Zimbabwe
has sunk to these nauseating depths of political chaos and economic despair
because for 34 years we has elected to do nothing about building ourselves the
shelter better able to withstand the buffeting storms of political and economic
storms of live. We chose to see a silver-lining in every storm even the ones
with clouds are black as hell and gale force winds still we insisted in seeing
the silver-lining where none existed; our nation’s reprise.
So time
and again the nation was left at the mercy of whatever the political or
economic storm; each storm would ran its course without a care in the world of
the suffering, misery and death it brought for it has no body to be kicked,
soul to be damned and knows not what mercy is. If for man and beast to seek
shelter from the storm and not for the storm to blow more gently on all those
who fail to do so or change course to avoid them altogether.
Our
political and economic storms are man-made; not only is it folly that we have
allowed the anarchist rule the day we foolish look for the silver-linings in
these man-made storms. It is with this reprise characteristic foolishness that
Mr Ibbo Mandaza tells us to see the silver-lining on the dark and oppressive
economic and political storms that have hang over the nation for decades and
getting worse and worse, not better, with time.
"I am very optimistic. Things would begin to happen this
year. You will see," said Mandaza, according to a New Zimbabwe report.
Mandaza said the aftermath of Zanu PF's turbulent congress last
month, coupled with President Mugabe's failing health, would instead, trigger
positive change for the entire country.
"The dynamics of the politics towards the end of 2014 are
bound to play out dramatically not to mention health factors. It's bound to
happen, things will happen this year. With every passage of time things can be
better in Zimbabwe. It's all to do with the imminent post Mugabe era."
Mr Mandaza did not give even one reason for his optimism
because there is absolutely no reason there. This optimism is nothing more than
wishful thinking born out of the decades of idleness and foolishness.
The country is facing the most serious economic meltdown,
all man-made of course, that has sent unemployment into nauseating height of
90% plus, 16% or 2 million Zimbabweans are living in abject poverty, etc. and
Mr Mandaza in his infinite wisdom suggests that we should do nothing and pinned
all our hopes on Mugabe’s death.
Life waits for no man, in this case for the death of one
tyrant. What are the unemployed to do whilst they wait? What are the hungry to
eat whilst the nation waits for Mugabe to die?
After waiting for however long it takes for Mugabe to
finally take his finally bow, it could be a long wait given that the nation has
spent an inordinate amount of money to keep him alive; what then?
The root cause of Zimbabwe’s economic paralysis is decades
of gross mismanagement and rampant corruption; decades of denial have allowed
these cancerous problems to grow and spread and the chickens have finally come
home to roost in their millions like red billed quelea! Mugabe has lacked the
political will to address these problems it is naïve to think that Mnangagwa
will, particularly in the present economic environment were anyone laid off is
literally throw to the economic wolves of poverty.
Mugabe has the country up to its eyes in debt, the country’s
infrastructure in a mess and has sold all the nation’s silver for a song to the
Chinese, Russians and other foreigners; Mnangagwa’s inheritance from Mugabe is
the exact opposite of the rich and boisterous Mugabe got from Ian Smith.
Zimbabwe’s economic recovery is now dependent on getting
this Zanu PF regime to step aside and allow for free and fair elections to
elect a new government that does not depend on continued existence of the red
billed quelea for its political survival. The real challenge for the nation is
to get Mnangagwa to step aside; after waiting for 34 years to be president he
will certainly not want to step aside now!
As a nation we failed to get rid of Mugabe all these last
three decades because we chose to see something positive in his rule although
there never was as we can finally testify. There is really no reason to think
Mnangagwa will do any better other than it is an excellent excuse for doing
nothing about the nation’s mountain of economic and political problems.
“With every passage of time things can be better in Zimbabwe,” the ever
optimism Ibbo Mabdaza tells us. Of course things can get better but never by
wishing them so alone; we need to take ownership of our problems and do
something to solve them. All Zimbabwe’s political and economic problems are
man-made and it is within our powers to solve them only we must put our backs
into it!
