Saturday 3 June 2017

Tsvangirai "woos top army bosses" - reforms and free elections are NOT negotiable. W Mukori

“Tsvangirai woos top army bosses!” read the headline in the Daily News.

The news must have left every thinking Zimbabwean out there sick and it only confirmed that Morgan Tsvangirai and his MDC-T friends have learned nothing from the past! Whilst the nation is fighting to implement the democratic reforms to end the corrupt and tyrannical Zanu PF dictatorship, he is doing his uttermost to retain the dictatorship if it accepts him and his friends in the exclusive ruling elite club!

In the last 17 years, Morgan Tsvangirai has had many opportunities to implement the democratic reforms designed to dismantle the Zanu PF dictatorship, the best chance of all was during the GNU. He has wasted every one of these opportunities because he is corrupt and incompetent; so, incompetent he thought he could eat his cake and keep it too. Instead of implementing the reforms designed to break President Mugabe’s corrupting and undemocratic control of the Army, Police, CIO, war veterans, etc. during the GNU, he wasted the five years trying to bribe senior officers with assurances they will keep all their privileges if they in turn switched undemocratic allegiance from Mugabe to him. Now he is at it again!

“I have met with the church, political leaders from across the entire spectrum, the army, war veterans, ….. who all agree on the need for a positive trajectory for this country that we love,” Tsvangirai said according to 1st June Daily News report.

Does this mean Tsvangirai does not subscribe to the democratic tenet that the Army, Police and all the other security services must be apolitical and per se should never be seen to be entering into any special deals with any politician or political party. Or is it that Tsvangirai’s only objection with the present undemocratic cosy relationship between President Mugabe and the top brass in the Army, Police, etc. is that it should be with him and not Mugabe.

It is no secret that the security sector has played a major role in the imposition of the Zanu PF dictatorship. Indeed, it is no exaggeration that the top brass in the security services are an integral part of the Zanu PF dictatorship on equal par with the political leaders Mnangagwa and Mugabe himself. Real political power in Zimbabwe has rested in the Join Operations Command, a Junta, whose actions and decisions not even cabinet and parliament have ever dared to question.

It is no secret too that the top brass in the security sector are among the principle beneficiaries of the wholesale looting and plunder of the country’s wealth and riches. When General Douglas Nyikayaramba over stepped the mark and joined in the condemnation of Professor Jonathan Moyo for his misuse of $400 000. The minister silenced Nyikayaramba by reminding him that security sector chefs, including the pompous general him, are earning huge fortunes from their diamond mining activities which they cannot account for.

In the past Tsvangirai has wooed the security sector top brass with promises that they will all keep the positions complete with powerful political influence, their multiple farms seized from white farmers, diamond mining concessions, everything; if they agreed to switch their political allegiance from President Mugabe and Zanu PF to him and his MDC party.

Tsvangirai’s policy of appeasement did not just stop with the security services but extended to President Mugabe and his Zanu PF regime itself. Or be it that it was the tyrant who ended up conning Tsvangirai. Tsvangirai failed to implement even one reform to dismantle the Zanu PF dictatorship during the GNU because he thought if he appeased Mugabe by doing nothing to implement the reform, he and his MDC friends would be granted life-time membership into Zimbabwe’s exclusive ruling elite.

“Mazivanhu eMDC adzidza kudya anyerere!” (MDC people will not rock the boat because they have succumbed to corrupting influence of the gravy train lifestyle!) Boasted one Zanu PF ruling elite members. He was commenting on worrying reluctance by MDC leaders to implement the democratic reforms as agreed.

The Zanu PF official was one of the Mugabe appointed permanent secretaries, he had held many similar posts in the past, a veteran of the gravy train life. He knew how sweet and intoxicating gravy train life is and how addictive it is, taste it and you will be craving for more. He also knew that the cardinal rule for keeping one’s seat on the Mugabe’s gravy train seat was a very simple one – you must forget all your do-gooder principles and promises.

