Monday 29 May 2017

Tsvangirai will be "an albatross round nation's neck", predicted US Ambassador - so it is!

“A discerning man, when he eats grapes, takes only the ripe ones and leaves the sour,” said John Climacus.

You know what, John was right. In this world there are those who seemed destined to eat the sour grapes of life whilst others eat nothing else but the sweet ripe grapes! Not everyone has a discerning mind although no one will ever admit to not having one.

One of mankind’s greatest fortes that one cannot self-diagnose to see one’s mental shortcomings. The world is full of people claiming to be experts in matters in which they actually have no clue.

“Insanity,” said the great Physicist, Albert Einstein, “is repeating the same thing over and over again and expect a different result.”

The insane, having failed to discern their mistake repeat the same mistake over and over again; eating the sour grapes.

It is bad enough that they should be so many men and women of little intellect out there masquerading as genius; it because a serious nightmare if these deluded individuals should find themselves into positions of power and authority. If there was any lingering self-doubt in their minds of their own shortcomings there is nothing like holding high office to make all the doubts disappear like a mist in the morning African sun.

Those of us who met and knew Morgan Tsvangirai during his ZCTU days will tell you that he was a man of fogy ideas surrounded by men and women of equally fogy ideas. ZCTU swallowed President Mugabe’s socialism hook, line and sinker, for example, no questions asked. Tsvangirai and his ZCTU friends could not get their heads round the idea that the worker’s pay rises must be linked to productivity, inflation, etc.

“Morgan Tsvangirai a flawed figure, not readily open to advice, indecisive and with questionable judgment,” wrote then USA Ambassador to Zimbabwe 2004 to 2007, Chris Dell in a Wikileaks cable.

"He is an indispensable element for opposition success … but possibly an albatross around their necks once in power. In short … Zimbabwe needs him, but should not rely on his executive abilities to lead the country's recovery."

 Everything that Chris Dell had said has come to pass with disastrous consequences to the nation. Throughout the GNU Tsvangirai has advised by SADC leaders to implement the reforms, not to contest the 2013 elections with no reforms in place, etc. and he paid no heed. As Prime Minister Tsvangirai, he considered himself wiser than King Solomon himself and so listened to no one.

If anyone thought Tsvangirai and MDC’s resounding defeat in the July 2013 rigged elections will force them to see reason, they were wrong. Tsvangirai and company continue to ignore the sound advice not to contest elections until the democratic reforms are implemented. In his single-track mindedness Tsvangirai has decided that bringing the opposition together into a coalition is more important than implementing even one reforms and there is no stopping him.

“For a long time, this is what the people of Zimbabwe have been clamouring for; in the hope that such a convergence would provide the much-needed fillip for change in a country now tottering on the brink of becoming a failed State,” wrote Tsvangirai in his Bulawayo 24 opinion piece.

“We were the first through the resolutions of our 4th national Congress in October 2014 to come up with two important resolutions. The first was urging all people to come under one big tent; the second was to publicly call for the coalition of like-minded groups in order to liquidate the palpable mis-governance and cluelessness that has overwhelmed the seat of government.”

The only sensible resolution MDC-T made in the October 2014 congress was that the party will not contest any future elections until the democratic reforms designed to stop Zanu PF rigging the vote are finally implemented. The “No reform, no elections!” resolution was in fact a rehash of the advice SADC and everyone had spent the GNU years telling Tsvangirai and his MDC friends.

So, now with new national elections around the corner Tsvangirai has once again forgotten the still valid SADC advice but also his own party resolution not to contest the elections without the reforms!
“The huge task ahead is to ensure that the people freely express themselves in a credible election,” concluded Tsvangirai.

“We in the broader democratic movement are all agreed on one thing; that we cannot let this one chance slip or else future generations will not forgive us for letting them down.

“The democratic movement is on the resurgence and indeed, a new Zimbabwe beckons on the horizon.”

Many Zimbabweans believed that 2013 elections would bring about meaningful political change because of the new constitution, which Tsvangirai and company had feverishly promoted as the silver bullet to stop Zanu PF rigging. They were very disappointed when the change did not occur as Zanu PF went on to blatantly rig the election. Although many Zimbabweans still do not understand what went wrong in 2013; they, nonetheless have becomes disillusioned by political leaders like Morgan Tsvangirai.

It does not matter how much Tsvangirai and others in the opposition camp try to promote their coalition as a resurgence of the democratic forces, even few people than in 2013 will see this a platform for change. Instead of leading the nation out of the political and economic mess Mugabe landed the nation, Tsvangirai is dragging the nation even deeper into the mess.