17 comments:
@ Game
In a healthy democracy when those in power have run out of ideas the people vote them out and replace them with fresh minds. Zimbabwe’s tragedy is that not only has Mugabe and his ruling party, Zanu PF, run out of ideas a long time ago but to make matter worse the nation is stuck with the regime. Mugabe, like all tyrants, has decreed that there will be no regime change; the people have accepted that without a fight! Indeed they have even helped to make it so!
Zimbabweans have had many chances to end the Zanu PF dictatorship but wasted them all. The best chance by far was during the GNU where implementing the agreed democratic reforms would have delivered free, fair and credible elections and democratic rule. But because of the corrupt and breath-taking incompetence of MDC led by the village idiot Morgan Tsvangirai not even one reform was implemented. The people themselves played their part in this disaster; they were fast asleep and thus failed to notice that no reforms had been implemented.
I agree with you, Zimbabwe’s future is grim; all those you say otherwise are those who habitually see a silver-lining in every cloud and will swear even a hurricane has one!
@Dr Diva
Regime change is a must that is as plan as one's nose! Why ZDI, headed by a doctor and therefore assumed to have some common sense at least, would come up with such stupid advice makes one wonder who is funding ZDI? Zanu PF, of course!
Zimbabwe's multitude of NGOs have been anything but None Governmental Organisation; they are Government Organised None Governmental Organisations GONGOs!
@ Zimbabwe is mine
And who elected the useless opposition? The people themselves! If we want a quality opposition them we must have a quality electorate. It is from a jar of milk that cream will rise out of; if you have sewage then, of course, you get scum!
MDC had the chance to end the Zanu PF dictatorship by implementing the reforms but they failed to get even one reform implemented in the five years of the NGU; to be expected from that scum. The electorate were fast asleep and thus failed to notice MDC had betrayed them. This nation is not going to get out of this mess as long as we have an electorate that spends most of its time fast asleep; a health and functioning democracy demands a vigilant electorate that understand the burning issues of the day!
@ Patrick
What is disappointing here is that Dr Ibbo Mandaza, I believe he has a doctorate in something or other, is not someone off the street but rather someone the nation has been looking up to for sound advice all these years! Sadly he has been giving the nation the same stupid nonsense for years now. I used to buy his magazine religiously in the past; am glad I stopped otherwise I too would be brainwashed like many other out there.
@ Obert Gutu
“Whilst more than 700 poor people are being ravaged by the floods, Robert Mugabe and his whole extended family are having a nice time in the Far East; a top drawer holiday jamboree that is bankrolled by the near bankrupt government," said motor mouth Obert Gutu.
It is obscene that Mugabe should be having a very expensive holiday, this will cost the nation at least $ 5 million because here is one family which does not know the meaning of the word reasonable when it comes to spending taxpayers' money. But it sickens me to hear Gutu telling Mugabe he should not be so reckless for three reasons:
1) the idiot never said the same when his boss Tsvangirai was spending a fortune on the Legend of the Sea with his floozy!
2) the nation is stuck with this corrupt and murderous tyrant precisely because MDC failed to implement the democratic reforms. Motor mouth and his fellow MDC village idiots are only awake now because they are desperate to get back on the gravy train.
3) we need to concentrate on how to get ALL the democratic reforms implemented and MDC are a distraction the nation can do without!
“There is broad agreement on the need to implement more investor-friendly policies in order to attract greater levels of investments and to create and maintain employment. The key is in disci-plined and timely implementation of the measures,” said Charles Msipa.
So here is the president of Confederations of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI) who is still talk-ing of implementing “more investor-friendly policies” as if this is just something that has just come up in the last few weeks. The regime passed these unfriendly policies way back in 2008 and ever since the nation has seen most would-be investors shy away from the country. And the president of CZI was not aware of this?
The CZI should be playing a decisive role in ensuring government adopts sound economic policies for growth and prosperity of its members and the nation at large. Companies have been closing right, left and centre for years now because of government’s ill-conceived policies and CZI telling the regime in no uncertain terms to scrap these policies the Confederation still trades as if walking on eggs.
