Socialist Worker

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Say No to a Government of National Unity!Say No to Kariba Draft Constitution !Fight for fresh elections under a new peopledriven constitution

SO has consistently argued for the last few years that the poor andworking people would pay dearly if they naively followed the falsecalls for “change” championed by MDC and its imperialist-supportedcivic society allies and subordinated their organizations to the same.We called for the urgent establishment of a radical and anti-neoliberalunited front of working people’s organizations, to spearhead thestruggle even when the opposition leadership eventually sold out. Weargued that MDC was preparing for a sell out deal with Zanu PF as a junior partner and that Mugabe was now ready to accept this. Threeyears ago, we wrote -“

the perspective of a government of national unity betweenthe opposition and Zanu PF is shared by the elites nowdominant in the ruling party, in the two main opposition parties and local and international capitalists. Their mainefforts, despite current disagreements are driven towardsachieving such goal, as an instrument in pre-emptying socialrevolution in an important periphery capitalist state sent into mortal crisis by the failure of neo-liberal capitalism

…”And that for MDC –

“its primary preoccupation is towards reaching a sell out agreement with the Zanu PF dictatorship that will not benefit the poor and working people …(that) the opposition isdominated by the petite bourgeois elite, who long ago prostrated themselves before western neo-liberal forcesand are now eager to get into state power, even as junior partners, and accumulate as a neo-colonial dependent capitalist class.”

And for Zanu PF that –“

Zanu PF elites now want the peace to grow and launder the wealthacquired in the last decade but cannot do so in the context of a crisisridden state under siege from the west… (and that) despite his rhetoric, Mugabe is now ready to capitulate and enter into an elitist compromisedeal with the MDC, the west and business. But only after the 2008elections, which he hopes to use to legitimize his party’s claim to beingthe senior partner

…”Our warnings have now come to pass with Tsvangirai and MDC’sagreeing to finally join Mugabe in a so-called “all inclusive government”and parliament unanimously passing Constituional Amendment No19 and the massively neoliberal 2009 Budget and Monetary Policyissued by the regime. Under the deal Tsvangirai becomes prime ministerwhilst Mugabe chairing a Council of Ministers and with the oppositionhaving 16 to Zanu PF’s 15 Ministers. The deal mandates a constitutionalreform process that will lead to a referendum and new constitution ineighteen months time, overseen by a Parliamentary Select Committee.

7 Reasons to Oppose GNU and Amendment 19/ Kariba Draft Constitution Process

Understandably many ordinary people out of desperation havewelcomed the deal as possibly giving them some relief from the currentsuffering. But despite these there are many reasons why working peoplemust oppose the GNU and continue with the struggle against the ZanuPF dictatorship... With time, as hardships accelerate under dollarisationand the neoliberal policies of the GNU, most people will come tooppose it.

. The losers of the March 2008 elections retain most of the power,with Mugabe remaining the head of state and government and Tsvangirai,leader of the victorious party, reduced to slightly above a ceremonialrole.

Mugabe remains in the driving seat and MDC the junior spannerboy – which is why the western countries are unhappy. Mugaberemains the head of state and government with authority to appointministers, chair cabinet, dissolve parliament, declare war, enter intointernational treaties, assent to legislation and appoint or dismiss keystate officials like the service chiefs, judges, RBZ governor, ambassadorsand permanent secretaries. This is why he has already re-appointed G.Gono governor of the Reserve Bank for another five years. All he isrequired to do is to consult the Prime Minister but not necessarilyagree with him.

The deal leaves Mugabe in charge of the key security ministries andstate agencies and leaves the generals in the Joint Operations Commandin power, meaning if the Zanu PF regime can always throw out the dealif it no longer suits it t it has used MDC enough.4

Decisions in cabinet have to be made by consensus, therebyneutralizing the opposition’s numerical advantage.

The GNU creates an overbloated and expensive coalition governmentand parliament with over 50 ministers and deputy ministers; and nearly300 MPs and Senators, when the country is facing its worst economic

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February 2009

crisis. So happy were MDC-T MPs with passing of Amendment 19,shouting “tapinda tapinda.” (we too are now in).

The GNU is based on a neoliberal free market economic policy thatwill bring untold suffering to the working people whilst giving hugeluxuries to the rich and the capitalists. Adoption of such free-marketpolicies is one of the fundamental preconditions demanded by thewestern countries led by the USA and Britain to support the deal. Bothparties support this and already the regime has unleashed an all outneoliberal war on the poor and working people through its 2009 NationalBudget and Monetary Statement.

The GNU is pushing an undemocratic, neoliberal and elitistconstitution and constitutional process on Zimbabwe with aconstitution written by politicians and the elites, with civic societyand ordinary people reduced to a rubber-stamping role. The politicalparties will fast track their Kariba Draft Constitution on the people.Whilst massively protecting the interests of the rich and businessincluding their right to property, it leaves out labour and social economicrights of the ordinary people like the right to health, education, food,housing and drugs and care for those affected with AIDS/HIV, to fairlabour practices like the right to a living wage and to strike; the right tofor traders to earn a living including state support and freedom frompolice harassment.

