The Sunday News
Michael Mhlanga
The ZANU-PF Youth League last week launched scathing allegations or exposé as some would call them, on party, Government and private sector personnel whom they said are corrupt.
Absent in their “Naming and Shaming” as they tagged the press briefing was detail of the corruption which would have made the allegations a bit more vivid, considering that names and dignities of named persons are dragged into shame and it brings with it a lot of hazards to the individuals and the institutions they represent.
While many are still debating the allegations, I found the whole spectacle poignant in appreciating the role of young people in driving accountability, particularly within the political unit.
It is the principle of demanding accountability that I find noble, but I too, I am not impressed by the oversight of procedure which would protect both the Youth leaders and respect the rights of individuals whose names were shamed.
The “Naming and Shaming” however, un-procedural, has given birth to an important process: ACCOUNTABILITY and RETRIBUTION, important not only for Zanu-PF, but for the whole nation. Internal processes in Zanu-PF have a direct impact on national processes and mood and the reaction of the Politburo is confirming the importance of youth involvement in national processes and decision making, beginning at the political unit and how accountability is key in gravitating towards good governance towards 2030.
For a long time, the Zanu-PF Youth League has been tagged as an indolent, incapacitated and ideological insolvent unit, yet the organ is crucial in the party.
This is owed to past politics where young people who raised red flags would immediately suffer the wrath and callousness of un-democracy in a democratic party. Perhaps, the “Naming and Shaming” by Zanu-PF YL is an alarm that shows that the lack of widespread meaningful participation of young people is a great cause for concern from both rights-based and instrumental perspectives.
Such participation by young people in political parties can also form a foundation for active citizenship, enabling and empowering young people to increasingly participate in, and contribute to, the governance of their communities and countries, both now and in the future. As well as having intrinsic value, therefore, upholding broad citizen participation including from young people in accountability has strong potential to strengthen the effectiveness of future progress on the ground for the Vision 2030 goals and targets.
Zimbabwe’s intentions of achieving an upper middle-class status in a decade’s time will be a direct product of its adherence to the Sustainable Development Goals whose other focus is on good governance. Good governance is an offshoot of institutional accountability, social accountability and youth are critical actors in facilitating that.
I argue that the “Naming and Shaming” of corrupt people by the Zanu-PF Youth League, however unprocedural and hazardous to individuals who can be clean, is suffice in principle and presents an important chance to introspect on that young people should be included as key stakeholders, not only within the goals and targets of Vision 2030, but also in monitoring and accountability mechanisms.
While many are sceptical of the sincerity of the act, I argue that the action should provide the nation with an understanding that fulfilling young people’s right to participate is not only an end in-and-of-itself, but it can also make an important contribution to the relevance and effectiveness of the implementation of the Vision 2030 framework. Seemingly no one has explored the very reason why Lewis Matutu and company were “reckless” on an important issue yet there is procedure in the party. Everyone seems to be convinced that bayenziswa-vakaitiswa, this is possibly misguided, their rushed actions are possibly a symptom of limited participation of young people in political parties, their model of advocacy worked, it got the attention of the President of the party and country who has declared that a commission of inquiry will be established. Its advocacy; and it was internal.
Interesting to note is that accountability has a corrective function, making it possible to address grievances and provide remedies. With the Political Bureau outcome being the instituting of a Commission of Inquiry to investigate the strong allegations and the subsequent corrective measure announced by the First Secretary of Zanu-PF, at a principle level, its suffice to state that the Matutu-led action facilitated the much needed accountability desired of a country with a class improvement vision in 10 years.
Accountability also has a responsive function, helping to determine how policy or service delivery can be improved or adjusted to make it more effective. Zanu-PF believes in two types of discipline: internal discipline where an incorrect individual should introspect and recollect and external discipline, where an individual who fails to correct or discipline him/herself is then disciplined by the party through instruments such as Article 28 Section 262 (e) of the party Constitution and the National Disciplinary Committee. External discipline application in this instance should not only be done, but should also be seen to be done to eliminate any doubts and suspicions of insincerity.
The change of behaviour in Zanu-PF has a powerful impact on every other body outside the party as they are the ruling party.
Its internal processes will directly and indirectly culminate to impact non-political actors who have been enveloped by corrupt political elements and have constantly justified their plundering behaviour because accountability has not been strongly entrenched both at political party level and national level.
At this point, it is important to look at the events in Zanu-PF as inclusive in responding to Youth’s demands based on the understanding that achieving 2030 goals is meaningless if it’s devoid of youth participation.
Meaningful participation is where young people are not considered merely beneficiaries of public policies, but as active participants and implementing partners who are fully consulted and informed.