There is urgent need to free public institutions and parastatals from the Zanu PF strangle to free them to perform their work in a professional manner. There is need for a similar exercise in the private sector too. An organisation like CZI will serve the nation best when it serves its members interests first and foremost and not by serving Zanu PF’s dictatorial interests first and foremost.
Joice Mujuru is not clever by an stretch of imagination; Mugabe promoted her precisely because she is not clever and knew he could twist her round his little finger. Mnangagwa is not that clever either, if he was then Mugabe would not have stayed in power all these years.
Ms Holland was spot-on in saying Zimbabwe was a million miles away from becoming a democracy. What she should have also said however is that MDC failed to seize the opportunity to change Zimbabwe by failing to implement the democratic reforms.
Zimbabwe is under the grip of a serious economic meltdown which is set to get worse as long as Zanu PF remains in power. Mugabe's ZimAsset recovery plan is as good as died; all he managed to raise was $7 billion out of the $27 billion required by signing deals with the Chinese and Russians at prices they could not refuse. No one else has step forward with more money and investors have pointedly shied away from Zimbabwe.
Decidedly, the economic meltdown cannot go on forever without the people finally taking the courage and demand change. Zanu PF will be forced to step aside sooner or later. Zimbabwe will have another change to implement the democratic reforms, one only hopes that the nation will do so this time!
@ Patrick
There is no question that ZSD would have implemented ALL the democratic reforms, of that you can be rest assured. But that is all water under the bridge, what we need to deal with is the political reality here and into the future.
SADC and all the MDC donors advised MDC NOT to take part in the elections without the reforms for one good reason because the elections would not be free, fair and credible. If one takes part in such elec-tions having been warned and thus knowing they would not be free, fair and credible and they turn out to be just that one has no leg to stand on and complain of rigged elections.
Of course Mugabe was careful not to have a complete sweep of all the contested seats, he allowed the op-position to win some seats and thus keep them interested. So now the country is guaranteed to have opposition members contesting elections they know will be rigged just on the off chance of winning the few seat Zanu PF will give away.
We in ZSD are not interested in joining in the fight for the scraps Zanu PF throws at the opposition.
After being cheated of their basic right to a meaningful vote we in the ZSD believe that everything possi-ble must now be done to ensure the next elections are indeed free, fair and credible. Our resolve never to take part in elections in which the people will be cheated again is one step focus the nation's mind on this key issue.
The MDC-T passed a congress resolution saying the party will not contest any future elections unless democratic reforms are implemented. There is nothing to show anyone in that party knows what these reforms are much less how they will be implemented. Still ZSD intends to pile the pressure on the party to honour that resolution.
Zimbabwe will never rise to its full real potential until it has a healthy and functional democratic system of government. This is a goal that the nation can aspire for and never ever attain in a thousand years because, like Homer's Odysseus, each time we get near home we are blown away again.
We in the ZSD will want to keep watch for the next opportunity to end this tyrannical dictatorship and make sure the chance is not wasted this time. At present we believe we stand a better chance of delivering that by flatly refusing to take part in a process we know to be corrupt to the core.
@ Patrick
I believe one of the reasons why Mugabe and Zanu PF failed to deliver the economic prosperity, the freedom, liberty, human rights and human dignities we all aspired for, people like you fought for and many died for is because neither Mugabe nor the rest of the party’s leaders, members and the nation at large had any red lines. Principled position or values that they would never ever give up or compromise on; the red lines they will never ever cross. Everything was up for grabs for these people.
Mugabe offered his Zanu PF cronies the chance to be part to a corrupt and tyrannical dictator-ship in which their own stay in power was assured and they took it with both hands. They willing played their part in denying the populous their basic right to a meaningful vote and even regime started killing innocent Zimbabweans they accepted it. There was nothing they would not do to stay in power; they had no red lines they would not cross to gratify their hunger for power.
Tsvangirai and his MDC friend showed that they too had no red lines they would not cross. When Mugabe gave Tsvangirai the $4 million Highlands mansion he forgot about the reforms. His fellow MDC leaders were enjoying themselves too they all agree to kick reforms into the tall grass!
