Ancient Monarchic Israelite and Post-Colonial Zimbabwean Political

UNIVERSITY OF KWAZULU–NATAL Political Economies of Terror? Ancient Monarchic Israelite and Post-Colonial Zimbabwean political economies in dialogue towards an inclusive economic ethics By Honoured Taruona Thesis Submitted in Fulfilment of the Academic Requirements for the Degree of: Doctor of Philosophy In the Subject of Theology at the School of Religion, Philosophy and Classics College of Humanities University of KwaZulu-Natal Pietermaritzburg Supervisor: Prof Gerald O. West June 2019 DECLARATION I Honoured Taruona hereby declare that this dissertation is my own unaided work. All citations, references and borrowed ideas have been duly acknowledged. It is being submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the School of Religion, Philosophy and Classics at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. None of the present work has been submitted previously for any degree or examination in any other university. Signed 10 June 2019 Honoured Taruona Date SUPERVISOR As the supervisor of the above-named PhD candidate, I hereby approve this thesis for submission Signed 10 June 2019 Prof Gerald O. West (Supervisor) Date i DEDICATION To the victims of the post-colonial Zimbabwean political economy of terror To the dead, you did not suffer in vain To the living, don’t mourn, mobilise; don’t agonise, organise ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS It is a demand of the notion of simple justice that each one be given their due. To Prof Gerald West, I cannot thank you enough for nurturing me throughout the long time that I was working with you on this project. Your vast knowledge of the subject area and giving me the room to manoeuvre will be imprinted on my mind for eternity. You pushed me out of my comfort zone and made me believe that I could do it. You are an inspiration to me. Thank you for introducing me to Marxist thought. For that I will always be grateful. I would be remiss if I did not express my sincere gratitude to the folks at Diakonia Council of Churches. Thank you for introducing me to the world of social justice. Thank you for introducing me to Archbishop Dennis Eugene Hurley, the giant of faith and action. Thank you for introducing me to Paddy Kearney, a humble giant of social justice and great ecumenist. My sojourn at 20 Diakonia Avenue changed my life forever and made me an addict of social justice. Thank you for the financial support and encouragement. To all friends, family, colleagues and acquaintances, too numerous to mention, who helped me in various ways on this journey, I say thank you so much. iii ABSTRACT This work is an attempt at Marxist biblical scholarship. It seeks to add to a growing list of works from African biblical scholars that employ insights from the social sciences, Marxist analytical categories in particular, to shed light on, and better understand the social life of ancient Israel. It uses Marxist analysis to facilitate a dialogue between the political economy of ancient monarchic Israel and that of post-colonial Zimbabwe, with a view to an inclusive economic ethics. A Marxist reading of social life in ancient monarchic Israel reveals a class divided society in which the upper classes seized the institution of the state to further their own class interests. A picture that emerges from that society is of a tiny elite parasitically living off the sweat and toil of the peasants. Physically devastated by corvée labour, impoverished by onerous tribute and taxation, and having lost property and family to debt instruments, the hardworking peasants rue the day their ancestors accepted the tributary state, with its monopoly of the legitimate use of violence and ideo-theologies that support and legitimate the status quo; that support and legitimate the luxury that they see being displayed wantonly by their rulers. Like the sons and daughters of Israel they read about daily in their bibles, without stopping for a moment to reflect on their social life, the peaceful hardworking Zimbabwean masses, decimated by poverty, fear and state-sponsored brutality, yet unable to change their story, unwilling to mobilise and stage a citizen’s revolution, have resigned to fate, hoping that the God of the Hebrews will listen to their cries and avenge their blood, sweat and tears. From the highs of the defeat of white racist supremacy to the lows of recording the second highest rate of inflation in recorded history, from being the second most advanced economy on the continent south of the Sahara, to rank among the poorest on earth, from its citizens being proud white collar employees, to beggars and vendors on the streets of neighbouring countries, yet their rulers and patronage networks unashamedly display their extortionate wealth in broad day light, no one in their wildest imagination would have thought that just two decades into independence, the country would descend