Is Ethnic Balancing In Politics Desirable ?

The Pros and Cons of Ethnic Balancing

By Dumisani O. Nkomo

A cursory analysis of the country’s four main political parties namely the MDC T, ZANU PF, MDC and ZAPU shows attempts at delicate ethnic balancing in the political leadership architecture and design. It has become commonplace for political parties to ensure that if they have a Shona President, the Vice President must be Ndebele, if they have a Ndebele President, the Vice President must be Shona. Ethnic balancing has become a norm and a political imperative in the Zimbawean context but what we have to ask ourselves is whether it is desirable, necessary or value adding. Does it demonstrate an absence of political maturity in the electorate or party congresses/conferences which are entrusted with electing leaders or is it a necessary political tool to manage ethnic politics? What will it take for Zimbabweans to start electing leaders on the basis of merit, ability, capacity and potential or are we going be stuck in the politics of who comes from where for the next few decades? These are questions which I have but do not necessarily have answers for as I hope they will provide a framework for fruitful, unemotional, informed and intelligent debate.

African politics and specifically Zimbabwean politics has been dominated by issues of ethnicity for centuries. I wish to examine the impact and effect of ethnicity on Zimbabwean politics and the collective destiny of the nation.

Ethnic Balancing Versus Quality Leadership

One pertinent issue that we need to address is whether ethnic balancing compromises quality of leadership in a political party and more importantly in a country. In African electoral politics the most frequently asked question is which tribe a candidate comes from or where they come from and not what they have to offer to the electorate. How has this phenomenon affected the quality of leaders we choose and subsequently the quality of political discourse, engagement and development? When political parties have congresses to elect leaders do they place a premium on the quality of leaders or the ethnic origins of the leaders? Looking at the four main political parties in Zimbabwe it is quite self evident that the ethnic political architecture is inbuilt into the leadership structure of all these parties. The reasons are many and varied but nonetheless it is self evident that ethnicity does a play a role in the way the leadership of these parties is constructed.

Ethnic Balancing As A Political Tool

MDC T, ZANU PF, MDC and ZAPU all seem to have delicate mechanisms to manage ethnic representation in the higher echelons of their leadership structures.  ZANU PF and MDC T appear to have reserved the positions of Vice President for Ndebeles, whilst the MDC N has a Ndebele president and a Shona Vice President whilst ZAPU has a Ndebele President and a Shona Vice President. In the recent MDC congress Deputy Prime Minister Thokozani Khuphe, Norman Mabhena and Thabitha Khumalo [all Ndebeles] contested for the position of Vice president. Ethnic balancing is frequently used by political parties to manage delicate ethnic interests and dynamics. In the absence of ethnic balancing there is general fear amongst political parties that they may be labeled tribalist regional parties and thus loses support and national credibility. In spite of these reasons I still contend that to an extent ethnic balancing does compromise the quality of leadership for the following reasons.

Ethnic Balancing Is Not Ethnic Representation

It is critical to interrogate the notion that by having a Ndebele Vice President or a Shona Vice President, Secretary General or whatever the case maybe this necessarily entails that the particular ethnic group that the individual comes from is represented. Does the fact that DPM Khuphe comes from Matabeleland and Vice President John Nkomo come from Matabeleland necessarily mean that they become the embodiment of the hopes, aspirations, dreams and concerns of people from that region.

Whilst at the level of the political parties that these individuals come from, it may be felt that these people represent certain ethnic groups in this case the Ndebele, their presence in these positions does not necessarily translate to representation of the Ndebele. History has proven that whilst individuals use the ethnic ticket to campaign for political posts in their parties and government, many of these individuals  tend to become mere political ornaments who do not adequately represent or articulate the concerns of people for example in Matabeleland or Manicaland  or wherever they come from. Ethnicity has thus become a useful positioning tool for some at the expense of addressing core structural issues, ethnic imbalances in resource allocation and development.

Ethnic Balancing As Leverage For Leadership Positions

Disappointingly whenever politicians campaign for positions in their parties they use the issue of ethnicity as leverage but once they are ensconced in power they forget about the people they claim to represent and lay claim to be “national leaders.”