We in the ZSD believe that there are some things we should never ever give up or seek to com-promise; the right to free, fair and credible elections is one of those. Not even the prospect winning a seat on the gravy train and all the tea in China will entice us to give up the fight for free, fair and credible elections!
@ James Hill
Mugabe and Zanu PF have so far got away with the misrule that has resulted in unemployment soaring to dazing heights of 90% plus, 16% or 2 million forced into abject poverty, etc. Foreign Affairs Minister, Simbarashe Mumbengegwi attributed the failure by the people to come out and protest over the worsening economic hardship to their “unparalleled resilience”. Well that resili-ence will be tested to breaking point in the coming months because the regime has given up on doing anything to end the economic meltdown because such action would cut at the very heart of the patronage system the party needs to stay in power.
So more companies are set to close, throwing even more people on the Mount Everest unem-ployment mountain. The informal sector is supersaturated whereas before many had eked out a living selling all manner of trinkets this is no longer the case because vendors sell mainly to those in the formal sector and not to fellow vendors. So the loss of more workers in formal employment is a double edged sword that will cut not only those in formal employment but also those in the informal sector. The numbers living in abject poverty are going to go up in leaps and bounce. Zanu PF members and hardliners will not be spared in this and it will not be long before they too finally realise that this Zanu PF dictatorship is not working and needs to be changed.
It is not in the nature of a tyrannical regime to admit it has failed and surrender power; it must be forced to give up power by way of reason and, if that fails, by brute force. The longer Zanu PF hangs on to power the greater the chance the country sliding into the chaotic situation of Libya or Syria.
Jabulani Sibanda says he is “concentrate on matters of substance concerning nation building”! What a laugh! What does a thug like him know about nation building? He is just a mindless thug who was used by Mugabe to do the dirty work of terrorising and murdering people to deny the people their basic right to a meaningful say in the governance of the country. Sibanda was a will-ing tool in the tyrant’s hands that has helped keep in power this corrupt and tyrannical Zanu PF dictatorship. Where is the “nation building” in being a willing tool in a tyrannical regime that is destroying everything in the country including human lives?
After using and abusing Sibanda; Mugabe has discarded him like used tissue, just as the tyrant has done with thousands other mindless thugs before him. Ever since his expulsion from the party Sibanda has for once gone around with his tail between his legs fearful of what Mugabe would do to him, he knows just how ruthless the tyrant is.
Sibanda breaking into cold sweat each time he hears a dog barking; the “bedroom coup” jab winded Mugabe because it true and the tyrant will seize an excuse he can to hit back! Sibanda is not concentrating on anything, other than making sure he does not cross swords with Mugabe ever again and hope the tyrant will forget him.
THE newly-appointed Mashonaland East provincial Minister of State, Joel Biggie Matiza, has threatened to evict the remaining white commercial farmers in the province, claiming that they continued to illegally farm through unsanctioned and corrupt deals.
Here is stupidity at its worst, there are many farms that were seized and given to Zanu PF cronies that are now fallow because the cronies did not know how to use them. So why is the minister going after farms that are being used productively just because the farmer is a white man?
Ever since the farm invasions started in 2000 Zimbabwe has failed to produce enough to feed the nation and donors have stepped in to help. Those donors are getting sick and tired of feeding a nation that has everything it needs to produce food to feed the nation but will not do it for man-made political reasons.
What people like Minister Joel Biggie Matiza should know is that they will be held accountable for all these stupid decisions they make today.
@ S Kajau
Yes the quality of the political leaders across the whole political divide has been a great disappointment to say the very least. Still what does it say about the voters themselves who have elected these useless men and women time and again? If we are serious of ever getting out of this hell-hole Mugabe has dragged us into and Tsvangirai has done his bit to keep us there then we must look at improving the quality of the electorate.
A healthy and functional democracy demands an electorate that takes the trouble to un-derstand at least some of the big issues of the day and will hold the leaders to account. So far the Zimbabwe electorate wakes up a few weeks before the vote and goes straight to sleep soon thereafter.