Way Forward: Reject GNU and Kariba DraftConstitution process

Although the elites have come with a temporary ceasefire deal, theirGNU is shaky politically and economically. The Zanu PF dictatorshipis not interested in genuine power sharing, which is why it has re-appointed its brutal economic czar, Reserve Bank governor Gono foranother five years and retained so much power. Economically given thereluctant western imperialist support and a growing world recession,the prospects for economic recovery remain slim, thereby perpetuatingsocial and political tensions.Finally the ordinary people have no choice but to fight back against themassive attacks on their living conditions arising from dollarization andliberalization. For these reasons, progressive social movements, tradeunions, student unions, and civic groups must not call for ceasefire andhave naïve illusions in the deal or the Kariba Constitution process.Some elitist and pro-MDC NGOs are trying to persuade, bribe andbull doze civic society to give a chance to the GNU and its politiciandriven constitutional process saying we can improve on this. Rejectthis. If the engine is defective the car can never move. The whole dealand the Kariba process stink and anti-people. It cannot be improved.Insist on the constitutional process laid out in the Peoples Charter,which calls for a completely new people driven All StakeholdersConference, which will lay out the process for constitutional reform.Now is not the time to patch up a bogus and anti-people deal, but toaccelerate the struggles against the illegitimate regime and its neoliberaleconomic policies as is already being done by university students,teachers, lecturers and railway and water workers. United we canovercome the dictatorship and convene fresh elections under a newdemocratic and people driven constitution, that brings both politicaldemocracy and addresses bread and butter demands of life as we haveseen in constitutions in Venezuela and Bolivia. Such powerful reformscan set the foundations for the much more critical struggle against thevery system of capitalism itself, which breeds poverty and dictatorship,and instead fight for true human emancipation, socialism.But to ensure progress it is imperative that there be the urgentregroupement in a united front of the radical, anti-neoliberal and leftforces, including organized labour. To avoid the treachery we experiencedin the popular frontist Peoples Convention, which was dominated bythe imperialist funded and controlled groups, it is essential that there bea serious shake-out and split of civic society between the militant,serious and pro-working people anti-neoliberal movements opposingthe elitist Kariba Draft process and the opportunistic, cowardly andimperialist funded and controlled ones which want to hijack civic societymovements to support the elitist and neoliberal GNU and Kariba DraftConstitution processes.

National Civil Society Constitutional ConferenceSay no to compromises with the elitist GNU andKariba Constitution Process…Defend the Peoples Charter!

We in the International Socialist Organisation extend revolutionarygreetings to all attending the National Civil Society ConstitutionalConference in Harare on 6

February 2009. The conference comes ata critical time, when former colleagues in the opposition have sadlybut predictably entered into a bogus and elite political settlement as junior partners of a dictatorship that was resoundingly rejected bythe electorate in the last elections. This unity of politicians, has finallyallowed the state to unleash the barbaric and savage war on the poorand ordinary people long demanded by Gono, business, capitalists,the IMF and the imperialists, namely full dollarization and economicliberalization as a way out of the economic crisis. The 2009 NationalBudget and RBZ Monetary Statement, constitute the fundamentaleconomic pillars of the “inclusive government” about to be set, andthe necessary condition for its support by the business, capitalist andimperialist classes, which is why they have been welcomed by all themajor political parties.The remaining political pillar of this continuing brutalregime, will be a constitution imposed from above and one whichprotects the interests of the politicians, the business people and elitesin general whilst suppressing true democracy and the bread and butterdemands of ordinary people such as are included in the Peoples Charter.This will be achieved through Constitutional Amendment No 19 andthe Kariba Draft Constitution, where there will be a pretence of consulting the people through a politician and parliament run SelectCommittee and All Stake Holders Conference and Referendum.We call on delegates to this Conference to reject this blatant betrayalof the people and democratic struggle being attempted by the politicalparties, the capitalists, imperialists and their well-paid lackeys andboot lickers in sections of civic society. We must remain resolute withthe position we took at the Peoples Convention and contained insection 3 of the Peoples Charter demanding a full and genuine peopledriven constitutional reform process involving all stakeholders,followed by a referendum and fresh elections. We must totally rejectany calls for compromises under Article 6 of the GPA calling for aparliament select committee run process, which is a trap byopportunists to sell out our struggle. A flawed process will produce aflawed product. We must also reject any attempt o keep theconstitutional process limited only to the Kariba, Chidyausiku orNCA drafts. The first two are barbarous undemocratic and neoliberaldocuments that do not include our bread and butter demands. Whilstprogressive the NCA draft, needs to be added to by including laterdevelopments like the bread and butter demands in our Peoples Charterand from constitutions in countries like Venezeuala and Bolivia.Finally to spearhead the struggle forward against the elitist GNU,Kariba Constitution process and its neoliberal attacks on the poor,we call for all forces that oppose the elitist deal and the KaribaConstitution process to use the opportunity of this conference tourgently establish a truly democratic, radical and anti-neoliberal unitedfront that is transparent and inclusive. Let the civic society lackeys of the GNU, the capitalists and imperialists; proceed with their betrayalswithout pretending to speak for all of us. We must reject undemocraticpractices where a few individuals and groups use their access to donormoney to arbitrarily and unilaterally run the affairs of all of civicsociety without being accountable to anyone. We cannot demanddemocracy against the regime when we do not practice the same inour own yards. Comrades struggle beckons… we have nothing to loseother than our chains and tears!