Ambassador Dell has predicted that Tsvangirai would be an “albatross round the nation’s neck” and so it has come to pass.


Tsvangirai is a man who was thrust into a position of power and authority, way above his level of intellectual competence, who cannot discern good advice even when his own past mistakes tells him so. However, because of his position first as Prime Minister and now as the leader of the country’s opposition party – deserved or not, that is now academic -; he wields a lot of influence to determine the destiny of the nation. Thanks to his undiscerning mind and poor leadership, this nation has had nothing but bitter grapes of life. He has led us into a vineyard with nothing but the bitterest variety of grapes!   

14 comments:

Nomusa Garikai said...

This like talking to abrick wall; through out the GNU years Tsvangirai was warned that MDC must implement the reforms to ensure free and fair elections but he paid no attention. He was warned not to contest 2013 elections with no reform and he went ahead and contested the elections. He is now making a big song and dance about the opposition coalition just to cover up his intention to contest next year's elections with no reforms in place.

For the umpteenth time Tsvangirai DO NOT CONTEST THE ELECTIONS WITH OUT IMPLEMENTING THE REFORMS!

Nomusa Garikai said...

The opposition are contesting the elections to win those urban seats Zanu PF will give away and so everyone will want to contest an urban seat. How these urban seats will be divided is going to test the coalition.


Holding primaries will not work because the small opposition parties with say 40% nation wide support may find itself squeezed out by one with 5% support but all concentrated in one small area.

Nomusa Garikai said...

SADC showed us what we needed to do even if we had failed to figure that for ourselves - to implement the democratic reforms designed to stop the vote rigging. What is disappointing here is that someone like Mawarire should still be expecting the UN to do for us what we can do for ourselves! When are we going to learn that being a nation means taking charge of our own destiny and not behaving as if we are just a helpless child who must the spoon fed and have our nappy changed!

Mawarire, if you are waiting for the UN to implement the reforms for us then we are not ready for self governing! You went all the way to Oslo to tell the world that!!!

Nomusa Garikai said...

Excellent article but it seems you are still failing to appreciate the one point - the Zanu PF vote rigging machinery is now so powerful that there is nothing you and me can do to stop it rigging the vote. The 2008 elections were the bench mark that showed just what Zanu PF will do to retain power.

SADC leaders have offered us a way out - implement the democratic reforms designed to stop the vote rigging. We failed to get even one reform implemented during the GNU because we thought we could win the elections even with no reforms in place. The plan failed as Zanu PF blatantly rigged the elections.

The question is how many time are we going to contest flawed elections before we finally admit we need to implement the reforms?

Nomusa Garikai said...

As a nation, we failed to appreciate the critical importance of standing firm against Zanu PF in 1980 in defence of our freedoms and human rights including the right to free, fair and credible elections. We did not learn from our mistake with Zanu PF as we went on to give MDC a blank cheque during the GNU. Tsvangirai and his MDC friends have failed to implement even one democratic reform should a clear sign that we were not paying attention on what we wanted them to do.

Of course Ambassador Chris Dell was right, Tsvangirai is a flawed and indecisive figure and we have paid dearly for having someone like him as leader.

Nomusa Garikai said...

The people in the rural areas have already told MDC leader Tsvangirai that their greatest worry is ZanuPF intimidation. MDC has failed to come up with a solution to this problem and they know it. MDC are contesting these coming elections for the sake of the few seats they know Zanu PF always gives away on such occasions; so they do not care that Zanu PF frog marches the majority of our people to secure its two thirds majority!

Gutu say Zanu PF is already rigging the vote; then why is he still determined to contest a flawed election?

Nomusa Garikai said...

Tsvangirai slams “small-minded opportunists”! Funny he should say that because he is the captain of the small-minded opportunists!

Tsvangirai was warned repeatedly by SADC and others to implement the reforms designed to stop Zanu PF rigging the elections but, of course, he would not listen. He actually believed that he would win the 2013 elections with no reforms in place. MDC was trounced in the July 2013 elections as nearly one million opposition supporters were denied the vote whilst Zanu PF supporters were bussed from one polling station to the next casting multiple votes.

He thought MDC had enough “supporters to overwhelm all Zanu PF’s vote rigging shenanigans” he later admitted. How naïve and small minded is that!!!!

Tsvangirai has not learned from his own mistake in 2013 as he again dives into the 2018 elections with not even one reform in place.

Of course, President Mugabe is right to dismiss the opposition coalition as “coalition of zeros”. President Mugabe has worked out that as long as Zanu PF allows the opposition to win some seats it will never have to worry about it vote rigging because by participating the opposition are giving the process some measure of legitimacy.