After a few months of enjoying the trapping of high office; a farm, formerly owned by a white farmer, for Welshman Ncube; a $4 million Highlands mansion for Tsvangirai; etc. President Mugabe himself must have been pleasantly surprised at how quickly Tsvangirai & co. grasped the gravy train etiquette and rules.

SADC leaders had hope that the reforms would be implemented and thus restore political stability and end the economic meltdown in Zimbabwe. They were very disappointed, naturally, that MDC leaders failed to implement even one democratic reforms in the five years of the GNU. They denounced Tsvangirai & co. for “enjoying themselves in the GNU, they forgot why they were there!”

Tsvangirai’s continued attempts to ingratiate himself with the top brass in the security services instead of implementing the democratic reforms designed to end all corrupting political interference of the running of all state institutions including the Army and Police is totally unacceptable. Instead pushing for reforms he still continues to pursue his selfish agenda of keeping these key pillars of the Zanu PF dictatorship in tact as long as they accept him and his MDC friends in the exclusive ruling elite club.

Tsvangirai is determined to contest in next year’s elections with not reforms in place to end the corrupt and tyrannical Zanu PF autocracy as long as he is accepted as a member of this corrupt and exclusive ruling elite.

Tsvangirai has had many the golden opportunities to implement the democratic reforms the country has been dying for to end the dictatorship and move on. He has failed to implement even one reform in all his 17 years in politics. He will never ever implement any reforms because he does not believe in reforming the political system but fine tuning it to secure for himself a permanent seat on the gravy train.


For the umpteenth time Mr Tsvangirai, Zimbabwe’s political stability and economic prosperity is dependent on the implementation of all the democratic reforms and the holding of free, fair and credible elections. Reforms and free and fair elections are no negotiable, not now not ever!

8 comments:

Nomusa Garikai said...

MDC did not lose the 2013 elections because the opposition was not united, they lost, first and foremost, because they did not listen to SADC and everybody else out there in the know. They were warning about implementing reforms and not to contest the elections with no reforms in place. Tsvangirai and company would not listen and Zanu PF went on to blatantly rig the vote and win the elections.

Tsvangirai and the opposition are once again ignoring the warnings not to contest the elections with no reforms in place. All this talk of coalition building is just an excuse for them to once again contest the elections with no reforms.

"...Tsvangirai...will give an insight into the progress made so far in the process of forming a coalition and he will also reiterate our call for electoral reforms as advanced by (National Electoral Reform Agenda) Nera," said Gutu.

Only the really politically naïve and gullible will believe this nonsense that Zanu PF will ever especially when they know MDC will contest the elections with no reforms as they did in 2013!

The real challenge here is to stop the opposition opportunities betray the people by contesting the flawed elections and giving process credibility which is what Zanu PF wants! Tsvangirai must be forced to honour their own “No reform, no election!” pledge!

Nomusa Garikai said...

Grace Mugabe says Zimbabwe is expecting a bumper harvest this year and so does not need NGOs.

NGOs have been helping ordinary people with food aid and medicines such as HIV drugs. Zanu PF does not care how that people are suffering and how many are dying unnecessarily as a result of the man-made poverty. All the regime cares about is for it to retain power at all cost.


Holding next year's elections with no reforms is madness! We, the people, can stop the elections going ahead if we so decide!

Nomusa Garikai said...

It had never occurred to me at the time that Tsvangirai and his MDC friends had let the nation down in failing to implement reforms during the GNU or soon thereafter. But now that I have had some time to look back it is clear that they did indeed betray the nation. There is no other reason why they failed to get even one reform implemented in five years other than that they are corrupt and incompetent.

Zimbabwe has paid dearly for MDC’s failure to implement the reforms in terms of the political, economic and social consequences of allowing Zanu PF back into power after 2013. Contesting next year’s elections with no reforms will only save to drag the nation even deeper into the hell-hole we are in already.

