Mnangagwa is a creature of habit – his habit is to make promises which he clearly has no intention of honouring. Empty promises! “Charovedzera charovedzera, gudo rakakwira mawere kwasviba!” as one would say in Shona.
“President Mnangagwa has further relaxed the coronavirus-induced national lockdown as he sought to re-activate what he termed 'freedoms promised' at the outset of the ‘new dispensation.'” Reported Bulawayo24, quoting FinX.
“In an address, which contained reminders of perhaps the difficult task, which his presidency met when he took over from Robert Mugabe, Mnangagwa said the country must once again refocus, recalibrate and revamp. "Let us recall that Zimbabwe was in the midst of deep and broad reforms. We were reforming distortions, which have bedeviled our economy for decades, we were reforming the old, creating the new and building stronger foundations for a prosperous Zimbabwe."
“President Mnangagwa, who is currently facing sharp criticism over his failure to deal with the economic challenges and his failure to rein in corruption, said the progress had been registered on the economic and political landscape as well as media space by removing antiquated laws and opening up new channels for dialogue and debate. "Unfortunately as Zimbabwe was opening up both internally and externally, we were forced to closed"
“The President said the country will open under certain conditions and that the creation of jobs will return to the top of the Government's agenda. He promised to work twice as hard, "work with promise and promise to improve lives and give children a better future.””
The real tragedy here is that the nation is stuck with a regime it cannot remove from office because the party, Zanu PF, has carte blanche powers to rig the elections.
The number one real change the nation has been dying for these last 40 years is the raft of democratic changes to restore the people’s freedoms and rights including the right to a meaningful say in the governance of the country. In his “new dispensation”, Mnangagwa has made a big song and dance about the freedoms and rights he would restored but never did.
Corrupt and murderous tyrants like Mnangagwa will never ever understand the concept that these freedoms and rights are birth-rights and inalienable. They are therefore not his or anyone else to give to some and deny to others as their dictatorial whim sees fit.
In Zimbabwe, the people’s fight for freedoms and human rights has suffered a real setback with the election of Morgan Tsvangirai and his MDC friends into power. The people have risked life and limb to elect MDC leaders into office on the understanding, once in power, they would bring about the democratic changes necessary to restore the people’s freedoms and human rights.
Sadly, once they got into power the MDC leaders, just like Zanu PF leaders before them, betrayed the people.
Morgan Tsvangirai et al had their best chances ever to implement the democratic reforms and end the Zanu PF dictatorship during the 2008 to 2013 GNU. Mugabe bribed them with the trappings of high office and, to show their appreciation to the dictator, they throw all reforms out of the window.
And ever since the GNU, Zanu PF has learnt that it does not have to give up its dictatorial powers, the party can continue to deny the people their freedoms and rights including rigging elections and yet fudge legitimacy by making sure MDC participates in the elections. Zanu PF bribed MDC to participate by offering a few gravy-train seats as bait.
Ever since Zimbabwe’s independence in 1980 till the watershed 2008 elections it was easy to condemn Zimbabwe elections because there was all the evidence of the blatant cheating and wanton violence. The GNU change things in that in those five years the opposition was given the opportunity to implement the reforms designed to stop Zanu PF rigging the elections.
So, post 2008 GNU it was not enough for the opposition to claim the elections were rigged they had to explain why they had failed to implement the reforms to stop Zanu PF rigging the elections. They could not do so, not without admitting they had sold-out. And Zanu PF has exploited this weakness, naturally; the party has rigged elections and used the MDC’s continued participation as a smoke-screen for legitimacy.
So ever since the GNU fiasco, MDC has pretended to pursue the democratic change agenda to impress the naïve and gullible populous when in reality the party had settled for the few gravy-train seats Zanu PF was giving away as bait..
“MDC has stringent measures to stop Zanu PF rigging the elections!” boasted Chamisa before the 2018 elections. Of course, MDC had no such measure!
Indeed, MDC did not even have the common sense to demand that ZEC produce a verified voters’ roll, itself a legal requirement too!
Understanding the subtlety of how MDC’s continued participation in flawed and illegal elections is, nonetheless, giving some modicum of credibility to the process thus legitimacy the ensuing government is vital in unlocking the now, seeming intractable political impasse. Understand that, and the notion of that MDC leaders are hunting with the Zanu PF hounds whilst, outwardly, they continue running with the povo hare; makes perfect sense.
But more significantly, it makes perfect sense to even povo themselves why they must now disown the corrupt, incompetent and sell-out MDC leaders if the nation is to finally break the vicious cycle of legitimising rigged elections by participating.
A discredited MDC cannot give legitimacy to the vote rigging Zanu PF regime. And starved of legitimacy Zanu PF will be forced to step down to allow the implementation of the reforms and restoration of the people’s freedoms and rights. At long last!
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The decision to summon him to the meeting, alongside Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor John Mangudya, comes amid mounting fears among Zanu-PF bigwigs that the party could lose the 2023 general election owing to the catastrophic economic decline, which they fear is angering the population and alienating voters.
