"Men make their own history, but they do not make it as they please; they do not make it under self-selected circumstances, but under circumstances existing already, given and transmitted from the past. The tradition of all dead generations weighs like a nightmare on the brains of the living. And just as they seem to be occupied with revolutionizing themselves and things, creating something that did not exist before, precisely in such epochs of revolutionary crisis they anxiously conjure up the spirits of the past to their service, borrowing from them names, battle slogans, and costumes in order to present this new scene in world history in time-honoured disguise and borrowed language." (Karl Marx 1852).

From this quote, I now have a much deeper understanding of the challenges we must face in transforming Zimbabwe into a modern democratic state. We are fighting very real and unremitting mentality of struggle politics simply because ZANU (PF) existed and was legitimate in a past that today weighs heavily like a nightmare on the brains of the living.

In my opinion, we can only begin to create a new future once we have banished the ghosts of the past that are stifling the unimaginable potential of Zimbabwe.

Masiphula Sithole aptly warned us in his book: Struggles within the struggle (1979), in which he cautioned that, because our struggle politics were characterised by "leadership by assassination" and not "leadership by persuasion", this trend was likely to continue after the struggle and  would likely result in the emergence of an oppressive political system after independence; a system fashioned and led by men and women who have an inclination to want to solve issues through the barrel of the gun and not through democratic means or persuasion. He was correct.

I would argue that the political management structures, psychology and behaviours during the war are still dominant today in Zimbabwe. In fact, they continue to negatively impact our socio political fabric in a manner that can only be described as repugnant and regressive.

The fear by many to challenge the status quo, the continual threat of the use of violence, the centralisation of political power in military hands, the meddling in all social  and economic affairs by the politburo, the control of the media and continual drivel of  dumbfounding propaganda in state media, the entitlement to power,  racism and  the secretive and opaque   political leadership style are all signs that the past, like an incurable virus , continues to weaken who we can become as a nation.

ZANU(PF) has failed to transform from a liberation struggle organisation to a civil government with professional military as  has happened in South Africa for example; hence the existence of entities such as JOC today and the  contentious and common use of military terms and language such as "operation this" and "operation that" in most civil activities. We are indeed damned.

In his book, Masiphula describes a liberation struggle organisation as one which has an ambitious aim of overthrowing the existing political order to control wealth and therefore how to whom this wealth shall be distributed. It is hardly about governance, liberty and freedom of the masses, but about power, intrigue, control and management by instilling fear.

In such a situation, neither a country nor its people can live up to their full potential. The resources of such a country can never be fairly allocated or fully utilised to the benefit of its citizens, but rather, to the self actualisation of those in control. The commander in chief rules and decides who gets what when and how, while the masses are merely a means to an end.

We saw this with land reform, we are seeing it with the diamonds, and I have no doubt that we shall see it once more with indigenization. In all cases, the people and their needs are secondary, a necessary inconvenience.

As we propose and argue for an alternative democratic and inclusive route for Zimbabwe, we can see that as long as the military is at the centre, we are unlikely to achieve a democratic transition. As long as struggle mentality remains a dominant force within the political leadership of the country, any means to try a dislodge them through the pen will be met with unequal counter measures that draw and "conjure up the spirits of the past, borrowing from them names, battle slogans, and costumes in order to present this new scene in world history in time-honoured disguise and borrowed language" as Marx puts it.

Our battle therefore is a psychological one.

Zimbabwe's politicians must be psychologically cleansed and emancipated from a past that rears its head at every corner and in every nook and cranny; a past that continues to inform the present to the detriment of social progress and the self actualisation of many ordinary folk.

I am convinced however that this past will through time have lesser of a hold on the future; this past must at some stage disappear or diminish. However, our role now, is to accelerate its demise and if necessary, force it out of the brains of the living so that we may create a new social order in Zimbabwe. The costs have been just too great.

If we do not do that, or if we ignore that, our freedom, our liberty, our dignity and the right of each one of us to pursue our ambitions without a centre that seeks to dominate us, control us and if necessary assassinate us, as happened during the struggle, we shall continue to be stifled and arrested by men and women who refuse or are powerless to let that past go. The choice is clear.

Vince Musewe is an economist based in Harare. You may contact him on [email protected]

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