Monday 1 May 2017

Tsvangirai, voter registering is "serious work" but only because you failed reforming ZEC. P Guramatunhu

“Nhamo inenharo!” (Intellectual) poverty is stubborn!) so goes the Shona adage. Nowhere is this more true and tragic than in Morgan Tsvangirai’s case.

"Fellow Zimbabweans, this being Workers' Day, we must remember that as a nation we have our work cut out for us as we brace for next year's watershed polls,” he told the workers in Dzivaresekwa.


"We can only be able to fight unemployment, poverty and inequalities if we use the perfect opportunity next year to vote for visionary men and women who will be able to extricate our country from its parlous predicament.


"Yes, we have serious work to do next year and that great work starts by registering to vote as soon as the voter registration exercise is rolled out in the coming days.

The MDC buoyant with confidence of winning the next elections is all very familiar territory to many of us!

“In 2013 before the elections, the Maputo Summit was all about having the elections postponed at the Sadc summit. I went there,” Dr Ibbo Mandaza told Violet Gonda in her recent Hot Seat programme. “I was there at the summit and Mugabe pretended to agree to a postponement of the elections.

“If you recall, the postponement was based on the need to reform at least electoral laws, and after that summit, Morgan Tsvangirai, Tendai Biti, Welshman Ncube, all of them were called to a separate meeting by the Heads of State of SADC in the absence of Mugabe, that same evening.


“And they were told; I was sitting there outside the room with Mac Maharaj; they were told "if you go into elections next month, you are going to lose; the elections are done".

As we all know, Tsvangirai & co. ignored the SADC leaders’ warning and contested the flawed 2013 elections and lost.

We also know that since the 2013 elections not even one of reforms were implemented and therefore it stands to reason that Zanu PF will once again rig the 2018 elections.

Whilst voter registration will certainly do no harm to the electoral process it must be emphasised that the opposition did not lose the 2013 elections because the people had not tried to register to vote. There is no denying that many people, in known opposition strongholds, failed to register last time because they were made to jump through so many hoops. No doubt the regime will come up with similar demands for the coming elections.

So, the problem here is not just motivating people to register to vote but stop the regime making it so damn difficult to register and that is precisely what the SADC reforms were meant to achieve. Indeed, Tsvangirai and company lost the 2013 elections precisely because they had failed to address the core reform problems.

Voter mobilization, coalition building, biometric voter registration (BVR) kits, etc. are not the core reforms we need for free, fair and credible elections, opposition leaders know this well enough. They have abandoned the core reform issues because they are hard to get and are instead spending all their time, money and effort on voter mobilization, etc. because these are easy.

The real reason why Tsvangirai & co. participated in the 2013, knowing fully well that Zanu PF will rig the vote was a simple one – greed. They knew Zanu PF will be giving away a few seats to the opposition to give the electoral process some modicum of democratic legitimacy and it was these seats they were after. They are lining up to contest the flawed 2018 elections for the same gravy train seats!

Tsvangirai and his MDC friends should have implemented the democratic reforms necessary for free and fair elections during the GNU when they had SADC and international community backing. Since the 2013 elections which marked the end of SADC’s involvement in Zimbabwe’s political mess, it has become hundred times more difficult to get the reforms implemented. If we go into the 2018 elections still with no reforms in place, we will make implementing the reforms even more difficult not easier.

No, the real “serious work” before the people of Zimbabwe is for them to realise that opposition leaders like Morgan Tsvangirai are not interested in implementing any democratic changes; they sold out during the GNU when they had the best chance ever to implement the reforms. Since then they have contested in elections without reforms for the sake of the scraps offered to the by Zanu PF.

The sooner the people realise opposition leaders like Tsvangirai are running with the hare (povo) but hunting with the hounds (Zanu PF regime), the sooner they can start the real tough task of searching for competent leaders with some common sense, at least. The sooner the people can finally realise that meaningful change will only result after implementing the core democratic reforms the sooner the nation will stop wasting time on trivial side issues like voter mobilization, BVR kits, etc.

Tsvangirai and his opposition friends have been advised on numerous occasions that they need to implement the core democratic reforms to ensure elections are free and fair they keep ignoring the advice because they are who they are – corrupt and incompetent. And, as we can see, intellectually impoverished people can be very stubborn especially when their judgement is impaired by greed. The most important task before the people of Zimbabwe today is for them to finally realise that Tsvangirai will never ever get out of the economic and political hell-hole Zanu PF landed us in by pursuing the easy tasks of voter mobilisation whilst neglecting the tough ones of ZEC reform, etc.


Tsvangirai & co. were warned against participating in the 2013 elections with no reforms. This time it is not only Tsvangirai and rest of opposition who have been warned against the folly of contesting flawed elections, the rest of Zimbabwe society is being warned too!

11 comments:

Patrick said...