The nation has been talking about the need for democratic changes since 2 000, for ex-ample, I will bet my bottom dollar 95% of the electoral including all MDC leaders do not have the foggiest idea what these changes are. If the electorate did then they would have never approved the weak and feeble constitution in the March 2013 referendum by 95%. If any of the MDC leaders did, then they would have implemented at least one reform in the five years in the GNU!
It is no good lamenting about poor leaders they are a true reflection of the society they come from. If you have quality milk you will get top grade cream but if you have sewage then you will get scum.
Zimbabwe's new Indigenisation minister says foreigners should feel lucky that they are getting such a large amount of shares in local businesses.
It is one thing posturing about Foreigners being "lucky to get 49%" last year Zimbabwe was lucky to get 4% of the foreign investment Mozambique got!
The two deals Mugabe signed with China and Russia the two nation would have walked away if Mugabe had dared mention anything about them getting a local partner and to sweeten the deals even more Mugabe offered them a deal they could not refuse. The two Asian giants knew Mugabe was desperate to sign the deals and so they drove a hard bargain, naturally!
The country is desperate for direct foreign investment to create the much needed jobs with unemployment a nauseating 80% plus for over a decade already and Zanu PF passes a law designed to scar away investors.
@ Dr Paul
Well if people are pinning all their hope of all the nation's problems disappearing like a mist in the morning heat the minute Mugabe steps down or die then they are in for a big surprise. I am not saying that they are no people are doing just that, they are millions of them. Zimbabwe would not be in this mess if the country did not have millions of naive gullible and, frankly, lazy people who have switched off and will not think!
Grace is too stupid to rule Zimbabwe; all her and her husband's scheming will come to nothing.
Mugabe will never finish his present term even if he was to live to see 2018, he has run out of ideas as what to do to stop the economic meltdown. He kicked Tsvangirai out of the way by rigging the 2013 national elections and elbow Mai Mujuru by rigging Zanu PF's electoral system. The one thing he has failed to cheat or rig is the economic recovery.
Unemployment is 90% plus, 16% or 2 million Zimbabweans living in abject poverty already, etc. This cannot go on for much longer; it is the economic meltdown that will force Mugabe out of office.
Even if Grace Mugabe was to take over tomorrow, what will that stupid woman do to fix the economy?
The biggest obstacle that is stopping Mugabe dead on his feet from fulfilling his dream of dying in office - assuming he does not do so this year or next at the latest - is the economy. In sheer desperation Mugabe was forced to sign deals with the Chinese and Russians selling Zimbabwe's interests for a song; they knew he was desperate, that there was no competition and therefore would have driven a real hard bargain. Mu-gabe thought many more investors, especially from the West, would follow after the Russians. He even boosted of "keeping them waiting"! There have been no other investors!
Mugabe's ZimAsset recovery plan is dead!
Unemployment is already a nauseating 90% plus, 16% or 2 million Zimbabweans are already living in abject poverty, etc. The worsening economic situation has not just hit hard the ordinary Zimbabweans but Zanu PF members, including the ruling elite, have not been spared. The infighting within the party is over the few patronage jobs and the shrinking loot; everyone is desperate to escape the clutches of growing poverty. All those Mujuru faction leaders who were recently purged from the party know their future is grim, a life of grinding poverty and the pauper death waits.
Unless something is done to arrest the economic meltdown then unemployment will get worse, millions more will be condemned to abject poverty, the infighting in Zanu PF will get even worse, etc. This situa-tion cannot continue and yet it is set to get even worse; as long as Zanu PF remains in power nothing will ever be done to get the economy back on track. Mugabe has no idea what else to do to revive the econo-my. And you say "Grace Mugabe, 49, will help him carry on"; trust me there is nothing that fruitcake can do to help!
Like it or not Mugabe and Zanu PF will be forced to step down; there will be regime change, the one thing Mugabe has spent his whole political career to avoid and it will be something as inert as the economy that will ultimately force the tyrant to swallow his bloated ego and the bitter pill!
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