For a long time, some party heavyweights have been unsettled by Ncube's economic policy thrust, which has seen inflation ballooning to 765% amid severe exchange rate volatility. Incomes and savings have been eroded, condemning most citizens to untold poverty.
This means the party is worried that even with its carte blanche powers to rig the elections plus the chaos and confusion in the MDC camp still this will not be enough to secure a Zanu PF victory given the growing ground swell for regime change.
I would still urge the Zimbabwean people to think hard about what democratic changes they need to ensure free, fair and credible elections and work hard to make sure these are implemented. The last thing the nation wants is the kind of regime change as happened in Malawi and Zambia with the removal from office of Kamuzu Banda and Kenneth Kaunda respectively. The two nations had regime change in that new faces came into power but otherwise very little else changed as the succeeding regime were just as corrupt and incompetent.
The incoming regimes did not institute any meaningful political reforms to end the stifling and oppressive system of the past and allow quality leaders to emerge. Once in power, you do not want any reforms that will limit your own exercise of power!
We not only want change but good governance and we must earn it!
@ Chivhuna
"This is to reveal the first strategy. How did MDC manage to become the strongest opposition in Zimbabwe? Yes Zimbabwe by then was in need of an alternative to ZANU (change) but that alone could not have made it that big, The truth was the MDC machine was well oiled financially and its leadership by then was resolute with one common purpose. MDC went on to give ZANU a good run for its money in 2000 and 2002 elections which are still disputed to date. By then ZANU PF introduced the first strategy and that was to monetize politics (vote-buying, use of land reform, distributing of food along partisan lines among others) and in doing this they had to make sure that no opposition would be able to compete with them financially. To achieve this they pushed an Act of Parliament cutting off foreign funding to political parties and that was were most of the MDC funding was coming from. However this strategy by then failed to work on destroying MDC support as it was already established but what ZANU succeeded was making sure that it was now expensive to be in politics whether you want to be a councilor, MP or President, this they did so because they knew well that they have the access to state resources which they can loot to oil their campaigns."
There is no denying that Zanu PF has used looted national wealth to bankroll its juggernaut vote rigging machinery and other strategies to stay in power. But all these strategies would have counted for nothing if MDC leaders had implemented the democratic reforms during the 2008 to 2013 GNU.
You whole analysis has said nothing about the GNU as if it never happened. Well it did happen!
SADC leaders managed to get Mugabe and his Zanu PF cronies to agree to the implementation of a raft of democratic reforms designed to stop Zanu PF rigging the elections, to stop a repeat of the 2008 elections. That was our get out of jail card! Morgan Tsvangirai and his MDC friends failed to get even one reform implemented because they had their snouts in the feeding trough and forgot about the reforms.
When you get the get out of jail card, use it! If you failed to use it ask why and not waste everyone’s time wittering about how thick the jail walls are, the razor fence, armed guards, etc., etc.!
When Mnangagwa took over from Mugabe following the November 2017 military coup; it was easy for him to promise to end corruption. He knew that corruption was rampant in the country and how much damage it inflicted to national economy. He promised to revive the national economy because the economy was in ruins and the consequence of millions now living in abject poverty was there for all to see.
Mnangagwa appreciated the political reality that Zanu PF had managed to stay in power regardless of the regime’s 37 years of corruption, tyranny and disastrous misrule only because it rigged the elections. He promised to hold free, fair and credible elections.
Mnangagwa recognised Robert Mugabe as a corrupt, incompetent, vote rigging and murderous tyrant. He has failed to hold free and fair elections, revive the economy, end corruption, etc., etc.; he is doing exactly what Mugabe was doing. And yet, Mnangagwa will never ever consider himself a corrupt, incompetent, vote rigging and murderous tyrant.
Mnangagwa maintains the July 2018 elections were free, fair and credible, for example, although he used the same blatant vote rigging dirty tricks he himself had used during Mugabe’s days. He has often gone to town about how the opposition was allowed to hold rallies freely and a few other trivial improvements, as if that was enough to make the elections free and fair.
Of course, Mnangagwa knows that he rigged the July 2018 elections. He is like someone who believes beating up the wife or his children is bad but is convinced he is beating them “for their own good!” Free and fair elections are good but not if the result means the nation being deprived of his good leadership. So, he rigged the July 2018 elections for the nation’s own good!
Mnangagwa is a benevolent dictator, he will never ever become a democrat because he does not recognise basic freedoms and human rights as inalienable but his to give to some and deny others. If we are serious about democratic change, then we must demand that people like Mnangagwa must step down because they will never be instruments of change.
A total of 197 health workers at the hospital were placed in self-isolation on May 28 following the positive tests.
Indications are that two of the people contracted the coronavirus after they had been admitted at the hospital, while the third person was an outpatient.
According to reports, it is suspected that the nurse contracted COVID-19 due to interaction with one of the infected patients who had visited the referral hospital.
After the cases were confirmed, the city's rapid response team was contacted to contain the potential spread of the virus.
Through contact tracing, however, the team identified 197 health workers who were at high risk of contracting the disease, and placed them on 14-day mandatory self-isolation while under surveillance.
Meanwhile, Mpilo Central Hospital remains open to admit patients despite its 197 staff members being sent on self-quarantine.
