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Gibson Nyikadzino, Zimpapers Politics Hub

A lot of events with a global, regional and national bearing on Zimbabwe happened last week, in which the anticipation was for intellectuals to take the stage, unpack the events, and explain them in the context of the nation’s social milieu.

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin last week scored a big win despite Western efforts to isolate him. He hosted leaders from 36 countries in the city of Kazan for a BRICS+ Summit and took the opportunity to make a bold appeal. He asked BRICS+ nations to ditch the Western banking order dominated by the US dollar.

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin

He said the West weaponises the dollar, and that BRICS+ nations should have their own payment system, an alternative to the Western system. Of course, President Putin has a point.

At a national level, the message of President Putin has a bearing. At a time when Zimbabwe is making inroads in relation to Vision 2030, the desire for progress has at times hit the cul-de-sac because of the use of the US dollar as a denominating currency. The US dollar has been weaponised against the economy, and this is how it has been so.

Also, Zanu-PF’s just-ended 21st Annual National People’s Conference had key takeaways and resolutions that need to be known by party members especially when explained and broken down by the delegates who attended the august occasion.

Every party structure has to understand what the conference resolved, as guided by the party values. It is in this context that all these issues must be understood by the ordinary Zimbabwean, and intellectuals have to play a leading role.

Is the crown cracking?
The US dollar, for a long time, has been described as the king of international finance. Over the years, no other contender has come close because of the US’ use of the dollar as a weapon.

The roots of the weaponisation of the US dollar lie in the post-9/11 world. After the terror attacks, the US government devised means to track financial flows around the world to establish how terrorist organisations were being financed.

This they did by leaning on SWIFT, the system that banks use to make cross-border payments, to share information on financial transactions.

Besides tracking how terror groups got financed, this was also useful to track how Zimbabwe, under illegal sanctions, conducted transactions. As a result, some were blocked.
This financial surveillance network has grown a lot and today the US is using it to find out how banks, countries and even terrorist groups are evading sanctions.

Organisations that are dodging sanctions are however being shut off from using the US’ banking system to move dollars.

This is what the BRICS+ is working to avoid. If there is any threat to the dollar’s dominance, it comes from changes that are about to materialise, or even those that have not materialised yet. For example, India has built its own national payments network and the technology used to do that is now being used by other emerging markets to build their own.

Eventually, these systems are about to link up with each other, facilitate cross-border payments and supersede systems like SWIFT. This will offer substitutes to the dollar-denominated systems.

Remember, the world’s previous reserve currency, the British pound sterling, did eventually give way to the dollar. Anything can happen with reserve currencies, the US dollar’s reign is being challenged fast.

Thinking about Zimbabwe
A lot of mischaracterisations and misconceptions have been made about Zimbabwe, where its existence has constantly been attacked, driven by misinforming narratives.
For instance, Zimbabwe’s democratic processes, its efforts at economic transformation, the social structure of its welcoming people and its competent human resources have been criticised by those who have not understood the country’s historical, cultural and social history.

On the sidelines, those expected to lead the push-back narratives and defend the glorious sanctity of the nation have been bystanders. To correct these narratives, there is a great need for Zimbabweans to think in critical terms about how they should shape the society they want, and not feed on the diagnosis given by foreign elements.

It is time for both traditional and organic intellectuals in Government and the Zanu-PF party to defend the core interests of the country by speaking about how society’s stability, continuity and life should be.
Intellectuals are an important component in the functioning of society as well as in the Zanu-PF revolution due to their capacity to influence people.

What should intellectuals do?
Zanu-PF, as a revolutionary party, must continue to help nurture and lead the society that came into being following its victory over colonialism in 1980. That victory meant the revolution had room to lead society in making reforms that spoke to the people’s needs. The biggest need that the people are in need of are intellectuals who can speak the mind of the State, influence narratives and resist the manipulation of society.

What it means is that Zanu-PF, as usual, should continue putting forth its capable foot soldiers who articulate issues ideologically and provide context to resist the imperial overreach of besmirching statements made against both the state and the party.

The party should not be seen only as revolutionary in name, but in aspiration and reality, to be able to translate the political and economic gains made into a vibrant socialist revolution that all people are dependent on. That is what intellectuals are about!

Intellectuals that the party banks on should be in the media and at university because the two institutions give them their most powerful impact in expanding consciousness and awareness of the position within society. Their role is therefore to serve as the political vanguard of the party that labours to heighten class consciousness, hence extending the party’s revolutionary credentials. As Italian philosopher Antonio Gramsci said: “The entire purpose of intellectuals must be to advance revolutionary politics.”