I have heard Eddie Cross say a lot of rubbish over the years but his latest claim that the 2018 elections were free, fair and credible, Mnangagwa won and the Americans knew it; takes the biscuit. He made the outrageous claims in “Inside ED Mnangagwa’s presidency #Freetalk” with journalist Dhara Blessing Mhlanga.
Mr Eddie Cross was one of the late Morgan Tsvangirai’s most trusted advisers in MDC and only crossed the floor, as it were, soon after his death to become Mnangagwa’s ally. He has even has the singular honour of writing the Zanu PF dictator’s biography. (I have not read the book but from the snippets I have read; it is a flattering tale of no historic merit.)
If the interview with Dhara Blessed Mhlanga he talked about events in 2008 and then jumped to 2018 without so much as a passing comment on the GNU years. So it is to what he did not say that I wish to focus.
In all Eddie Cross’s blubbering over the years I have never ever heard him acknowledge that the primary purpose of the 2008 to 2013 GNU was to implement the democratic reforms. He is clearly not stupid because he has covered many of the other minor events details.
The 2008 to 2013 GNU was not a fair and agreeable arrangement but one thing is beyond dispute - it was the best get out of jail ticket the nation has ever had since independence. The Zanu PF dictatorship could and would have been totally dismantle IF Morgan Tsvangirai and his MDC friends had not sold out!
Robert Mugabe bribed Tsvangirai and company with the trappings of high office, the ministerial limos, the very generous salaries and allowance, the US$4 million mansion for Save himself, etc., etc. And to return the favour, the MDC forgot about the reforms.
“Mazivanhu eMDC adzidzi kudya anyerere!” boasted the Zanu PF cronies when asked why MDC leaders were not implementing any reforms. Of course, they cronies were right, after all they were victims of the same honey-pot trap themselves.
“Mose murivakadzi vaMugabe!” Margaret Dongo had described her fellow Zanu PF MPs, Ministers and other party leaders in sheer exasperation at how they all grovelled before Mugabe. Mugabe had introduced the political patronage system, bribing leaders with the same ministerial limos, etc. and in return for the leaders’ dogged loyalty to him!
Of course, Eddie Cross was well aware that he and his MDC friends have sold out big time by not only failing to implement the reforms but by participating in flawed elections to give Zanu PF legitimacy. Even if one was to accept that Mr Cross is not as clever as he looks, he is just a modern man with the intellect of homo neanderthalensis. Still he would have read what others like his MDC colleague David Coltart have said on the subject.
“The (2013) 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,” confessed David Coltart in his Book, The Struggle Continues 50 years of Tyranny in Zimbabwe.
The bottom line is the 2008 to 2013 GNU was the get out of jail card for Zimbabwe. We are still in jail because ever since the GNU MDC/CCC leaders had their snouts in the gravy train feeding troughs they have all but given up on implementing reforms. Eddie Cross’s claim that we can have free, fair and credible elections without first implementing reforms, we can be free whilst we still remain in jail, must be dismissed with the contempt it rightly deserve.
To deny the central importance go 2008 to 2013 GNU in the fight to end the curse of rigged elections and bad governance is as meaningless as a solar system without the sun. The sun is not just the centre of the solar system and round which everything else revolve but, more significantly, the earth and all the other planets and we and all the other living things would not be here without the sun!!
22 comments:
Mai Mujuru says she said nothing about Gukurahundi because 5th Brigade it was Mugabe's private army.
So she accepted the private army because she did not want to risk losing her gravy train seat over it!
Mugabe bribed his fellow party leaders with the trappings of high office, the ministerial limos, the generous salaries and allowances, later on the farms, etc. to buy their blind loyalty to him. Margaret Dongo dismissed Zanu PF leaders as "vakadzi vaMugabe" for their grovelling to the tyrant.
Mugabe used the same dirty trick to bribe MDC leaders and they failed to implement ever one token reform! One of these fine days some one will interview these MDC/CCC leaders and the world will finally hear from the horse’s mouth that they sold out!
@ Grace Ruredzo
I do not dictate to you or anyone else what they must and must not say and that is as it should be in a country were freedom of expression is valued. I do not accept that anyone should ever dictate to me or anyone else. You should go and wash your foul mouth!
