"With party leader Morgan Tsvangirai ratcheting up
the pressure on the rebels, as well as his grassroots campaigns (and he clearly
has the numbers on his side), the renewal team is finding itself well and truly
up the creek — without a paddle to row back to terra firma," said the Daily
News reporter. Well that says it all and beautifully too.
The report was talking of the Tendai Biti and Elton Mangoma
who had branded themselves the MDC renewal who initially threatened to break
away but now seem to have developed cold feet. They are back negotiating to be
allowed back in the MDC.
The MDC rebels claimed that they were claiming the MDC
under Tsvangirai's leadership had abandoned the party's founding principles and
values especially its promise to bring democratic change. There is no thinking
Zimbabwean or outsider who would argue about that.
Everyone raised their eyebrows, right up like Ethiopia's
Chilada baboons, when the rebels said they were reclaiming the long forgotten
MDC founding principles and values. Alarm bells started ringing; they could not
have rung louder if a known prostitute said she was a virgin!
Both Tendai Biti and Elton Mangoma had been MDC's chief
negotiators of the GPA and so they knew the agreement has stipulated that the
GNU was to implement a raft of democratic reforms, for example. The two had
very senior positions in the party and in the GNU to have forced the
implementation of the said reforms.
By implementing the reforms MDC would have fulfilled its
key promise of bring meaningful democratic reforms to Zimbabwe. We know that
after five years of this GNU not even one reform was implemented.
So before anyone can believe that these rebels are
serious about delivering democratic change people want to know what has
happened to make they remember MDC's founding principles and to recommit
themselves to living up to these values? Short of a "Saul on the road to
Damascus" or “Homer Simpson lost in the frozen vastness of Alaska” moment;
no thinking person will belief the rebels are not the same self-seeking and
breathtakingly incompetent individuals the whole world has come to know
Tsvangirai and his fellow MDC leaders, including Tendai Biti and Mangoma, to
be.
Tsvangirai and MDC have made so many blunders in the last
few years they have lost all political credibility. To regain the people’s
trust and confidence, it is not enough for any of them to just say they are
reclaiming the founding values and restate old promises but more significant
they must explain why they betrayed the people by forgetting the values their
past promises.
The rebels did not have an epiphany moment, offered no
pithy explanation why they had abandoned the old values and they did not even
apologize for betraying the nation so recklessly. All they had to say was that
it was all Tsvangirai’s fault and they were reclaiming the founding values as
if that act alone is guarantee they will deliver.
11 comments:
@ Eyes on me
What you have failed to accept is that central government in Zimbabwe is bloated already and then add on to this an equally bloated local government. Reduce the sizes of these and make them more efficient and accountable. One does not need to change the constitution much less create another layer of buffoons!
Zimbabwe is no bigger than an average State in America and yet some people have visions of subdividing it into as many as 10 different States!
We should be engaged in dismantling the Zanu PF dictatorship but have been side tracked into this devolution issue only because some individuals see the breakup of the country into pieces as their only chance of getting back on the gravy train since they have nothing to sell to the people to be elected on a national agenda.
I have told you before and will say it again; people should have rejected the Copac constitution but many were distracted by the devolution issue. Mugabe knew that by including it many of the simpletons will see nothing else. They would not even see that the constitution was too weak and feeble to be implemented in any meaningful way.
Devolution is nonsense; drop it. Let us talk about democratic change, good governance, schools, hospitals, etc. things that affect us all instead issues to gratify the greed for power of a few!
Corruption in Zimbabwe, as in many other countries where economically disadvantaged get into power, started as a way of rewarding those who had fought or contributed in the war of liberation. Soon after independence the party officials were not so greedy; the matchbox houses in the former African township was considered a significant asset. So there was enough wealth left over to look at the needs of the masses.
Soon after independence Mugabe believed he could achieve mass prosperity and his socialist policies did try to redistribute wealth to the poor.
As time passed his Zanu PF friends' appetites increased in volume and expense forcing Mugabe to dig deeper; they wanted better paying jobs for which they were not competent to do. This result in the waste of money and human talent. The burden of the mismanagement and corruption but the political appointees plus the socialistic policies such as free education, subsidized commodities, etc. was a burden the national economy could not carry.
By the 1990s Mugabe was force to adopted IMF and WB sponsored economic reforms. He agreed a whole suite of reforms but only implemented those affecting the masses whilst allowing his cronies to keep their jobs in the various government departments and government owned / controlled institutions.
The economic recovery the reforms were supposed to bring did not materialize because only some of the reforms had been implemented and another five year programme was agreed. It too failed for the same reason.
Corruption has been the glue that Mugabe used to hold Zanu PF together. The appetites was grown from matchbox houses to mansions such as Mugabe's own Blue Roof.
Corruption has grown up so much so that it is sucking up everything and it is the one behind the national economic melt-down.
