In the opening series, I alluded to how the Global Political Agreement remained conveniently silent on what concessions were to be made and by whom. This created fertile ground for buck passing, a game perfected so well by Zanu. I am also deplored the sharing of ministries based on ulterior motives as another indication of how wicked the GPA is as a source of balance in Zimbabwe. Parties sparked another scuffle that took them back to their acrimonious positions, if at all they had buried the hatchet.

Then I contended that Zanu’s dominance in political decisions got a boost instead of being curtailed, despite them having lost the mandate to govern Zimbabwe. The GPA provides a platform for Zanu to belittle other parties to the deal as they still enjoy the partisan support of state actors who have shown little restraint in abusing and harassing anyone who opposes Zanu.

The result has been stalled progress as Zanu is in no hurry to cut short their trifle smug of state power. And the following are playing to their advantage.

4.            Scared and insincere guarantors

In a mediated settlement such as the GPA, the parties themselves do not have power to make the other perform their portion of the agreement. Therefore, the identification of SADC and AU as guarantors serves as recourse for any party that detects an infringement by the other party. With the GPA itself being imbalanced as a basis for a nation-wide change, the half-hearted involvement of the guarantors spells doom for the GPA. What SADC will offer is just a summit on Zimbabwe that will ask the other parties to move towards Mugabe’s position. Zanu will not cry foul as it is the aggressor. Mugabe openly violated the provisions of the GPA and has refused to yield.

Some of the controversial actions taken by Mugabe relate to the appointments of the Attorney General and the Governor of the Reserve Bank, two individuals who never contemplated relinquishing their posts now that their appointments were in such dispute. According to them, no one else is important accept Mugabe’s pointing. Now there are talks of immunity for such individuals as a condition for them to be retired. So we have state actors who cannot be removed from their posts unless they are guarantees for their immunity! What are we saying about these people’s work history in these posts? And if their bosses are backing such calls for immunity, what acknowledgement are they making? The GPA will be used to protect wrong-doers among Mugabe’s clique.

5.            Political game

It is apparent that Zanu went into the negotiation as a ploy. There was no intention whatsoever to bring anything worthwhile to the country. With a care less attitude, they continued to dice with the lives of scrounging citizens. Zanu thrives in chaos and commotion. It creates a fertile ground to cheat and rig. Despite Zanu’s upper hand in Zimbabwe, they routinely play as the underdogs when it suits them. To stall the process and discredit the GPA and its mean guarantors, Zanu either fails to perform or simply ask that a certain condition on the GPA be satisfied first. They just ignore everyone and shout just as loud as the MDC in seeking performance on their conditions. They have nothing to lose and nothing to achieve. They are happy and feel so lucky to be in the position they are in today.

As long as the GPA is there, Zanu knows that it has room to breath as they expect less pressure from the international community. Zanu is particularly aware of how hollow and loop-holed the GPA is, but as long as it will allow them to keep their positions in government they will keep pointing at it for their survival. More importantly, the GPA makes them look less violent too.

6.            Docile Zimbabweans

Zimbabweans will not do much to achieve the kind of settlement they want in the country, and they will wait until the GPA expires or get burnt in some political fires. If the GPA fails to give birth to some semblance of democratic dispensation – which is likely – the future of the country rests with some other form of intervention, perhaps another GPA. At the moment, there is no hope that SADC or AU for that matter will do much to help Zimbabwe other than blocking the international community who favour sterner measures on Zanu – and rightly so.

The truth is that Zimbabwe does not need a GPA or GNU. What is needed is a democratic space that guarantees the dignity of citizens and allows room for the will of the people to be exercised in choosing their state leaders. The GPA distances people from a determination they are entitled to make. If this does not make the people of Zimbabwe angry, then what will? The colonial system that sparked a revolt segregated against blacks and did not consider their votes as decisions that counted. On the contrary, the black regime allows the votes to trickle in only to forge outcomes to suit the preferences of those in power. We can continue to draw parallels