Next year Tsvangirai will no doubt be complaining that Zanu PF “stole the elections” just as he did in July 2013. No one will want to know because he has been warned this would happen.

The real big issue here is that the people of Zimbabwe are the ones who will stand to lose the most if the elections are rigged. They can stop the elections going ahead by demanding the implementation of the reforms. They were fast asleep to see this coming in 2013. The question is are they finally awake to stop see yet another disaster in 2018?

Nomusa Garikai said...

It is a great tragedy that organisations like Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition have not played the constructive role of informing the people and talking truth to power one would expect them to play. SADC leaders found themselves talking to a brick wall when they advised MDC to implement the democratic reforms throughout the GNU years. It is sad the brick wall did not stop with MDC leaders but extended to our NGOs, GONGOs, Church leaders, civic society and, of course, Jokomiya and Chimbido out there. Povo has looked up to civic society for guidance but only to be dragged down the depths of hell.

What good will voter education bring when the regime still has Nikuv to do its dirty work of corrupting the whole electoral process? How is it possible that a well-resourced and well-funded organisation like Crisis can still get it so hopeless wrong!

Nomusa Garikai said...

@ Tshuma

Very true, those who think they can do a better job that the current crop of politicians must throw their hat in the ring. However, those on the terraces too have a very important role to play – informing the public and holding those in power to account. If those in power do not like it then they must retire from public life!

Of course, Tsvangirai has proven to be a flawed, indecisive character who does not listen to advice and his blundering incompetence has costed the nation dearly already. He failed to implement the reforms when he had the golden opportunity to do so during the GNU. He blundered in contesting the 2013 elections when the logical thing was to boycott and force the implementation of the reforms. The blundering fool now wants to drag the nation into yet another flawed election – that will not be allowed to happen!

Nomusa Garikai said...

Tsvangirai was warned not to contest the 2013 elections without implementing the reforms designed to stop Zanu PF rigging the vote. He did not listen. He thought his MDC support was enough to "overwhelm all Zanu PF's vote rigging shenanigans" he confessed later. As we know MDC was trounced!


In the October 2014 MDC congress the party resolved never to contest another election until reforms are implemented. "No reform, no elections!" Tsvangirai announced. Sadly, he has already forgotten because he is preparing to contest next year's elections and yet not even one reform has been implemented.

Zimbabwe had a golden opportunity to end the Zanu PF dictatorship in 2013 if only MDC had implemented the reforms. We can still force through the implementation of the reforms but only if we stop the opposition contesting the flawed elections and give the process credibility.

There is absolutely nothing to be gained by contesting another flawed elections and everything to lose by contesting!

Patrick said...

There is nothing wrong with holding primaries to gauge the popularity of each candidate. We say we want democracy but whenever we are asked to put it into practice we shy away. I fully fledged primary elections along the lines of America's primary elections complete with public debates will help sort the grain from the chaff! This is the most sensible that Mai Mujuru has ever said!

Patrick said...

@ Dzamara

You have admitted that Zanu PF cannot be defeated in an elections as long as the party is allowed to use all its many vote rigging tools. You then conclude with the call for people to mobilize! Make up your mind brother it is either people mobilize to demand the implementation of the reforms BEFORE the elections or they mobilize to contest the election regardless of the vote rigging.

We tried the last option last time and it clearly did not work. To try it again is insane but we are a nation with more than our fair share of the mentally challenged and hence the reason we are in this mess!

Patrick said...

In 2013 MDC said the new constitution was the answer to all our political problems as it was guaranteed to deliver free and fair elections and political change. Tsvangirai was warned that the new constitution was too weak to deliver change and he should focus on implementing the democratic reforms agreed in the 2008 GPA. MDC did not listen and we know Zanu PF rigged the elections.

Tsvangirai is making a mount Kilimanjaro out of the coalition mole hill. He has been warned the coalition will not stop Zanu PF rigging the vote, he must implement the reform for that. Again he is refusing to listen. The people of Zimbabwe have an invested interest in making sure elections are free, fair and credible and they will be very foolish to allow Tsvangirai led them into yet another electoral blunder!

People must demand that Tsvangirai honour his party resolution not to contest in any elections until reforms are implemented!

Patrick said...

@ Pidigori

The opposition contest the 2013 elections but as soon as the result were out they are the wants who were screaming "Zanu PF stole the elections!" And the only way anyone can stop Zanu PF stealing elections is implementing the reforms.

We can contest next year's elections with no reforms in place but you know what the day the results are announced we will be back to calling for the reforms all over again!