Mugabe cannot do anything to stop corruption because the only meaningful way to do that is by addressing all who have been looting regardless of their position in the party including himself. He knows the party members will turn on him like hungry and angry hyenas!
The economic melt-down has meant there is less and less wealth for his cronies to loot. And meanwhile the poor are sinking deeper and deeper into grinding poverty. The economy with prove to be Mugabe's Achilles' heel,
Economic recovery is going to be a long and difficult task as it is one only hopes Mugabe goes soon. The longer he stays in power the longer and harder the recovery. It is not in the DNA for tyrants to give up power and Mugabe is determined to hang on as long as possible regardless the price the nation will pay for it.
After weeks of dithering by Mangoma and threaten o resign Tsvangirai has pre-empted all that and fired Mangoma nd a few other rebels.
His credibility has been badly damaged because of his dithering. This was a clear cut case where a principled man would have said I have this far but will go no further.
Mangoma and Biti have been playing this silly game of whether or not to resign from the party - yes, no, yes, no; like a little girl pulling off the petals of a flower! For once Tsvangirai has been decisive and fired Mangoma before he finished the whole flower bed!
You are fired! Now f*** off! Now you can play your girlish game with forming a new political party of your own.
As for Tsvangirai he have fired Mangoma and may do the same to Biti; that will, however, not address his fundamental problem that he is "a weak and indecisive character", as US Ambassador Chris Dell rightly said years ago.
MDC still has a blundering and incompetent leader at the helm!
“Here we have the same Third World people with sympathies for us. Together, we are part of the KPC process. You do not have the evil heart of Europe,” Mugabe was quoted in State media as having told the Arabs during a Wednesday tour of the Dubai Diamond Exchange Centre.
“We want to be partners in trade. We want partners who regard us as human beings, partners who share our misfortunes and appreciate that we want to develop also in the same way that we appreciate their own development”.
His Arab host must have cursed at being called a "third world people". The UAE is one country that has grown in leaps and bounce economically and has used its national resources for the benefit of its people. Political the UAE is not quite there yet to be called a free democracy but it has made great progress here too. To be put on par with one of the most oppressive regimes in the world is an insult.
Mugabe was telling his hosts diamonds were still abundant in Zimbabwe and pledged the country would contribution towards boosting the UAE’s world profile as a gigantic world trading hub - music to their ears. And yet he has been telling the nation the diamonds have run out. There has been but a trickle of revenue into the national purse from the sale of diamonds so far; only Mugabe and his cronies continue to ruck in millions of dollars.
After all the Belgians did to get EU sanctions against all Mugabe's cronies and MDC lifted the tyrant is not going keep his word and sell Zimbabwe's diamonds in Belgium. He even calls the Europeans "evil heart"; some thank you to Belgium!
@ Nyikayaramba
People did not follow Tsvangirai knowing he was incompetent but followed him anyway because there was no one else more competent. They followed him because they believed he was COMPETENT. Indeed even with all the evidence of his blundering failures many still believe him to be competent.
The evidence of Tsvangirai's incompetence is there for every one to see but if you do not have the mental eyes to see you will not see. If they see anything, they have clearly failed to comprehend anything!
By the same token they will not comprehend a competent leader because they clearly do not know what to look for. If they think Tsvangirai is competent it is obvious they do not know what to look for.
There has been a lot of talk about MDC failing to implement the democratic re-forms, for example. 95% of the people out there do not have the foggiest idea what these reforms are. Tsvangirai himself does not have clue. How is that!
"Show us the competent leader," you say. To what end and purpose? It would be like telling a blind man to turn right by the tree in the distance; he can not see what is right there before him, how can he see what in the distant horizon?
If the people are serious about finding competent leaders then they must first open their eyes and see and understand what is there before them. They must understand what democratic reforms are about. Anyone who can articulate how they will get the reforms implemented is the competent leader they are looking for!
If they do not understand what the reforms are then they will always be cheat-ed. Trust me there and many individuals who, like Tsvangirai, do not have a clue about the reforms themselves but that has not stopped them promising democratic change just to get elected!
@ whichfool
Well Mugabe and Tsvangirai have done it from Zimbabwe and they do not seem to have done any better!
I said the new Copac constitution would not deliver free and fair elections, I did not need to be in Harare to see that it was rubbish, and many of those on the ground said otherwise. We all know now that the new constitution failed to stop Mugabe rigging the elections!
You are just frustrated that you and your fellow CIO have not been able to get at me or many of the other Zimbabwean critics who are in the diaspora and have been arguing us to "come back home".
I for one did not ask for anyone's permission much less thugs like you to leave Zimbabwe you can be sure I will never ask your permission to return. You will have to wring your hands in sheer frustration for a good while yet.
Meanwhile you can be sure of one thing the volume and intensity of the criticism from me is going to increase!