@ Professor Lumumba
Jesus said He came to serve and not to be served. Our leaders are humility personified when they seek our votes but, once in power, they are the opposite.
But if you are so naive and gullible to give your vote for a piece of chicken and chips to believe Chamisa has plugged all the vote rigging loop holes when there is no even a verified voters' roll; then you deserve to be cheated! In Zimbabwe we cannot say we do not deserve this corrupt and tyrannical Zanu PF dictatorship complete with its equally corrupt and useless MDC/CCC side-kick!
Zimbabwe is a failed state and so will remain until we open our eyes and take on the task of electing competent leaders with the seriousness the matter demands!
@ Farm Meat
"General Mukori I believe this is a schizophrenic dementia of the worst type...on this highly dignified forums such as the Pan-African Dialogue. I subscribe to this is off-paradigm. We have Chamisa's advisors here, blue movement advocates are also in, His Excellency Nelson Chamisa and His favourate lawyer Thabani Mpofu were in this forum. They had to exit due to polarisation at a time we clamoured for depolarization and depoliticisation of the Pan-Africanism. Alex Magaisa died, but he was satisfied by Pan-Africanists. I will not be happy if H.E Mnangagwa is treated in the same way. The same as Sengezo, Prof Madhuku and Finance Minister Mtuli Ncube. Let us unpack the discourse by demonstrating a degree of political-cum-professional maturity."
Is it or is it not true that Chamisa was lying that he was the one who talked the West into imposing sanctions on Zimbabwe?
Of course, it is true and that is all that really matters here - the truth!
@ Nehoreka
"Who are those your so called competent leaders??"
So if I have not identified competent leaders I should not comment on the competence or otherwise of those in power? Indeed a more rational person would focus on identifying the shortcomings of those before him because it will help him/her to know what he/she should avoid in picking the next leaders. And an irrational person would put the cart before the horse, he would refuse to see any weakness of those before on the ground he must have better leaders although he is already of the opinion what he has is the best!
I have failed to produce some one better than Chamisa proves, as far as you are concerned, not only that Chamisa has done nothing wrong but better still that he is the best there is. Of course, it is idiotic!
@ Nehoreka
I am now being dismiss as one who claims to know it all because I dare to criticise Chamisa, the one person you believe deserves to be called Mr Know It All and is infallible. I do not claim to know it all but I do know that Chamisa is not infallible because there is mountain of evidence to prove it!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8I2W1DyL9g4
Mai Mujuru and her fellow Zanu PF cronies said nothing to stop Mugabe killing over 20 000 innocent Zimbabweans during Gukurahundi and in many other acts of madness because they did not want to lose their gravy train seats. By the same token Morgan Tsvangirai and his MDC friends did not implement even one token reform during the 2008 to 2013 GNU.
Our political leaders "kiss babies" when they are fighting for our votes but once in power it is us who are forced to kiss their backsides. Only an educated, knowledgeable and diligent electorate can restore the political power to the people and make leaders accountable to the people.
Now, it is the leaders holding the people to account; the tail is wagging the dog!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAqpc9Mn_TM
Both Zanu PF and MDC/CCC would rather airbrush the 2008 and 2013 GNU because the later has never admitted they sold out on reforms and the gullible and naive electorate have never figured out. As for Zanu PF it never wanted the reforms to be implemented and so is contend to maintain the lie the country does not need any reforms to be implemented.
The tragic reality is that Zimbabwe is a failed state and so shall remain until we implement reforms and cure ourselves of the double curse of rigged elections and bad governance.
REFORMS MUST REMAIN ON NATIONAL AGENDA UNTIL THEY ARE IMPLEMENTED AND WE HAVE FREE AND FAIR ELECTIONS - THIS IS NOT NEGOTIABLE.
@ Itchy Road
"According to Eddie Cross in year 2022 Zimbabwe sold 107 tonnes of gold in Dubai at US$2.4 Billion . He further claimed that nothing went into the bank coffers. Who was the beneficiaries? Why all projects that we see being carried out mostly don't go through the correct channel and where is the money coming? Do we have a parallel parliament and banks? One thing that has bothered me for a very long time now is that, the house media never hold talks shows or have a question time with any ministry in the country. They don't shy away to have opposition members questioned about their parties. No question are ever imposed on the government why?"
