Politics , the state and the chain of crisis in Zimbabwe ( Story of Obert )

Background 

This week Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of  Zimbabwe ( ARTUZ ) is fighting a two-fronted battle.The first one being that against paltry wages and poor working conditions, and the other is the arbitrary arrest of their president  Obert Masaraure. 

In the wake of a deepening labor crisis and shrinking democratic space unionism has taken a recessive gauge of performance in Zimbabwe. Since the deposition of Peter Mutasa and other radical leaders, the ZCTU has been in deep slumber.In the students' movement, Zinasu is still to decide whether they want to take up their position as the natural leader of this struggle or they want to retreat.A lot is happening and it's as a result of the unfolding chains of crisis in the national political economy and someone has to lead.

ARTUZ remains the remnant organization still informed by the radical politics Of the civic movement in advancing the struggles of the poor.Since 2019 the young union as led by Obert has been doing its best to fill the gap and ensure there is no vacuum.But in doing so, they have taken bruises and scars.  

This article will explain the issues and circumstances surrounding ObertMasarore's illegal arrest and the politics behind it.

For good debate, I will give a brief description of the status quo and also attempt to point out the role of each and everyone at that end of the conversation. 

What is the role of the Students Union? 

Based on my understanding and of cause experience gained from my days as a student leader.The union is the vanguard of the revolution.It is the natural leadership of the mass democratic movement which is mainly there to initiate and execute the revolution. Students are themselves, citizens and workers, in transit ( they exist as the future and present ) thus they are the superstructure upon which the base (labor) rests to support the political economy.It is naturally the role of the students union to ensure that there is justice, peace, and good governance in the country.Therefore it is a  logical expectation that they pursue the national question but at the moment the legitimate students union is in a state of retreat.This is owed to factors I will outline below: 

1)Covid 19 induced lockdowns that stagnated the work and business of the union such that it created a lacuna/gap that divorced it from the core constituency of the students. 

2)Repression and fear have also contributed to the current state of retreat.During Ngadziore's time, over 80  student leaders faced repression and victimization at the hands of the regime,   be it through imprisonment or police brutality.  This forced many into the shell and thus demobilizing the union.

3)Cognitive dissonance in the form of internal contradictions and undecided leadership have impaired the great movement from pursuing its cause. 


Summative, the current state of retreat taken by Zinasu leaves a gap in the space which then allows the crisis to deepen with no one to take the lead in the struggle. 

What is the role of the worker's movement? 

The workers remain the integral stakeholders of society and leaders of the proletariat.They must restrain capital and reprimand the policymakers. They have a dialectical relationship with the students.The labor movement at the moment is fragmented and partially demobilized due to the shrinking base of membership as a result of high unemployment.The workers' base has changed.Traditionally organized labor got its membership from among workers in the formal sectors but now the majority of workers are in the informal sector.This is a result of economic failures and deindustrialization.The traditional labor movement is yet to make moves to incorporate the vendors, domestic workers, and other informal sector workers into its rank and file. 

Secondly, the class and generational differences also widened the gap in the labor movement.  Most formal sector workers unions are comprised of educated elites while those in the informal sector their majority is not as learned. There is very little resonance in communicating issues and very little is being done to address that. 

Then of cause, infiltration has played a role. This was evident in the 2021 ZCTU Congress when the Zanu PF regime invested heavily in the deposition of Peter Mutasa from the presidency of the union. 

Hence,at the fold of all this, the two pillars of the mass democratic movement have submerged and capitalism has resurged while democracy is under siege.  


What's happening in the status quo? 

Since the late 90s and early 2000s, Zimbabwe has been grappling with a deep economic crisis manifesting in the forms of inflation ( second highest in the world ),a cash crisis leading to serious price hikes, and food shortages.The cost of living has gone high and out of the ordinary citizens' reach. 

Currently, the Zimbabwean dollar is trading at 1: 700 against the United States dollar on the parallel market and 1: 350 at the government's interbank rate.This has led to erosion of salaries and a reduction of the civil servant's buying power.The average civil servant is earning an equivalent of US$150 while the standard cost of living is US$520 for a family of five excluding tuition fees and rentals.This has pushed many workers into abject poverty and figures have risen to close to 50%.Nearly half of the country is living in absolute poverty at the moment. While covid19 led to the closure of schools and businesses which created a crisis in the education sector as the introduction of virtual classes disadvantaged the poor and rural folk.  Tuition fees  hiked and many children have dropped out. I will not talk about corruption. 


 In this kind of crisis, the nation needs a voice.A voice personified as unions from both labor and the students.Because of the situation befalling the labor and student movements, a gap still exists and the crisis continues to deepen. Teachers have mostly felt this which is why ARTUZ has taken up the mantle. 

ARTUZ remains the remnant group of radicals who have been tirelessly fighting for the restoration of the poor man's dignity and social justice.Because of the impact, they have made, the regime in Harare has not been at peace. They devised plans to dislocate and dismember the vocal individuals like Obert so that the movement remains weak. One thing that bravery does is the undeniable phenomenality of contagious inspiration.The fight for democracy and social justice has begun to resurge in Zimbabwe and even opposition has renewed. The pressure on the regime is increasing such that its reactionary machinery has been reactivated once more. 

So in trying to silence activists and repress the revolutionary movement the regime has resorted to terror, error, and harvest of fear through violent responses to suppress protest, arbitrary arrests, and torture of leaders as a way to intimidate the rank and file.

At the same time, they are also trying to peddle a narrative that discredits the social justice movement in the public eye. For example, Obert Masaraure is being held in custody on trumped-up charges linked to the death of  Roy Issa. Evidence present hasn't compelled anyone or the courts to believe that Obert is involved but the state arrested him and denied him bail. This case is supposed to frame Obert as a  rancorous thug who is up to no good.   
 
It is also expected to serve as a distraction. Obert's arrest is supposed to keep us busy and distracted from debating the real issues like electoral reforms, corruption, the economy, etc.


So basically Obert's case is a tactic aimed at dismembering the vibrant leader, keeping the movement busy, silencing dissent, and stagnating any form of political change that is meant to occur in the country.  

 What is to be done? 

Serious movement building and cadre ship recollection should be done at all levels. The unions need to go down to the grassroots and recruit more members while also orienting them. 

Secondly, the unions should start to coordinate and collectively plan action for more impact. I applaud the formation of FOZEU by the teachers. 

The opposition must reconvene with working people and students such that they reframe and execute the struggle in a manner that is adaptive to the current material situation.


In conclusion, ARTUZ is getting overwhelmed and it requires us to join and ease the load. 




Liam Takura Kanhenga is an emerging public intellectual who resides in Zimbabwe. 

He can be contacted on kanhengaliam@gmail.com 










 

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