Delays in testing have been a major concern for most quarantined citizens, prompting those who are isolated at public facilities to protest and bribe their way out.
Some have fled without being tested for the virulent virus.
It is clear the authorities did an excellent job in tracing 197 hospital workers who were at risk of getting the virus from the 4 confirmed cases. What is in doubt here is whether any effort was made to track and trace members of the public who too came into close conduct with the 4?
Whilst the authorities have been testing people who had been outside the country, they have not been testing locals. The story behind the 4 Mpilo Hospital confirmed cases suggests that corona virus is already out there among the locals and it is inexcusable to pretend otherwise and putting more and more people at risk as the virus continue to spread.
The UN experts expressed grave alarm over concerns that the MDC women's case was not an isolated instance, highlighting that in 2019 alone, 49 cases of abductions and torture were reported in Zimbabwe, without investigations leading to perpetrators being held to account.
"Enforced disappearances of women often involve sexual violence and even forced impregnation, with enormous harm inflicted not only on their physical health and integrity, but also in terms of the resulting psychological damage, social stigma and disruption of family structures.
"Under the absolute and non-derogable prohibition of torture and ill-treatment, which includes enforced disappearance and violence against women, Zimbabwe must take all measures in its power to prevent such abuse, to investigate suspected violations, and to bring any perpetrators to justice," the experts said.
The only hope for meaningful change in Zimbabwe will have to start with the country implementing the democratic reforms necessary for free, fair and credible elections. Zanu PF blatantly rigged the July 2018 elections and most nations and institutions condemned the elections as a farce with the notable exception of the UN.
The UN has turned a blind eye to Zanu PF abuse of power and tyranny; that is a fact!
“Zimbabwe must take all measures in its power to prevent such abuse, to investigate suspected violations, and to bring any perpetrators to justice!” Frankly, the people of Zimbabwe are sick to the back teeth of hearing this nonsense!
@ Ndodana
“Mukori as much as your points are valid, I think you have recycled them too much, they have lost value and essence. You can't stay in the past when what is wanted is solution for the present and the future. Your emotions are clouding what could be very good contributions.”
On the contrary, it is MDC leaders and their very naïve supporters, aided and abetted by Zanu PF double agents, who are falsifying history to hide their own incompetence. MDC leaders are breathtakingly corrupt, incompetent and they sold-out big time during the 2008 GNU. A few MDC leaders, like David Coltart in his book, have ever admitted they sold-out during the GNU but even they have since maintained a stoic silence over their pathetic performance during the GNU.
If MDC had not participated in the July 2018 elections and thus giving the flawed process credibility, there would be no doubt of Zanu PF’s illegitimacy and therefore under great pressure to step down.
It is not the billions of dollars of looted money and the other two Zanu PF strategies, Kumbirai Chivhuna was wittering about that is keeping Zanu PF in power. It was MDC’s failure to implement the reforms and their continued participation in flawed and illegal elections.
There are Zanu PF double agents who are working very hard to give the false impression MDC leaders have done nothing wrong, the country does not need any reforms to be implemented and MDC are certain to win the next elections. All rubbish, of course!
@ Siphosami Malunga
You are right Robert Mugabe “was the figurehead of a brutal system overseen by a small group of political and military elites that governed the country from 1980” that left millions of Zimbabweans destitute.
You are also rights in saying “Zimbabweans long stripped of hope and dignity would be swept into the whirlwind of this (November 2017) illusion of change disguised as an operation to restore the legacy of the liberation struggle - when in fact it was simply a shuffling of the deck chairs”.
The very fact that Zimbabweans had failed to end the Zanu PF dictatorship for 37 years spoke volumes of what kind of people we are. Of course, there had been many opportunities to end the dictatorship, notably during the 2008 to 2013 GNU, and we wasted them all.
Indeed, no one should be surprised by Zimbabweans were swept off their feet by the November 2017 “shuffling of the deck chairs”, as you rightly called it. It only reaffirms what a naïve and gullible nation we are.
There are many Zimbabweans out there who are calling for the formation of a Zanu PF and MDC National Transition Authority (NTA), a watered-down version of the 2008 GNU, as the way out of the mess. The old GNU supported by SADC failed to implement even one reform it is naïve to expect this NTA to do and better.
The proponents of the NTA claim it will give the nation “a soft landing”. What they really mean is it will give Zanu PF leaders another soft land just as the 2008 GNU did by making sure Zanu PF remains in power regardless of the fact the regime is illegitimate. Zanu PF rigged the July 2018 elections the regime has no mandate to govern.
Yes there will be change in Zimbabwe, this Mnangagwa led dictatorship will be swept aside just as the Mugabe dictatorship was swept aside but only to be replaced by another mediocre government or worse! If we want meaningful change that will remove the dictatorship and replace it with a healthy functional democratic system of government then we must stop being a naïve and gullible lot!
When President Emmerson Mnangagwa ignored all the calls to implement the reforms necessary for free, fair and credible elections it was as clear as day that Mnangagwa was not a reformist. All his promises to reform and transform the country from the dictatorship into a democracy was all hot air.
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