To sign or Not to sign

That is the question that is no doubt running back and forth in Morgan Tsvangirai and his closest allies' minds right now and has been for the past two or so weeks.

Whether it is nobler for Morgan Tsvangirai and his MDC to give up 10years of struggle against a regime that has killed, maimed and looted by just signing away authority back to them and acknowledging ZANU PF’s rule at Zimbabwe's lowest point in all possible terms. Or is it easier to continue with the fight that the MDC has waged for the last ten years as an opposition party, but with the knowledge that they have the majority in Parliament and the people's mandate.

The talks have gone on for more than a month now, two weeks more than what was agreed. The talks are said to be hovering around three sticking points. The first being the amount of powers that Mugabe as president and Tsvangirai as Prime Minster should weld, the second being the time length of the agreement before fresh elections are held and lastly the size of the cabinet.

It has always been a tough call for Morgan and the negotiators to sit down with the enemy and try to reach a compromise. The old adage " Keep your friends close and your enemies even closer" should however explain why Robert Mugabe has for the first time been willing to discuss a power sharing deal with a group he has called all sorts of names from prostitutes to puppets of the west since time immemorial. The defeat his party suffered on the March 29 elections was a wake call that made him realize how they could never win a free and fair election.

The questions to us young people today are, Should Morgan Tsvangirai agree to brush under the carpet the trials and tribulations of the last three or so decades and pretend all is well by gaining a post equivalent to that of a school prefect? Will an agreement between ZANU PF and MDC with Mugabe as a powerful President bring about the much needed economic transformation? Must it be enough for Morgan Tsvangirai and a few of his comrades to gain government posts, while Mugabe and his lieutenants are given amnesty and heroes' status for atrocities carried out against millions of Zimbabweans? Or should the MDC continue the struggle for the democratization of Zimbabwe continue in the knowledge that power does not lie in controlling the uniformed forces, but in the hands of the electorate.

Let us know what you think, post your comment on the blog. Speak your mind!

Youth Communique

Communiqué

Preamble

We the young Zimbabweans who met on the 25^th of July to discuss the current negotiations on Zimbabwe and representing the National Youth Development Trust, Zinasu, YIDEZ, International Socialist Organisation, Habbakuk Trust, Bulawayo Dialogue, Intsha. Com, ZIMCODD, Radio Dialogue, National Constitutional Assembly, Students Christian Movement, Students Solidarity Trust and Bulawayo Progressive Residents Association.

Recognising that the crisis in Zimbabwe has resulted in the structural disempowerment and systematic marginalisation of young people;

Cognisant of the fact that the young people have been greatly affected by the crises in Zimbabwe;

Acknowledging that any process of dialogue in Zimbabwe should be based on the results of the March 29 elections

Recognising the need to set a new political precedent that respects electoral democracy as an important aspect of political transition;

Deploring the continuous marginalisation of young people in the economic, social and political agenda as shown by their lack of representation in the current negotiations,

Do hereby resolve that;

Resolutions

Years of intimidation and violence can not stop up, neither economic, social and political marginalisation silence us from shaping a new and genuine democratic dispensation for our country;

As a way of putting in place a new precedent of political power transition we therefore resolve that there be a Transitional Government that is mandated with the following:

a) Drafting and bringing to a referendum a new democratic people driven constitution which shall, among other things, deal with the following issues,

· Comprehensive electoral reforms

· Provide for an independent electoral commission

· Provide for a clear separation of powers between the executive, the judiciary and the legislature

· Restoration of the rule of law

· Scraping off of draconian legislations such as POSA and AIPPA

b) Economic reforms

· Restoring credibility of the country in the global finance institutions like the IMF and the World bank

· Re-oiling the Zimbabwean industries to create employment opportunities for the youths

· Provision of basic commodities for the survival of the people

c) Professionalising state institutions like the public media

· Depoliticisation of state media journalists

· Opening up of the media to everyone including opposition political parties and civil society

d) Professionalising the civil service especially the army and the police force

· Depoliticisation of civil servants

e) Preparing people for a free and fair presidential run off which shall be monitored by local, regional and international observers.

It is our well considered view that the above mentioned issues constitute the democratic fundamentals and necessary prerequisites for a new political dispensation in Zimbabwe which if ignored the outcome will be disastrous for the democracy project.