A reflection: Mthuli Ncube, Cowdray Park's Genie

Why did pouring 'millions' not work?

One evening, as the tired citizens were returning to work, school, or just gallivanting in town, or more specifically, ngwavangwavaring (hustling), the traffic was slower than usual – men in green and orange reflective vests were directing the vehicles off the main road to a dirt road. For the first time in 20 years of my existence the road leading to Cowdray Park from ‘emaPholiseni’ (Luveve Police Station), through Emakhandeni, was being fixed, not by hungry shirtless and drunk boys (begging for money) using sand, but by trucks, with tar. Even the new residential stands that were disconnected from the rest of the township because they had no roads, were under massive construction of roads and bridges (although the City Council did complain that they had not sanctioned this and these projects catastrophically resulted in the bursting of water and sewage pipes.) There was a mixture of reactions from the people in the omnibus, some celebrated the work of a dedicated Minister who was fixing the community, and to them, after a long time, a State that cares for its people was once again legible and real. In contrast, some were suspicious, they believed Mthuli Ncube was only doing this for the votes and would soon stop when he had gotten the power he wanted. It was the height of the 2023 General election campaign season, and he was fiercely closing in on the target, he had key people wrapped around his finger, and interests of the masses well catered for, and his opposition was, comparatively, virtually useless and unmatched to his might, doomed to lose! Why and how did he lose?

Not so far from my own house, at a Primary School I went to, groups of young people stood by the edges of the fence, there was free Wi-Fi, courtesy of Minister Mthuli Ncube. At the same time others went to local churches where they were taught driving lessons and received training for their provisional licenses, and taken to the examining center, the VID, all expenses covered. More, especially girls, took vocational classes in manicure, pedicure and hairdressing, and even had modelling shows – and all were grateful to Him who had saved them from the undignified life of an unemployed young person dependent on crushingly poor parents. And at these lessons, lunch was provided, chicken inn and a drink – all they had to do was to register to vote and pledge allegiance to the Ruling Party. Mthuli Ncube also had a house, not so far from my own, that made my hood his throne and sacred lair – thus the atmosphere was filled with constant singing and chanting of his glory in the streets. Some of the followers were well known drunks and drug addicts, they smoked and drank the illegal substances clad in T-shirts with his face on them. He visited churches, including mine, where he (after claiming personal ties to Catholicism through his high school education) promised to help finish the construction of the security wall, and gave mothers and fathers chickens to rear as projects to generate personal income. He even went further to be an important guest at an Ecumenical Christian gathering I attended. The people loved him, wherever he was, masses thronged. He was saving the township, he was a hero, but he lost the election.

My thoughts are that, as has been argued by Bruce Bueno de Mesquita and Alastair Smith, autocracy is incompatible with positive human development (socially, economically, politically), and that is why autocrats overwhelmingly make the decision to benefit their cronies at the expense of the masses whom they extract wealth from through taxation and other carefully curated means. I have not (although I intend to, in the near future) done investigations or field work to determine why the citizens of Cowdray Park did not vote for Mthuli Ncube after he gave them the development they had been languishing for, for years and years. Could it be that finally, the people have become politically wise enough to beat politicians in their own game, accessing all the benefit streams which are opened but proceeding to make independent decisions at the ballot? Are we living is the prophetic times where influencing voters through groceries, opportunities and t-shirts has become obsolete, and the people have become impervious to the petty and unsophisticated politics of vote buying? It surely was not, entirely the campaign efforts of the opposition under Pasho Raphael Sibanda, because his camp was engaged in internal factionalism after he was ‘imposed’ by Party authorities and the candidates who had commenced the groundwork of campaigning ran separately or were thrown aside. And comparatively, Mthuli Ncube was wealthier and thus spent more money in his campaign than the CCC, and yet ZANU-PF lost in both the Parliament seat and the Presidential Vote in Cowdray Park. They even had an incredibly well attended Presidential Star Rally in Cowdray Park!

While question of why exactly Mthuli Ncube lost the election may require further research and studying, for the purposes of this blog post, one quintessential lesson to be drawn from this, for the people, is that the money, your money, in the government coffers, is always there – but it is channelized and put to use as, and when politicians feel like it.  It means that you are not poor and suffering because you are unlucky or the ancestors have turned their backs on you or any other superstitious/religious reason, but you are kept poor so that you always beg and look up to the politicians. Alan Paton, in Cry the Beloved Country, writes that it is “not permissible to keep the black man unskilled for unskilled jobs” and in a like manner I do not think it should be permissible to keep Zimbabweans poor and thus in perpetual need of a Genie in the Bottle to miraculously solve their problems. We should not be quiet when we are forced to live in a country where our mothers and sisters dance and twerk, and our people are bussed to rallies across the country, for a portion of disgustingly dry fries and fried chicken. However, my sincerest hope is that Cowdray Park citizens utilize to the fullest potential every opportunity that is dangled before their eyes, while retaining their autonomy as voters exercising their democratic right.