SA union speaks out on Zim’s political unrest
"Zimbabwe is in the vicious grip of a failed liberation movement which has dumped the liberation vision just as the ANC has done in South Africa,” says Numsa.
The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) has slammed continuing political unrest in Zimbabwe, after alleged corruption surrounding Covid-19 tenders in the country resulted in unrest over the past few weeks.
On Friday, scores of Zimbabweans living in South Africa also marched to the embassy to speak out against the situation at home.
This as reports of journalists and protesters retaliating against Zimbabwe’s government were allegedly detained and punished by the police emerged on social media.
“Zimbabwe is in the vicious grip of a failed liberation movement which has dumped the liberation vision just as the ANC has done in South Africa. The only way Zanu PF keeps hold of power is to unleash and sponsor violence against its own people,” it said.
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Numsa believed that deep economic issues that saw many living in poverty to be at the heart of the political unrest in the country.
“With the scaling down of economic activities, corruption has shifted to the global health system especially the production and sale of personal protective equipment (PPE). The horrendous levels of poverty in Zimbabwe make for mass anger against the many stories of corruption even more volatile,” Numsa said.
“The people of Zimbabwe were met with the force and suppression of state-deployed security services, which can be characterised as nothing less than a militia. The capital city of Harare was shut down, several well-known critics were arrested and a dozen more forced into hiding.”
Author Tsitsi Dangarembga was reportedly charged with “incitement to commit violence” and breaching Covid-19 health restrictions after staging a two-person demonstration.
Numsa also criticised the South African government’s silence over Zimbabwe.
“The lack of action to stop the escalation of the situation in Zimbabwe from both the SADC and the African Union clearly exposes the class interests they protect. They are both rackets created to protect the parasitic politicians in power. They are not designed for the purpose of advancing genuine popular mass and working-class democracy.”
Political analyst Ralph Mathekga said the government had no strategy on how it responds to matters related to neighbouring African countries such as Zimbabwe.
“The lack of strategy can be seen from the lack of consistency in the government’s response to these countries.
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“The solidarity between these countries through shared political history within the regional countries can be seen as a problem. It weighs so much that they have no strategy to relate to each other at a diplomatic level. They get overwhelmed by the regimes’ political history,” he said.
“Their solidarity with Zanu PF could put them in a corner with other countries that will take a hostile approach.
“But the brutality will not be sustained forever, they are sjambocking people because they are actually speaking.”
Political analyst Xolani Dube said the government was slow to react to Zimbabwe’s issues due to a lack of statistics on human rights violation in the country.
On Thursday, President Cyril Ramaphosa appointed Dr Sydney Mufamadi and Baleka Mbete as special envoys to Zimbabwe.
According to the Presidency’s acting spokesperson, Tyrone Seale, the special envoys were expected to engage the government of Zimbabwe to identify possible ways in which South Africa can assist Zimbabwe.
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