Third thermism: A potent threat to sustainable development and peaceful co-existence in Africa

A cross section of Africa's leaders

Attempts by some African leaders to circumvent constitutional terms of office- usually 2 terms- and remain in power, is put in perspective.

Dubbed by some as third-termism, this phenomenon has slowly but surely become a focus for charged debate and worse, devastating conflict.

Currently, from Burundi and Gabon, to the Democratic Republic of Congo, this matter is a cause for much instability, displacement of persons, loss of livelihood and violent loss of life.

It is perhaps worth putting a frame on what remaining in power beyond constituted terms of office means for the ordinary man woman and child in African countries where poverty is rife, systems of governance are weak, and a few in corridors of power have the latitude to dictate with near-impunity to dis-empowered populations.

The longer persons in positions of authority remain in power under such circumstances, the less tolerant of opposition they are bound to become. There is also good reason to imagine that over time, a tipping point is reached where the weak and divided population they serve evolves to become less- than- reasonable as well, and would react violently when faced with a scenario that either attempts to perpetuate the status quo or attempts to end it.

 No one person should have a monopoly over the responsibility, perks, success or indeed failure of leadership. Africa and its leaders must embrace this fact in the acceptance of constitutional terms of office, as the alternative is, over time, disastrous conflict that wastes lives and perpetuates under-development.

Colombia: The signal of a new era

As a culmination of four years of sometimes grueling negotiation between the government of Colombia and the largest rebel group in that country- FARC- An agreement has been reached to end what has been the longest- running war in the Americas. This agreement is being seen as 'a milestone for peace in the Americas and the world'.

It has to be said that the Colombian government, after more than 50 years of conflict, has given its citizens reason to be hopeful that a position can be reached, which will see elements at the country's fringe being integrated into society in a manner that is understanding, inclusive, forgiving and forward-thinking.

If indeed the agreement is ratified in a referendum later this year as hoped, the practicality of entrenching it would reasonably be expected to be challenging.

In making every effort to surmount these challenges however, Colombia would have set itself on a path of becoming a beacon not only for the manner of seeking and finding an often elusive peace after years of intractable conflict. It would also be a signpost for the largeness of heart and richness of spirit required to embrace 'the other' on the margins of any society we profess to guard and protect.

On Zimbabwe: 'The best within the confines of the law' can be enough

Evan Mawarire. Credit: BBC

The nation state of Zimbabwe, Southern Africa is yet again in the grip of an economic and social crisis. This is nothing new in Zimbabwe given its travails of the last 10 years which has seen its creeping authoritarianism given full vent under Dr Robert Mugabe and his ZANU-PF party.

Poorly thought through economic policies, cronyism and the recalcitrance of a ruling elite has meant that a country deemed the bread basket of Southern Africa has become a shadow of itself.

The high literacy rate Zimbabwe is famously known for has not been able to be employed to grow the economy and improve ties with the rest of the region and indeed the world, as Mr. Mugabe has become more entrenched in his paranoia about the West. Instead the young , educated and entrepreneurial have been forced to seek greener pastures elsewhere, where their worth is either under- appreciated or envied to the point of being a risk to their lives.

Suffice it to say that the situation in Zimbabwe has given room for an entrenched few and their interests, to perpetuate themselves in power to the detriment of the self-actualization of the many.

Against this backdrop, enter Evan Mawarire. The Zimbabwean Pastor has taken to social media to exhort his fellow citizens of Zimbabwe to down tools and not leave their homes because of the corruption and mismanagement of the economy which has essentially stagnated Zimbabwean society, and prevented the likes of him from self-actualizing and looking after their family's needs.

It can perhaps be said that since Zimbabwe made news headlines in 2009 with the near collapse of its economy and the resultant threat to its social fabric including peaceful co-existence, this is a first for an ordinary citizen to speak out in such a manner against the difficulties he and people like him face every day in Zimbabwe.

He has asked for "Non- violence, non- inciting and stay at home" of his fellow citizens, to spur change. This should force the government of Zimbabwe to deal with the situation in the country, which amounts to a decimation of the economy, and a threat to peaceful co-existence. He describes the action he proposes as "the best within the confines of the law".

The mantra of his #Thisflag movement might well be the cry the citizens of Zimbabwe have been waiting for, to snap the many out of the torpor, that allows for the destructive excesses of the very few.

A threat to societal cohesion and peaceful co-existence writ large

Photo Courtesy of VOA

The aftermath of events in which the police killed two black men in Minnesota and Louisiana, and in which an army veteran- a black man- killed 5 police officers in Dallas Texas, is put in perspective.


Yet again, the loss of innocent lives has prompted soul searching in a nation that prides itself as having built its democracy on a foundation of constant striving for peaceful co-existence, justice and the self actualization of its citizens.


As Barack Obama, President of the United States expressed in his address to some 2000 people in the city of Dallas at a memorial service of the killed police officers, "I've seen how inadequate words can be in bringing about lasting change. I've seen how inadequate my own words have been".


Now that is quite some admission from a leader who it can be argued and with good reason, prides himself in the ability of his words to fire the imagination, to provide perspective, to inspire a fervor for justice.


But how is this so? The answer perhaps lies in the extent to which a people are engaged with a co-existence rooted in fairness and in truth...


It can perhaps be said that an individual, a group of people, an institution or indeed a nation would adopt a position or justify actions however inimical to societal cohesion and hence peaceful co-existence, if nothing serves to challenge these ideas and actions.


It must also perhaps be said that only a constant and committed striving for the values of fairness, inclusion, compassion and justice could possibly be able to pose such a challenge.

On Syria,whither the good choices?

culled from theatlantic.com



An editorial piece in the New York Times of 22nd June 2016 titled 'The false lure of military intervention in Syria', is put in perspective.

 It quite aptly details the difficulties that the United States faces with bowing to suggestions made by its diplomats, that confronting the Assad regime with the threat of military force is a way of nudging him towards seeking a peaceful resolution to a civil war that has destroyed much of his country, and caused as much as 400,000 deaths as well as untold suffering.

It is quite easy to see how the dynamic on the ground creates a scenario of choices ranging from 'limited', to 'not good' as the editorial has so eloquently described,  Russia's ambiguity on the matter of Assad and Syria being perhaps the most potent variable that serves to perpetuate the crises.

The editorial however asks 'whither a workable and rational alternative strategy' from these diplomats, without giving this question as much weight as the detail of a quagmire that is the Syrian war.

On Syria, whither the good choices? Perhaps the answer lies in a United States that must change its mind and fast, about not just what it justifiably sees as Assad's role in bringing about death and destruction, but also his role real or potential, in achieving a desperately needed peace.



The Middle East Peace Process- A fading hope

Culled from Isrealmatz.blogspot.com

The latest attempt, this time by France, to kick-start the peace process by holding talks on the 3rd of June 2016, is put in perspective.

The talks that was no talks has served to highlight the sad reality of what the Mideast peace process has become. It is an exercise that none of the stakeholders seriously believes would lead to meaningful dialogue, which creates opportunity for peaceful co-existence  between the state of Israel and a Palestinian state, long the wish of the Palestinian people.

Dare one ask how it has come to this? The answer is not far removed from the truth that is a lack of moral courage of the principal players to seize the opportunities presented thus far, from the Oslo accords of 1993 to present day.

With a significant proportion of the Middle East embroiled in strife, this lack of moral courage has very little opportunity to be called out as it should.

In 2016, the hope for a meaningful peace process is dimmed by a lack of moral courage which has as its crutch, a wider Middle East in the throes of an upheaval, the effects of which is being felt well beyond Its geographical borders.