The nonagenarian chose the burial of one of the top bosses of the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO), Zenzo Ntuliki, in Harare yesterday to remind Zimbabweans about the key role that spooks have played in the country’s body politic.
“Isu zvatiri pano hatingomhanyemhanye tichingodauka dauka zvisiri mugwara rinoonekwa nevaongorori vedu, nyanzvi dzedu dzine maziso, nzeve neruzivo rwekuti apa pakaipa, apa pane nyoka … musafambe nepo pane nyoka mungarumwe (I always make my moves with advice from the CIO which warns me about my enemies),” Mugabe told mourners gathered at the National Heroes Acre in Harare.
“Saka tinopihwa nyanzvi dzine maziso anooona zviri kure kure nenzeve dzinonzwa zvinonyeyewa. Ndiko kurarama kwedu (The intelligence operatives who work with me are top drawer spooks who can sniff out any threats well ahead),” he added
Zimbabwe is a Police State, we have more Police, Army and CIOs, spying and harassing the private citizen and rigging elections than we have teachers, nurses and doctors to look after the nation's education and health needs. It is no surprise then that Zimbabweans are now the poorest in Africa! But, of course, when you are corrupt and murderous tyrant all you care about is staying in power at all cost and will even boast of calling innocent people "snakes" to justify the resources you are wasting to spy on them. How sick!

“There should be no elections until we tackle the crucial political hegemony that confronts us, which is reform of the state, reform of the national institutions which have been corrupted by the Mugabe regime and making certain that we have generational change in our politics,” said Ibbo Mandaza in an interview with Violet Gonda.

Mandaza is right, we need to complete uproot everything President Mugabe has created in the country and burn it all to remove the rot and start creating new democratic institutions

Patrick said...

“The repayment of the $1.1 billion loan (on back of a moribund economy characterised by massive deindustrialisation, absent aggregate demand, chokingly high gvt expenditure and a crippling liquidity crisis) to the WB is criminally irresponsible and treasonous,” said Biti.

If clearly the debt arrears allows us to then borrow the money we need to kick start the economy, then it is a good idea.

Besides, Biti, least you forget, Chinamasa and President Mugabe are in power today because you and your MDC friends failed to implement even one reform during the GNU. If that was not treason, I do not know what is!

Patrick said...

Tsvangirai was telling the crowd at a worker's day rally to mobilize and register to vote. He even told the crowd he will not accept anything other than an MDC victory.

Some people are saying, with no reforms in place, Zanu PF has the 2018 elections already in the bag but clearly Tsvangirai thinks otherwise. We have all heard MDC boasting and grandstanding, all the usual theatrical sound and fury signifying nothing!

The best and possibly only way to stop next year's flawed elections going ahead is by piling the pressure on Tsvangirai and his opposition friends to honour their own pledge not to contest elections without implementing the reforms first. What better way of ensuring that happens than by making sure ordinary Zimbabweans are being shafted by Tsvangirai and company. By making sure that all those who sell-out and contest in the flawed elections know they are committing political suicide.

It is one thing for the likes of Tsvangirai or Mujuru, whose political career is as good as died if the reforms are implemented given their hopeless past track record, to commit suicide, Kamikaze style. It is another matter for the likes of Biti, Ncube and others who think they may have a chance to get back into power!

Patrick said...

Mai Khupe was a senior member of the MDC leaders in the GNU who failed to implement even one democratic reform throughout the five years of the GNU because they "were busy enjoying themselves and forgot why they were in the GNU," as SADC leaders rightly pointed out. For Mai Khupe to therefore boast of her "making money" by selling out the nation only saves to underline how corrupt and incompetent she is. The fact that her MDC supporters or anyone else saw nothing wrong with what she said only goes to explain how naive they are and why the country is in this mess - with such a naive electorate there is no chance of electing quality leaders!

Nomusa Garikai said...

“Vice president Emmerson Mnangagwa is reportedly furious that MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai signed a draft of Memorandum of Understanding with MDC leader Welshman Ncube, National People's Party leader Joice Mujuru and Zanu Ndonga without consulting him as per their 2016 arrangement which saw him paying the medical bills for Tsvangirai,” reported Bulawayo 24.

“According to sources Mnangagwa helped Tsvangirai pay medical bills in which he is being treated for cancer in South Africa.

"To reverse the MoUs Mnangagwa has insisted that Nelson Chamisa and Morgan Komichi be the negotiators on behalf of MT. In the meanwhile Mnangagwa has offered to pay medical bills for MT for the next 6 weeks.." said the source.


No one will be surprised to hear of how Zanu PF is managing and organising the opposition parties.

There is no doubt that during the GNU, Zanu PF successfully infiltrated the MDC factions led by Tsvangirai and Mutambara and then Ncube to render them totally useless as regards implementing the all important democratic reforms which would have dismantled the Zanu PF dictatorship if they were implemented.

President Mugabe certainly left no stone unturned to make sure MDC members were spoilt rotten during the GNU. The size of cabinet swelled beyond all proportion to accommodate as many MDC leaders as possible who were then given fat salary and allowances, cars, $4 million mansion of Tsvangirai, a former white owned farm for Ncube, etc., etc. In return MDC leaders kicked democratic reforms into the tall grass.

