre of Harare at the top of a tower block, but it is not indicated by a sign anywhere in the building. According to a list of addresses downstairs, offices are only located at the lowest floors of the building. Outside are winding queues to bank automatic machines and a doorman is moonlighting selling popcorn to pedestrians.
In the autumn an agreement was signed between the divided opposition, Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) of Zimbabwe and Zanu-PF which has held power for 28 years for the formation of a government of national unity and power-sharing between the parties. However, not much has been achieved weeks after the agreement because the parties have not been able to agree on details set out in the agreement such as allocation of ministerial portfolios.
Power sharing is just eyewash
- We are not at all satisfied with the agreement, says ZCTU’s information officer, Last Tarabuku in his office.
- Contrary to what several others say, Morgan Tsvangirai is only a ceremonial Prime Minister in this agreement and Robert Mugabe has all the power. He can even fire Tsvangvirai if he wants to.
Tarabuku and the general assembly of ZCTU have examined the agreement document exhaustively, and according to them, it is just a continuation of term of office for Zanu-PF.
- The power sharing is not real. MDC has become part of it apparently only to enable the country receive foreign development assistance and, so that sanctions would be lifted, slams Tarabuka.
Trade union members and leaders have been arrested, tortured and also murdered over the past few years. Doesn’t it scare Tarabuka for being so forthright?
- Yes, we know that the secret service is listening but we do not care about that. Yes, we are being threatened intimidated and we have to ask permission from the police in order to hold demonstrations, attend meetings and even workshops. But one cannot run away from the police. They know where we live and where we spend our free time and where we go for beer. If they want to kill us it is quite easy, Tarabuko says.
”Mugabe will continue for five years more”.
On its part, trade unions under the leadership of ZCTU have tried to influence the negotiations so that power should be transferred to an independent body which would be responsible for the drawing of a new constitution and organise free elections that would be recognised by all as quickly as possible. Such a body could be headed by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court or one of the retired judges with no links to political parties.
- The current government doesn’t have support of the people behind it and the agreement only legitimises the elections of June 27 last year where Mugabe was the only candidate”, Tarabuku explains.
- We hope that this is just a temporary structure and we are treating it as such. However, we fear that because there is no mention of new elections in the agreement it means Mugabe will remain in power for the next five years.
Before the agreement was finalised opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai threatened that it would be better not to to sign an agreement than sign a bad one. To the trade union members this is what has happened; a bad agreement has been signed.
In an interview in ZCTU’s newspaper, The Worker, Tsvangirai said in August that it was agreed that as Prime Minister he would head the ministerial cabinet and he had among others, the right to appoint and remove ministers. In the final agreement the former opposition leader however, heads a lower level ministerial council, while the appointment of the cabinet and dismissals are in the hands of Mugabe.
The editorial of the same newspaper says that it is almost the same whatever politicians agree amongst themselves insofar as the people are not involved.
- What we have learnt from here is that politicians are all the same, especially in Africa. Dialogue has shrunk into mere power struggle.
According to the newspaper, leaving all the agreement to Zanu-PF and MDC is like allowing the leopard and the hyena to decide the fate of the goat: it is obvious that they will cling to their rights to benefit from the end result.
Operating frugally
The activities of the central trade union federation in addition to policy advocacy includes, training workers, raising awareness about AIDS and protection of their interest. But just like everything in Harare ZCTU is also forced to operate frugally.
- We receive external support, for instance, from SASK but it easily turns out that whenever we want to organise a workshop the monies in the bank become almost worthless. Tarabuka, offering a glimpse of daily life in Zimbabwe, says “prices are currently rising every minute”.
- Many of our members are sitting idle in offices because there is no electricity. Salaries are, at the moment just ridiculous and people go to work on foot. They queue the whole day to withdraw 1000 Zimbabwean dollars from the bank while a bus trip home costs 500 dollars. I do not understand how people manage to stay alive.
On its part ZCTU is struggling for workers’ rights to withdraw their salaries from the bank, because a daily minimum of withdrawal has been imposed. They have made it known to an official of the Central Bank that the consequence will be demonstrations if the situation does not improve but it hardly helps.
- He only said he will take our grievances to the higher authorities concerned, says Last Tarabuku.
It is not promising because the trade union movement does not believe in the government anymore.
- Previously we had trilateral negotiations in which we represented the workers while on the other side sat the business community and the government. But we abandoned it because it was completely useless. The government’s wishes overruled all decisions so the negotiations were a waste of time, says Tarabuka.
The cradle of (previous) opposition
A day prior to the interview, the police once again had visited the office of ZCTU in search of its leaders and were told in a general way that the leaders were busy. State officials also participate in the general meetings of the organisation with their own permission.
The background of the police interest is that Zimbabwe’s only worthy opposition party was created under the protective wings of the ZCTU. Its leader Morgan Tsvangirai was its Secretary-General before becoming leader of the party from 1988-2000, and the original decision of the ZCTU to form MDC in 1999. Right from the beginning the party has been independent in the trade union, and nowadays ZCTU does not pull its punches either whenever there is something noticeable to be said against the MDC.
- The MDC had the mandate of workers when it was formed but it has now veered off course, says Tarabuka, in amazement.
While the parties are in engaged in a power struggle issues important to civil society and the people are left by the roadside. According to Tarabuka, the whole agreement is focused on power-sharing and does not touch on the causes that have led the country into a political and economic blind alley. Negotiations are held behind closed doors attended by only a few politicians some of who do not even have the backing of voters.
- In our opinion, the most important now would be to guarantee workers’ rights, resolve the economic crisis and draw a new constitution which gives voice to all the citizens, Tarabuku sums it all up.
The writer visited Zimbabwe in September 2008.