The Ethnic Question In The MDC T

It is important to address the issue of ethnic balancing in the context of the politics of the MDC T because it is the party which is most likely to defeat ZANU PF in elections. If the party does not deal with issues relating to ethnicity now it could perpetuate the ZANU PF legacy of divisive ethnic polarization and marginalization.

Critics and activists in Matabeleland have argued that the MDC T party has poor representation from Matabeleland in its national leadership with Thokozani Khuphe and Lovemore Moyo being the only notable figures in its leadership whilst other politicians such as Morgan Komichi and Abednico Bhebhe are deputies. The counter argument has been that ethnicity goes beyond the Ndebele - Shona issue but should take into account other ethnic groupings such as the Tonga, Kalanga, Sotho, Nambya, coloureds, whites, Asians etc including language groups such as the Zezuru, Manyika and Karanga. To balance representation of all these groupings must indeed be a nightmare for political parties.

The MDC T suffers from a peculiar problem of under representation from Matabeland due to a number of reasons. First and foremost after the united MDC party split most of the party’s senior leaders from Matabeleland who were also in the national hierarchy sided with the then Mutambara faction. This included the Vice President Gibson Sibanda, the Secretary General Welshman Ncube, the Treasurer General Fletcher Dulini Ncube, the Spokesperson Paul Themba Nyathi, Legal Affairs secretary David Coltart and the likes of Esaph Mdlongwa and others. Even some who hold senior positions in the MDC T were initially aligned to the Mutambara faction. All these leaders had vast experience and a galaxy of talent and their exodus left a huge vacuum in the MDC T in terms of quality leadership from Matabeleland. This led to people who were fairly junior in the party structures but having the unexpected blessing of coming from Matabeleland being parachuted to leadership positions. Subsequently, most of the party’s cadres from Matabeleland cannot compete on an equal footing with their colleagues from other regions because of the historical leadership vacuum created by the split. This is a political reality which the party has to accept, confront and develop strategies to address. The leadership vacuum is evident in the fact that most of the leaders from Matabeleland compete for fairly junior posts as deputies or for positions which are guaranteed through ethnic balancing.

 Is ethnic balancing in government and political parties desirable? Well it may not be desirable but it is necessary for the time being anyway because our politics is still far from maturing and elections are less about electing quality people who can deliver but rather are more about personalities and ethnicity. Ethnic balancing also helps to ensure that minorities and marginalized groups within political parties are represented. An ethnic majority in the country could be a minority in a political party and as such could be under represented in that political formation. The reverse could also hold true as an ethnic minority at a national level could be under represented at a political party or government level. Ethnic balancing therefore becomes a necessary evil. The flip side of the argument is that ethnic balancing may compromise the quality of leaders in a political party or government as preference is given to ethnicity rather than ability.

In my opinion Africa in general and Zimbabwe in particular will experience true democracy and socio economic growth once we start placing a premium on what people have to offer rather than which ethnic groups they belong to. The danger of ethnic balancing is that it may reduce minorities such as Nambyas, Tongas, Ndebeles, coloureds, Asians, Sothos, Ndaus and other ethnic groups to perennial deputies. Maybe  we can learn something from the election of Barack Obama who made history by being the first black president of the United States of America. Do we see ourselves in fifteen to twenty years voting for a white president, a Tonga president, a Venda president, a Ndebele President if that person is the best candidate? If the best candidate is a Zezuru, a Manyika or Karanga then so be it, but how long before we get to this level of maturity is another question.

There are encouraging signs in organizations for organized business, students’ unions, trade unions and civil society that indeed there is a generation of Zimbabweans that sees people not for their ethnicity but for their ability, the content of their character and what they have to offer to the nation. Failure to address the question of ethnicity may lead to the radicalization of ethnocentric politics and formations. We need to debate the issue widely and not wildly whilst at the same time thinking about the imperative of developing and electing quality leaders.

Dumisani O. Nkomo is a civil society practitioner and opinion leader. He is a founder of the Matabeleland Civil Society Consortium. Dumisani can be contacted on dumisani.nkomo@gmail.com or visit blogspot at dumisanionkomo.blogspot.com