As long as Zimbabwe remains a pariah state ruled by corrupt, incompetent and murderous thugs who rig elections to stay in power, (and it must be said with the connivance of the corrupt and incompetent MDC/CCC) there will never be any meaningful economic recovery. Never!
@ Darlington
So that was why MDC/CCC have failed to implement even one reform in 23 years and have been participating in flawed elections to give Zanu Pf legitimacy? The sheer stupidity of some people beggars belief. No wonder Zimbabwe is a failed state.
As long as Zimbabwe remains a pariah state governed by corrupt, incompetent and murderous thugs who have remained these last 43 years only because they rig elections. It is a great pity that when the nation got its best chance ever to end the Zanu PF dictatorship during the 2008 to 2013 GNU Eddie Cross and his MDC friends sold out. They failed to implement even one token reform.
Alas! The ordinary Zimbabweans have failed to comprehend what the GNU was about, even today with the benefit of hindsight they still have no clue, hence the reason why MDC leaders are still on the national political stage dragging us deeper and deeper into the abyss.
Ignorance is a curse worse than death!
@ Emiliano Zapata
“If there is no justice to the people let there be no peace for the government!”
We n Zimbabwe have replaced the oppressive colonial regime with an even more oppressive and tyrannical Zanu PF regime.
Our efforts to end the Zanu PF dictatorship have come to naught as Zanu PF has bribed the opposition. MDC/CCC have been working to keep Zanu PF in power such that they are Zanu PF team B in all but named!
Sadly the people have been very slow to realise it and so the dictatorship and the failed state have continued for 43 years and counting, dragging us all deeper and deeper into the abyss.
https://bulawayo24.com/index-id-opinion-sc-columnist-byo-241339.html
The most treasonous act MDC/CCC leaders have committed ever since the launch of MDC in 1999 was to sell out on implementing the democratic reforms which, fully implemented, would have ended the Zanu PF dictatorship. Many of these leaders including people like Mr Eddie Cross, KNOW that they sold out and are trying to sweep their betrayal under the carpet by airbrushing the GNU years out of their minds and national history. We must not allow this to happen.
The 2008 to 2013 GNU was our get out of jail card and MDC/CCC leaders sold out; we must remember that and, most important of all, learn from the betrayal!
@ Tendai Machirori
“Always singing the same hymn!”
The Ten Commandments have remained central to the Christian and Judaism teaching ever since Moses brought the two tablets from Mount Sinai because the are as relevant today as they were 3 000 years ago! It is not how often I sing the same hymn but whether or not it is relevant.
Zanu PF has just blatantly rigged the 2023 elections just as it has done these last 43 years. Zimbabwe is a failed state because we have failed to hold free, fair and credible elections. Of course implementing the reforms is even more relevant and urgent today as ever before. Only an idiot would think otherwise!
Did the 2 million or so Zimbabweans who participated in the 2023 elections because Chamisa told them CCC would win big, he had plugged all the vote rigging loop holes and, to crown it, "God is in it!" KNOW that he was lying? I do not think think so! To KNOW a lie demands some intellectual ability; we should not give the 2 million the intellectual ability they do not have!
@ Potera
I would agree with the first bit; the second is bullshit. How has "democracy meant non-Africans determined how Zimbabwe is governed?" Zanu PF rigged the 2023 elections, what has that to do with democracy?
So you are blaming the West for 43 years of Zanu PF rigging elections to stop the neocolonialists coming back? How anyone can be brainwashed to the point of being so foolish to believe Zanu PF propaganda even now, 43 years after independence beggars belief!
No wonder Zimbabwe is a failed state, we really have some of the most ignorant, naive and gullible people on earth!
@ Trymore Chikonye
“You are not even in Zimbabwe get off.”
You are in Zimbabwe and so are the 5 million plus who participated run the flawed elections to give Zanu PF legitimacy. What difference would my being in Zimbabwe or not have made?
