http://www.mutumwa.com Conversations with Mawere en-us Mon, 25 Aug 2008 07:25:08 GMT 10 http://www.mutumwa.com/article/164 Mon, 25 Aug 2008 06:54:52 GMT Post colonial Africa is now 52 years old and the promise of independence in terms of human development has largely not been realized. The statehouses are firmly under the control of the "majority?" in the 53 countries of Africa but the economy remains under the control of a minority.The founding fathers of post colonial Africa were in the main well educated but not affluent. The colonial experience did not expose the few intellectuals who were privileged to be the founding fathers of post colonial Africa to the intricacies of corporate civilization. The most visible form of oppression was in the political and civil rights spheres and hence the struggle for independence took a political context. 

]]> http://www.mutumwa.com/article/163 Mon, 25 Aug 2008 05:21:43 GMT When the existence of Zimbabwe was penned in 1980, expectations were legitimately high that a new civilization was in the making and finally that citizens may storm the statehouse and tear down the leaders not with bullets but with ballots.The birth of Zimbabwe as a post colonial nation state was a defining and historic moment that represented a noblest idea that a nation blinded by a racial past could rise above the prejudices that characterised it.

]]> http://www.mutumwa.com/article/162 Mon, 25 Aug 2008 04:59:04 GMT The political leaders who negotiated the Lancaster House agreement were clear on what was at stake and the change they sought to effect.A few of the signers of the agreement from the liberation movements had extensive political experience in colonial and state government. Equally the majority were financially challenged with financial resources that ranged from nothing to poor. On the whole they were less wealthy than the colonial incumbents.

]]> http://www.mutumwa.com/article/161 Mon, 18 Aug 2008 11:41:54 GMT After 52 years, it must be accepted that the promise of a prosperous and dynamic continent that independence was expected to bring about remains elusive. The construction of a post colonial order was premised on the belief that restoring political power to the majority through a constitutional democratic order was in and out of itself a necessary and sufficient condition for economic and social transformation.

]]> http://www.mutumwa.com/article/160 Mon, 18 Aug 2008 06:45:00 GMT The state plays an important role in post colonial Africa. The state cannot be theorised without society. Equally a society cannot be theorised without citizens.  The colonial institutional framework was premised on the absorption of all social functions by the state. The majority of Africans were alienated from the state whose primary function during the colonial era was to serve the interests of a minority of the citizens.

]]> http://www.mutumwa.com/article/159 Tue, 12 Aug 2008 10:20:17 GMT 12 August 2008. Today, 12 August 2008, marks the third historic day of the inter-party negotiations in the unfolding post election Zimbabwean drama not only because the people of Zimbabwe who voted on 29 March 2008 have been condemned to a prolonged state of suspense and limbo about who will be their leader but the crisis has managed to detain the SADC appointed mediator, President Mbeki, in Harare where his presidential plane has been parked since Saturday, 9 August 2008.

]]> http://www.mutumwa.com/article/158 Sun, 10 Aug 2008 12:08:12 GMT Ownership is a key construction concept in the development of an Anglo American socio-economic system that has been copied by post colonial Africa without much thought on the underlying obligations that an order founded on the respect of property rights imposes on it.  The concept of ownership has existed for thousands of years and is universal. It is defined as the state or fact of exclusive rights and control over property which may be an object, land/real estate, intellectual property or some other kind of property and it is embodied in a right also referred to as title.

]]> http://www.mutumwa.com/article/157 Mon, 04 Aug 2008 15:03:30 GMT Speaking in Pretoria yesterday at a birthday celebration in his honour, former President Mandela said that South Africa needs disciplined leaders now as much as ever in the country's history.Mandela's name will remain etched in the history of South Africa as the first President of a constitutional democratic order and yet his legacy may not be correctly contextualised unless he pronounces his opinion on the fate of Mr. Jacob Zuma, the current popular President of a party that has helped transform him from an ex-political convict to a global brand and icon, as he enters the final mile to the statehouse.

]]> http://www.mutumwa.com/article/156 Mon, 04 Aug 2008 13:37:58 GMT Long Walk to Freedom is an autobiographical work written by former President Mandela, and published in 1995 by Little Brown & Co. The book is a story of the audacity of hope that describes his early life, coming of age, education, 27 years in prison, his political ascension, and his belief that the struggle against poverty and political inclusivity continues in the post apartheid order.  The road to freedom was closed to persons of color during the colonial/apartheid eras and yet for many would be candidates for political office in post colonial Africa, the road remains closed with the state increasing being manipulated to be the biggest and most lethal enemy of democracy.

]]> http://www.mutumwa.com/article/155 Sun, 03 Aug 2008 15:08:41 GMT Zimbabwe's future is now squarely in the hands of principally two men i.e. the discredited incumbent President Mugabe whose international reputation has been dented by the outcome of the 29 March elections and his long-time political nemesis, Mr. Morgan Tsvangirai.

]]>