By Mutumwa D. Mawere

President Robert Mugabe joined many heads of states and governments in congratulating President-elect Barack Obama on his historic election as the 44th President of the USA.

President Mugabe took the opportunity to assure Obama that the government of Zimbabwe stands ready to engage the new administration to improve bilateral relations.

Even President Mugabe acknowledged the historic significance of the election of the first African American to the highest office in the land.

Obama would be acutely aware that if he were Zimbabwean, President Mugabe would have reminded him of his mixed heritage and the risks of putting the future of the country in the hands of a person who passed through the womb of a white woman in the State House.

In celebrating President-elect Obama, it is ironic that President Mugabe would find significance in his election particularly given his own views on who should be qualified to be a President. In the case of Zimbabwe, HOPE is not sufficient to propel anyone from nothing to the State House.

Only in America would a person like Obama dream of transforming himself from a junior senator to a President.

The post-March 29 events have shown that it is not sufficient to win an election in Zimbabwe. After 232 years, America can boast of an ability to give opportunity to the most unlikely people provided that they have the courage and audacity of hope.

Regrettably, the Zimbabwean situation is different. Obama’s legitimacy is a direct consequence of a democratic process that has been universally observed. Even John McCain had to concede defeat and pledged his support to the winner.

After the announcement of the March 29 election results, many rational minds would have expected President Mugabe to congratulate Tsvangirai for getting the highest number of votes. It is significant that while President Mugabe has found it fit to congratulate Obama, he is still to congratulate Tsvangirai let alone to acknowledge a historical fact that he was beaten during the first round of the presidential election.

For President Mugabe to arrive at the conclusion that Obama’s administration is likely to change his outlook on Zimbabwe, he must genuinely believe that George Bush’s policies did not represent American values on key foundational issues like the respect of the rule of law and respect for human and property rights.

Although Obama is the first person of colour to assume the office of the President of the USA, it would not be correct to assume that he would depart from the foundational principles that have kept the Republic together irrespective of which party or person is in power. It would, therefore, be naïve for anyone to conclude that Obama’s world view would be any different from Bush’s particularly in situations where there is clear evidence that democratic principles are not observed.

Obama is a beneficiary of a democratic constitutional order that makes it possible for any citizen to aspire for any position without the fear of the state being used against him. Obama will no doubt be aware that at the core of the Zimbabwean political and economic crisis are serious governance and ideological issues.

To what extent Obama can overlook the causes of the crisis in the name of African brotherhood that Mugabe seeks to invoke is a question that can easily be answered by Obama’s already known concerns about President Mugabe’s record.

President Mugabe remains in power not because of the will of the people but his genuine belief that democracy cannot be trusted to produce outcomes that are aligned to the principles, values and political morality of the liberation struggle.

Obama and McCain could disagree without being disagreeable and that is the genius of the American system. Unfortunately, post-colonial Zimbabwe does not afford citizens who may wish to contest for political office to hold different views without being antagonistic.

Obama will go into office fully conscious that the economy faces enormous challenges but would not stoop so low to suggest that the problems are a result of a conspiracy of third parties. Americans came to the conclusion that they needed to turn a new leaf by electing someone not associated with the economic mess they find themselves in. McCain was a victim of Bush’s failure to provide leadership in a unipolar world where American values seemed to be unchallengeable.

President Mugabe is yet to be convinced that the economic and political crisis that confronts Zimbabwe may be a result of bad governance rather than a direct consequence of the land reform programme. He believes that sanctions have a lot to do with the current economic crisis.

In electing Obama, Americans invested in the change they wanted to see. It is evident that Obama’s genius was in convincing Americans that they alone were the change agents and he is merely an instrument for them.

Americans are acutely aware that social and economic progress will not come from the White House but from their actions. Any leader who believes that they have all the answers to national challenges and that they are indispensible is a threat to democracy and social progress.

For the last 28 years, President Mugabe has been at the helm and yet the frontiers of poverty have not been reduced. Zimbabweans have not been able to punish the incumbent government largely because while Mugabe congratulated Obama for being able to do just that, he would not countenance a situation where he is voted out of office.

In as much as America needed change, Zimbabwe also needs change. However, President Mugabe like McCain on the campaign trail, has reinvented himself as an indispensable agent of change. Unfortunately Zimbabweans have not been able to engineer the change that President Mugabe congratulated Obama for.

Zimbabweans have no choice but to continue to see the same tired faces under whose watch the economy has collapsed. Obama can offer Americans a chance to take back control of their future but the future of Zimbabwe will continue to be under the control of those who believe that notwithstanding their bankruptcy of ideas, they can still prevail on the nation.

After 232 years since its foundation, Americans do not need lectures from their President on what they need to do to advance their interests. Obama was elected to promote and protect American interests and it will be unlikely that he will be naïve to misunderstand his role.

Mutumwa Mawere's weekly column is published on New Zimbabwe.com every Monday. You can contact him at: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

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