Instead of focusing on the pertinent issue of participating in flawed elections to give Zanu PF legitimacy we are once again being dragged to discuss utterly irrelevant issues.
“You are not even in Zimbabwe, get off!” The consequence of the folly of participating in flawed elections to give Zanu PF legitimacy are the economic meltdown and the tyrannical oppression. It affects you and the millions of others who are still in Zimbabwe more than it affects me. The very fact I am concerned shows that I care and would like to see the country prosper. What is wrong with that?
No wonder Zimbabwe is a failed state, we have some of the most foolish men and women on earth and, to crown it all, we have given them the vote. This is like giving a monkey a loaded gun!
Zambia and Zimbabwe are retendering a $5 billion project to build a hydropower plant they previously awarded to General Electric and Power Construction Corp of China, and expect to select new bidders by September next year, an official said.
The Zambezi River Authority - a joint venture between the countries that maintains the Kariba Dam complex - expects to receive bids from potential developers by April 2025 and select bidders five months after that, ZRA Chief Executive Officer Munyaradzi Munodawafa said by email.
Work on the 2 400-megawatt Batoka Gorge project was initially scheduled to begin in 2020, but it encountered several delays, including the onset of the coronavirus pandemic and difficulties in securing funding. In June, Zambian Energy Minister Peter Kapala said the nation would exit the 2019 contract with GE and Power China because proper procurement methods weren't followed when the deal was struck.
Drought, blamed on the El Niño weather phenomenon, has gripped the entire southern African region, contributing to elevated food prices that have hurt poorer households. Zambia has declared the situation a national disaster.
The Zanu PF government received the feasibility study report of Batoka Gorge and Hwange Unit 7 and 8 from the outgoing Ian Smith government in 1980. The Hwange units were only completed years and the nation has paid dearly for this dereliction of duty; the nation has had load shedding since the severe drought of 1992 and the situation has only got worse at great national expense.
The regime has squandered billions of dollars on building mansions, expensive cars and other luxuries. Mugabe splashed a staggering US$3 to 4 billion on his Blue Roof Mansion alone, enough to have paid for the Batoka Gorge project. And as long as we continue to suffer the double curse of rigged elections and bad governance the nightmare of the criminal worse of the nation’s human and material resources will continue unabated!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQTIR8fphiM
Zimbabwe is a failed state and I find the hypocrisy of the Zimbabweans who praise the country to the high heavens whenever they visit and yet they would not stay and make Zimbabwe their home!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbq3cP1y_nM
What impressed me the most about Senegal's President Elect is not his youth, age is irrelevant, or that he was in prison, we have men and women who risked everything in the war of independence and yet have become the worst oppressors than the white colonialists. What impressed me most is that he had a clear vision - to end France's patronising meddling in its former African colonies' affairs.
The truth be told none of Zimbabwe's leaders, past and present, have ever had a vision. None! All they have ever done is pay lip services to freedom, justice and liberty to gain the people's trust only to betray the nation in pursuit of absolute power, influence and wealth!
@ Baba Sama
“Ko iwewe wacho une better vision ukudii kugadzirisa?”
Zimbabwe is a failed state because it has leaders who have no vision but that is not the only reason. The other reason is because it has some of the most ignorant, naive and foolish voters in the world. Not only are the voters foolish enough to keep supporting leaders who have no vision all these years they are so foolish they think these corrupt, incompetent and utterly useless leaders are infallible demigods who must not be held to account.
You are not interested in finding a leader “with better vision” because you already have one in Nelson Chamisa. You are only interested in silencing all criticism of Chamisa.
Chamisa has presented himself as a national leader and, per se, is accountable to all, those with no vision as well as those with a vision, that is not negotiable. Your question is therefore both stupid and irrelevant because it implies that Chamisa is only accountable to those offering a “better vision” than him.
Chamisa is not only a mere mortal - not a demigod - but a corrupt, incompetent and utterly useless one and there is a mountain of evidence to prove it. I do not need to have “a better vision” to state a historic fact!
@ Dziva
ED is a corrupt, incompetent and murderous thug who would rather burn down the whole country than let anyone else rule it - the buffoon has no common sense much less a vision!
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