Tsvangirai has already sold-out during the GNU by failing to implement even one reform during the GNU. If the people do not wake up quick smart, he will sell-out and contest next year’s elections with no reform and it is a lose, lose situation for the nation. A Zanu PF victory, which is the most likely outcome, would be a disaster for the nation in that nothing will change. An MDC victory will mean giving up on reforms because Tsvangirai will never implement any. His priority will be to appease Zanu PF thugs as much as he can by letting them have everything they want as long as they accept him in this exclusive ruling elite club you are talking about.

Zimbabweans are today the poorest in Africa because we have made some serious mistakes in the last 37 years. Well here is our chance to do something right – force the implement the democratic reforms BEFORE the elections - that will have the effect of changing the nation’s destiny for the better. The real challenge is do we have the vision to see the opportunity, the courage to seize it and the mental aptitude to see the task through!

Nomusa Garikai said...

Harare City Council pampered senior MDC-T officials, including party deputy president Ms Thokozani Khupe, Mayor Councillor Bernard Manyenyeni and some councillors, with huge tracts of land in the leafy Mt Pleasant suburb.

Well MDC leaders are in politics for the money as Ms Khupe has readily admitted. We know that the likes of Mwonzora built a “hotel” of house during the GNU, Ncube got a farm, Tsvangirai got the $4 million Highlands mansion, etc. A thorough audit of the MDC leaders’ asset portfolios will show beyond all doubt that politics in Zimbabwe is all about the gravy train.

We are stuck in this political and economic mess because MDC betrayed the nation during the GNU, instead of implementing the reforms and delivering on the democratic changes they promised they sold the cause for a share of the gravy train loot. A thorough audit of all our political leaders’ asset, on both sides of the political divide for we know looting has been the norm in Zanu PF too, is now a must do.

Nomusa Garikai said...

Harare City Council pampered senior MDC-T officials, including party deputy president Ms Thokozani Khupe, Mayor Councillor Bernard Manyenyeni and some councillors, with huge tracts of land in the leafy Mt Pleasant suburb.

Well MDC leaders are in politics for the money as Ms Khupe has readily admitted. We know that the likes of Mwonzora built a “hotel” of house during the GNU, Ncube got a farm, Tsvangirai got the $4 million Highlands mansion, etc. A thorough audit of the MDC leaders’ asset portfolios will show beyond all doubt that politics in Zimbabwe is all about the gravy train.

We are stuck in this political and economic mess because MDC betrayed the nation during the GNU, instead of implementing the reforms and delivering on the democratic changes they promised they sold the cause for a share of the gravy train loot. A thorough audit of all our political leaders’ asset, on both sides of the political divide for we know looting has been the norm in Zanu PF too, is now a must do.

Nomusa Garikai said...

President Mugabe is calling for unity and for those vying for his post to be patient and meanwhile he will go into overdrive to promote his preferred successor. It is an all too familiar strategy he has used all his political career and, fortunately for him, has worked largely because his advisories have all been slow witted sloths! By the time the advisory realise what is happening it is too late, Mai Mujuru would testify to that.


Mugabe has perfected the art of saying one thing, make a big song and dance about it, whilst doing the exact opposite. The art of waving the olive branch of peace whilst hiding the murderous dagga under the cloak. "Kurova imbwa wakavinga mupini!" as one would say in Shona.

Nomusa Garikai said...

SA is to tighten it immigration laws in the light of xenophobia attacks and growing unemployment in that country.

Zimbabwe has been sitting on its political and economic problems which have driven many to leave the country for decades and now we will be forced to address them because many of our people will have no escape!

Nomusa Garikai said...

President Mugabe's children must know that they cannot hang on to the amassed wealth their parents have stolen to the people. They had the best education whilst the majority had to make do with the poorly funded schools and universities, they had the best meals whilst millions starved, etc. we cannot take the education, the good food, etc. but what we can take back are the farms, the millions in bank accounts, etc. We need the farms, the millions of dollars and other stolen loot to help those from whom it was stolen rebuild what life they can!

No, brother Dzamara, you do not need to apologize for telling it as it is that those who profited from stolen property should not dream of keeping it even if their only inherited it.