Condemning the rampant corruption in Zimbabwe Mugabe said: ‘Are we now in Nigeria where you have to reach your pocket to get anything done?’ He added: ‘We used to go to Nigeria and every time we went there we had to carry extra cash to corruptly pay for everything. You get into a plane in Nigeria and the crew keeps dilly dallying without taking off as they wait for you to pay them to take off.’
Is this a case of someone seeing a spike in his brother's eye but would not see a long in their own eye?
If indeed the Nigerian leaders have been "dilly dallying without taking off" whilst they in-dulged themselves in corrupt deals it is clear that they have at last taken off. The Nigerian economy is one of the few that has ever recorded 20% plus growth rate. Nigeria’s economy is now poised to overtake that of South Africa. After 34 years of rampant corruption looting by Mugabe and his cronies they are still at it! The Zimbabwe economy is going nowhere. Indeed, as long as Mugabe remains in power the Zimbabwe economy will never ever take off - the tyrant has not paid for the fuel and insurance bills, has sold off the engines, wheels, every-thing !
Mugabe is asking for $27 billion ZimAsset bailout to rebuild the Zimbabwe economy but not even the Chinese are that foolish to believe the hollowed out shell of the Zimbabwe economy will ever take off as long as Mugabe remains in power.
Mugabe’s insulting remarks against the Nigerians were totally unprovoked and uncalled for! He is just itching for a fight and is taking on the whole world! Beside his tradition anti-Western/whites rhetoric, he has made disparaging remarks against the Chinese keeping him waiting for aid, against Jamaicans being “hooked on marijuana”, he called President Jacob Zuma’s representative a “street woman” and now he is picking on the Nigerians!
Mugabe is itching for a fight and he will not stop the insults until someone punches him right on the kisser!
@ Masikati
How do you show someone who does not want to see? Tsvangirai's incompetence is there for all to see but these people simply refuse to open their eyes and see him for the blundering leader he is.
As long as the electorate remains naïve and gullible; Zimbabwe is never going to get out of this mess!
Across all sectors of the country’s tottering economy, the trading environment has further de-teriorated, with nearly all companies struggling to stay afloat due to depressed demand and the inability by cash-strapped customers to pay for goods and services on time.
The Zimbabwe economy is in serious trouble and the longer the situation is allowed to drift like this the deeper the nation is going to sink and the harder it is going to be to drag our-selves out!
@ Itai
Whilst I would agree with your view that a united front led by the like of Ncube and Mangoma is doomed to fail; I dispute your argument that it will do so on the grounds of Tsvangirai "commanding huge grassroots support".
Anyone, I would readily admit that there hundreds of thousands if not millions of grassroots supporters, who still support Tsvangirai but what you have to understand is that they do so out of ignorance. They believed Tsvangirai when he told them the Copac constitution would deliver free and fair elections and that they should vote yes in the 16 March 2013 referendum, for example. They voted yes and the rubbish constitution passed by a whopping 95%.
We now know that the elections were NOT free and fair; Mugabe, thanks to the failure by Tsvangirai to implement the reforms and the weak and feeble Copac constitution, was able to rig the elections.
Millions of ordinary Zimbabweans are still scratching their heads as to what happened on 31 st July 2013; because they were so confident Mugabe and Zanu PF would be voted out! In other words they still support Tsvangirai because they do not
understand that it was Tsvangirai’s breath-taking incompetence that allowed Mugabe to rig the elections. No one has bothered to explain this to the masses in an articulate and concise way.
The “huge grassroots supporters” are ignorant but they are not stupid! They are scratching their heads because they are trying to figure out what happened.
Explain to the masses why Mugabe was able to rig the elections and they will listen.
Explain to them that Zanu PF will rig the next elections too if they continued to support Tsvangirai because he does not have the foggiest idea what should be done to stop Zanu PF rigging the elections and their ears will prick up like a Kudu’s fearful of a stacking lion!
The only reason I say a Ncube, Biti and Mangoma united front is doomed is that none of them can convince anyone, not even the ignorant grassroots supporters that know what must be done to stop Zanu PF rigging the next elections because they cannot answer the question why they did not implement those changes whilst they had all the chance to do so during the five years in the GNU. The rebel MDC leaders have a serious credibility deficit; they cannot criticize Tsvangirai without accepting that they too were breathtakingly incompetent.
@ Prof
Tsvangirai too used to hobnob with Mugabe so if you are rejecting the others because of their past connections with Mugabe you must do the same with Tsvangirai.
The fact of the matter is Tsvangirai failed to unseat Mugabe and to think he will do so now when is more powerless than he was during the GNU is simply burying one's head in the sand because they do not want to see reason. After 34 years of blind loyalty first to a tyrant and now to a failed blundering leader; one was hoping that as a nation we are finally ready to see reason.
"Tsvangirai is the only alternative." If Tsvangirai has failed and he has, then how can failure be the only alternative! No wonder we are in a mess; with myopic people like you what chance did we have to do otherwise!
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