into a predatory and brutal police state in which its leaders would join hands with the military to terrorise any form of dissent, torture tens of thousands, murder thousands of their own people who hold a different opinion from theirs, as the country tethered on the brink of becoming a failed state. Regarded as a pariah by the international community, industry having been decimated by hyperinflation and iv shortage of foreign exchange, the country would be abandoned by more than half of its skilled workforce, but only after the ruling politico-military elite and its patronage networks had looted the state coffers empty. With social services having virtually collapsed, citizens would die of avoidable diseases such as cholera. The picture that emerges from Zimbabwe is of a defeated and confused citizenry, scratching their hands trying, but failing, to get answers to what has led them to be in this sorry state. Although separated by millennia, a Marxist reading of the two political economies shows striking similarities in terms of stratification, primitive accumulation of wealth by the upper classes and their apparent insensitivity to the plight of the masses. A biblically-inspired economic ethics that extols community and advocates an option for those who have fallen on the wrong side of the political economy is what the exploited in both contexts want to hear. v ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS AAG Affirmative Action Group AFC Agricultural Finance Corporation AfDB African Development Bank AHT Air Harbour Technologies AIPPA Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act AU African Union BACOSSI Basic Commodities Supply Side Intervention BCE Before the Common Era CCJP Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace CCZ Consumer Council of Zimbabwe CFU Commercial Farmers’ Union CIO Central Intelligence Organisation CZI Chamber of Zimbabwean Industry DRC Democratic Republic of the Congo ESAP Economic Structural Adjustment Programme EEC European Economic Commission EU European Union FAO Food and Agriculture Organisation FDI Foreign Direct Investment FTLRP Fast Track Land Reform Programme GDP Gross Domestic Product GNP Gross National Product GNU Government of National Unity HRW Human Rights Watch HSF Helen Suzman Foundation IBDC Indigenous Business Development Centre ICC International Criminal Court ICG International Crisis Group ICT Information Communication and Technology IMF International Monetary Fund JOC Joint Operations Command KP Kimberley Process vi LHA Lancaster House Agreement LOMA Law and Order (Maintenance) Act LRC Legal Resources Centre LS Laudato si’ MDC Movement for Democratic Change NCA National Constitutional Assembly NECI National Economic Conduct Inspectorate NGO Non-governmental organisation NOCZIM National Oil Company of Zimbabwe NRZ National Railways of Zimbabwe ODA British Overseas Development Administration OAU Organisation of African Unity PAC Partnership Africa Canada PF ZAPU Zimbabwe African People’s Union - Patriotic Front POSA Public Order and Security Act PWR Parliament of World Religions SADC Southern African Development Community SADCC Southern African Development Coordinating Conference SAIIA South African Institute of International Affairs SAPs Structural Adjustment Programmes SDM Single Member District SEPs State enterprises and parastatals SOEs State-owned enterprises SPT Solidarity Peace Trust TNCs Transnational corporations TTLs Tribal Trust Lands UDI Unilateral Declaration of Independence UN United Nations UNAIDS Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS UNCTAD United Nations Conference on Trade and Development UNICEF United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund UNDP United Nations Development Programme US United State of America vii USCCB United States Conference of Catholic Bishops WB World Bank WHO World Health Organisation WVCF War Victims Compensation Fund ZADHR Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights ZANU PF Zimbabwe African National Union - Patriotic Front ZBC Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation ZCTU Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions ZDF Zimbabwe Defence Forces ZDI Zimbabwe Defence Industries ZESN Zimbabwe Election Support Network ZHRC Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission ZIMCORD Zimbabwe Conference on Reconstruction and Development ZISCO Zimbabwe Iron and Steel Company ZNCC Zimbabwean National Chamber of Commerce ZRP Zimbabwe Republic Police ZSE Zimbabwe Stock Exchange ZUM Zimbabwe Unity Movement viii TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION.................................................................................................................................... i DEDICATION......................................................................................................................................

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