The Zimbabwe elections have left President Cyril Ramaphosa uncharacteristically composed. For once he’s not shocked. Not by the intimidation of voters, threats of violence, nixing of opposition rallies, voters roll irregularities, electoral commission bungles and rounding up of civil society activists by the dictator next door.
In fact, the pain and suffering experienced by our neighbouring citizens simply wishing to exercise their democratic right appear to have left him cold.
At least, that’s what you can infer from the anodyne statement released by his office on Monday afternoon.
While ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula was enthusiastically banging the Zanu-PF drum in a bid to make fixing fokol a regional sport, Ramaphosa was no doubt consulting earnestly to find political passage that would require neither backbone nor moral rectitude.
And so it is that South Africa “congratulates the government and the people of Zimbabwe for organising and holding the harmonised elections” for its executive, national and local government. It “has taken note of the preliminary pronouncements by the invited international observers missions”. And it “calls on all the parties in Zimbabwe to work in unison in sustaining peace”.
It’s a bland statement that belies the democratic farce that played out last week, the observer findings that the elections didn’t accord with international and regional standards for free and fair polls, and that “working in unison” is not possible if Zanu-PF doesn’t recognise as legitimate any opposition to, or criticism of, its rule.
At least Mbalula nailed his ill-considered colours to the mast with a solid “Viva” after Emmerson Mnangagwa’s win.
The only place where Ramaphosa’s slip shows — and then only fleetingly — is the mention of the “difficult” environment in which the election took place. Not a difficult political landscape, mind you — say, one in which draconian laws have been introduced to limit free speech, or where opposition activists have been disappeared, tortured and imprisoned. Nor is it an economy tanked, hyperinflation spiralling, youth unemployment north of 60%, a forex crunch and a currency in the doldrums.
The only place where Ramaphosa’s slip shows — and then only fleetingly — is the mention of the ‘difficult’ environment in which the election took place
No, Ramaphosa is referring to a difficult economic environment occasioned by “the burdening sanctions which the people of Zimbabwe continue to unjustly endure”.
Robert Mugabe couldn’t have scripted it better himself. It’s the same tired, disingenuous dog whistle for the disaffected: blame the West.
It’s poor sleight of hand, too. There aren’t sanctions against Zimbabwe, but against individuals and organisations in the country. As foreign policy think-tank Carnegie Europe puts it, US, UK and EU sanctions “are limited and directly impact officials of the ruling party, their families, and anyone responsible for human rights violations … specific individuals are banned from travelling to Europe and the US, and their foreign assets are frozen.”
These restrictions, in other words, apply to those who manipulate the levers of political and economic power to the detriment of democracy and the people of Zimbabwe. So when Mbalula tweets that the international community should “lift sanctions so that the Zimbabwe economy can flourish”, he’s showing a woeful grasp of where the real issue lies. As is Ramaphosa. The only growth coming from Zimbabwe while Zanu-PF is in charge is the number of desperate people hopping the border into South Africa in the hope of a better life.
Still, South Africa’s less than implicit anti-Western bias and mealy-mouthed response to human rights abuses in a neighbouring state should come as no great surprise. Set aside the long historical tail running the gamut from “silent diplomacy”, through an abysmal international voting record on human rights, to a stubbornly short-sighted stance on Russia’s imperialist venture in Ukraine.
Look no further than Brics (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) and the alphabet soup of the expanded bloc. Just its friendship with China and Russia puts South Africa staunchly in a basket of anti-Western human rights abusers. And that’s before you consider the alacrity with which the country welcomed new members such as Iran, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Ethiopia and the United Arab Emirates. All are countries with scant regard for human life.
No, Ramaphosa isn’t shocked by the democratic horror show that was Zimbabwe’s election — and we shouldn’t be shocked by his studied indifference. It’s clear where the ruling party’s allegiances lie. Sadly, South Africa as a whole is pulled into that particular vortex.
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