Say no to GNU and Amendment 19!… Smash Neoliberalismand Capitalism! Viva Socialism!ISO

: 6

February 2009, Harare

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The ISO has argued for the last five years that the economicpolicies of the leaders who now dominate both MDC andZanu PF are the same, namely to try and get out of theZimbabwe crisis through full blown free-market policies orneoliberalism that will savage the poor. Thus MDC’s Bridgeprogramme, according to MDC policy chief, Eddie Cross,received an A+ from the IMF whilst Zanu PF’s March 2008elections manifesto promised an acceleration of free marketpolicies after the elections. And indeed, Mugabe’s economicczar, RBZ Governor G Gono, like Cross, in his latest MonetaryStatement also claimed full compliance with the prescriptionsof the IMF.We have therefore consistently argued that given the crisisof leadership in the working classes, this convergence onideological positions made an elitist settlement between thethree main parties, supported by business and theimperialists, the most likely scenario in the resolution of theZimbabwean crisis. That the poor and working people andtheir organizations would pay dearly if they naively followedthe false calls for “change” championed by MDC and itsimperialist-supported civic society allies and subordinatedtheir organizations to the same. Instead we called for theurgent establishment of a radical anti-neoliberal united frontto spearhead the struggle. Our warnings have now come topass.Following on Tsvangirai and MDC’s acceptance of joiningthe GNU with Zanu PF, at the end of January, the regimeintroduced a Budget and Reserve Bank Monetary Policy thatwould have made Bernard Chidzero, the god-father of neoliberalism in Zimbabwe who introduced SAP in 1989,proud. With the political elites now united, in what NCAchairperson, Dr Madhuku calls, “a return to the one partystate,” the elites are now confident to launch an all out savagewar on workers, the unemployed, informal traders, students,residents, peasants - the poor in general through a turn tofull neo-liberalism.Indeed the regime’s mouthpiece,

The Herald

, is completelyopen and proud of what is happening. It unashamedly titlesits special supplements on the Budget and RBZ MonetaryPolicy:-

“Budget 2008: Liberalised economyproposed”

“RBZ Statement: RBZ liberalises economy.”

Of course they took their cue from Gono himself who is quiteopen and proud about this. In section 1.79 of the RBZStatement, entitled “TAKING ON BOARD THE IMF ANDITS ADVICE” he describes the IMF as a “well meaning centreof excellence”! and that “the IMF, in its latest evaluation of our situation, dated 13 January, 2009, described Zimbabwe’ssituation as grave, and prescribed the following wayforward…” He then specified the four fundamentalrequirements that the IMF had insisted on, all of which heclaimed were now “non-issues anymore” as they had beenfully complied with in the RBZ Statement and Budget. Thefour were:-“Substantial fiscal adjustment, including thetermination of all quasi-fiscal activities by theReserve Bank…-Liberalisation of price controls and impositionof hard budget constraints on public enterprises..(i.e. dollarizing services offered by the stateand removal of all subsidies)- Exchange rate unification and removal of allrestrictions on making payments and transfersfor current international transactions…(i.e.dolLarising and letting the value of the Zim dolarbe determined by the market.)-Establishment of a strong nominal anchor formonetary policy. (i.e. state revenue based on thereal economy.)”The bosses’ paper,

Zimbabwe Independent

, endorsed the same,announcing, “2009 Budget: Govt drops populist policies.”Same with long time bourgeois economic critic of the regime,John Robertson, who came out on state TV saying Gono hadexceeded business’ expectations. Indeed, the dollarization andgathering pace of full liberalization signals the growingrapprochement between the capitalist elites and the politicalelites, in a manner that capitalist media baron, Trevor Ncube,long called for in 2003. In mid-December 2008, all the majorbusiness associations jointly issued a statement warning of imminent economic collapse unless the economy wasliberalized and dollarized and a political settlement foundbetween Zanu PF and MDC.The regime has responded positively to this fully in the Budgetand RBZ Statement, both drawing heavily from the proposalsmade by the bosses’ body of CZI. This is also why it did notrush to unilaterally form a government.Thus working people must therefore fully understand thatthe fundamental economic policy underlying the “inclusivegovernment” is dollarization and neoliberalism, that is“government by people exclusion” and that the coming in of MDC strengthens and not reduces this. The same ideologyunderlies all other key pillars of the GNU, such as the DraftKariba Constitution .. and this is why we must reject both andfight for a socialized economy and democratic state with ananti-neoliberal people driven constitution that guarantees thekind of labour and socio-economic rights we have in thePeoples Charter.

Dollarisation and Neoliberalism: The economic framework underlying the Inclusive Government