SADC leaders tried to arm twist MDC leaders not to contest the 2013 elections with no reforms in place as Ibbo Mandaza told Violet Gonda the other day.

“In 2013 before the elections, the Maputo Summit was all about having the elections postponed at the Sadc summit.

“And they (MDC leaders) were told; "If you go into elections next month, you are going to lose; the elections are done".

“And three or four days before the election, Tsvangirai was lamenting that he had evidence that the election was already rigged. But they were warned like they are being warned again now. But blindly, they cannot make any excuses now, they are going into elections again.”

Even to this day the cosy relationship between Zanu PF and the opposition parties have continued. Tsvangirai and Mujuru’s group continue to enjoy the perks they enjoyed whilst they were in the GNU and in return they pay lip service to implementing the reforms but have all done nothing concrete. The opposition parties are going to contest next year’s flawed election in return for the few seats – that is if they do not upset the temperamental Zanu PF who may well decide to reduce the bait seats to a handful! Watch this space!

Nomusa Garikai said...

We have heard of Government Organised NGOs (GONGO) now we have Government Organised MDC -T (GOMDC-T), Government Organised NPP (GONPP), etc. It is no wonder then than Tsvangirai thinks mobilizing people to register to vote in more "serious work" than implementing the democratic reforms - Zanu PF will clearly not allow him to to the later. VP Mnangagwa is dictating to Tsvangirai how he is to conduct the coalition talks or else Zanu PF will not pay his cancer treatment bills.

Some people have already said next year's elections have already been rigged just as the MDC-T has already been compromised, it is now GOMDC-T!

Nomusa Garikai said...

@ Mutero

We each forgot to sign a contract with President Mugabe stating that he will not loot and murder innocent Zimbabweans and so he is free to do as he please!


MDC leaders were elected on a ticket to deliver democratic change; name one change they have brought about in all their nearly 20 years in the opposition?

Nomusa Garikai said...

Chinx was a talented musician who, if the country have not gone to the dogs these last four decades, would have earned good money from his music. With Zimbabweans now declared the poorest people in Africa it is not surprising that even talented Zimbabweans like Chinx should find themselves caught in the drag net!

So, Grace Mugabe is going to handover the new house to Comrade Chinx, let us hope that she is going to bring him some of the cooking oil, rice, etc. she give away at some of her rallies. Chinx and his family are destitute, that is no secret!

How ironic and cynical that President Mugabe ordered operation Murambatsvina which destroyed Chinx's house together with the houses of 700 000 others and today only one person gets help and the First Lady steal the limelight for her selfish political gain.

It is a great tragedy that Zimbabwe has been reduced to a nation of beggars plus a few filthy rich ruling elite! Unless we implement the reforms and hold our first ever free and fair elections, our economic situation will not get better but instead get worse.

Nomusa Garikai said...

Mutsvangwa praise President Mugabe for “building the nation”!

No one is listening to these rogue war veterans who betrayed their liberation war values and the nation to impose a corrupt and tyrannical dictatorship on the nation for selfish gain. It cruel justice that the tyrant has betrayed them as he betrayed the rest of us!

Nomusa Garikai said...

“Tsvangirai went on to allege that Zanu-PF was already rigging the 2018 elections saying he had received information to that effect,” said the report.

Zanu PF has been rigging elections for donkey years, this is not something new and surprising! David Coltart had documentary evidence before the 2013 elections showing that Zanu PF was already rigging the vote months before the first ballot was cast. It was clear to him that the logical thing to do then was to boycott the elections, this did not happen because of greed, as he explained.

“The worst aspect for me about the failure to agree a coalition was that both MDCs couldn’t now do the obvious – withdraw from the elections,” explained Senator Coltart.

“The electoral process was so flawed, so illegal, that the only logical step was to withdraw, which would compel SADC to hold Zanu PF to account. But such was the distrust between the MDC-T and MDC-N that neither could withdraw for fear that the other would remain in the elections, winning seats and giving the process credibility.”

Tsvangirai says he has the evidence that Zanu PF is already rigging the vote, yet he will not do the obvious thing and withdraw from the contest for the same reason he did not withdraw in 2013 – greed!

Nomusa Garikai said...

“Zimbabwe's security services will not stand by while rogue elements belittle their Commander-in-Chief, warning that dissent from quarters that should know better will not be tolerated,” reported Bulawayo 24. 

“Zimbabwe Defence Forces Commander General Constantino Chiwenga said many of the people making political noises today were either utterly misguided, had a history of treachery or were Johnnies-come-lately to the struggle.”

We need to implement the democratic reforms so that people like Commander General Chiwenga can finally be told in no uncertain terms that it is not for the army or anyone else in the security service to judge and\or punish anyone for criticising President Mugabe. If anyone has committed a crime again President Mugabe be it personal or the office of the president then it is for the Police to investigate and the Courts to prosecute and decide whether or not a crime was committed and to dish out the appropriate punishment.

Whether the people of Zimbabwe can to admit it or not the basic truth is this nation will never ever get out of the political and economic mess Mugabe has landed us in until we grit our teeth and implement the democratic reforms! There is no other way out.