“We are here because there is hope,” Congressman Gregory Meeks told journalists soon after meeting Tsvangirai on Tuesday. This is the kind of false hope we in Zimbabwe can do without. What reason(s) does the Congressman has for his optimisms?
“The Prime Minister has told us that there are so many good things in as far as the unity agreement is concerned and that the differences they may have can be worked out,” Congressman Meeks explained. What nonsense!
This unity government has is almost a year old since they signed the GPA and seven month old since the formation of the GNU and still they can not agree on minor issues like the appointment of RBZ governor. The rainy season is upon us and still the teething problem of getting back the farms seized by Mugabe and his cronies now laying idle can be put to productive use again has not even been brought up yet. Indeed the farm invasions has continued and thus disrupting the little agricultural production that was still taking place.
Congressman, Zimbabwe was once able to produce enough food not only for its own people but with surplus for export. It was the bread basket of the region; that is a fact. Today 80% of our people are totally dependent on food aid and, sadly, there is nothing to show this is set to change.
The GNU has yet to address the big beasts in the political front. The writing of the new constitution has been kicked into the tall grass. The GNU is yet to investigate and punish all those involved in the politically motivated violence and murders during last year’s sham presidential run-off elections. There are the institutional reforms of the Police and other State Security arms still to do. No one in the GNU has yet raised any of these issues and without them Zimbabwe’s next election will be yet another sham.
Congressman Meeks understand that PM Tsvangirai has his own selfish reasons – he has joined Mugabe at the high table being one of them - for giving a positive spin to everything the GNU has done. The reality is this GNU nothing but a Mugabe dictatorship by another name. It is bad enough that we, Zimbabweans, continue to suffer under this dictatorship but, please, do not insulting our intelligence by talking of hope in this political marriage of convenience.
Ironically almost all the American leaders who have dealt with Zimbabwe so far including President Obama, have all dismissed this GNU as a failure. Congressman Meeks is therefore sending a contrary message. PM Tsvangirai has so far been swimming against the popular and logical current of opnion, of course he will now seize on Congressman Meeks' very words. Only last week he was finally talking of pulling out of the GNU, he was desperately searching for an excuse to stay put - and the Congressman has given him one!
4 comments:
Update
US Congressman confirm President Obama’s promised humanitarian aid. “Beyond this, increased U.S. engagement and assistance will depend on further political and economic reform; and compliance with the Global Political Agreement,” he said.
Congressman Meeks, you could have added that the screw on targeted sanctions will be turned a full turn down but what you said would do nicely, thank you!
I am very pleased you did not talk about "hope" as reported two day ago. This is a hopeless situation and will remain just that as long as Mugabe remains in power and this GNU is doing just that.
The single and simple message that must be sent to Mugabe and Tsvangirai is there will be no aid or meaningful economic recovery until there is real and meaningful political and economic change; which is exactly what you, Congressman said. The GNU is a fudge; no one was fooled by that! The people of Zimbabwe have suffered for a long, long time and have waited for real change for the longest time; Mugabe and Tsvangirai must stop fooling around now.
UP DATE
The Herald reported that the US delegates visited Mugabe only as an after thought, an allegation the US Embassy has flatted denied. It appears the Herald was up to its usual mischief.
The US delegates' main message was that Zimbabwe must change if it is to get out of the hell-hole the country now find its in. “ increased U.S. engagement and assistance will depend on further political and economic reform; and compliance with the Global Political Agreement,” Congressman Meeks told reporters before leaving Harare.
Everyone knows that there will never be any meaningful political and economic reforms in Zimbabwe NOT without dismantling the whole edifice of the Mugabe dictatorship and taking all the people power Mugabe usurped. In short, NOT until there is regime change!
Mention regime change and some people in State House and Herald House get hysterical. Well tough luck but the nation has more important matters to attend to like the feeding the millions now depending on food aid or the generations of Zimbabweans children whose education have been totally disrupted than the paranoia of the spoilt few.
The Herald has printed this malicious story to divert attention from the main message the American delegate delivered. The State media are now masters at this; they should be, they have had thirty years of experience!
The harsh reality is Zimbabwe is facing its worst economic melt down and no amount of cheap propaganda is going to change that. Indeed it is this regime’s habit of burying its head in the sand or worse still seeking a scapegoat whenever they faced a problem which has landed Zimbabwe in all this mess. This GNU has saved Mugabe from being kicked out of State House but since the GNU has failed – only the very naïve believed it would succeed - it is now clear it was not reprieve but a stay of execution!
Regime change is coming to Zimbabwe, that it is as certain as sun rise after even the darkest night. Be patient now my fellow Zimbabweans our hour of enlightenment is on hand, I can smell it!
There is no difference between SA's former President, Mbeki, and his successor Zuma. The later said there was no crisis in Zimbabwe and now the later is talking of "significant progress" when in fact the optimism of the last six months is drawing to an end and the gathering economic and political storm is already upon us.
The optimism and good will generated by seeing shops full of goods again should have been followed up with concrete measures to get the country's 95% unemployed back to work and creating wealth. Sadly that did not happen; for six months the country’s political leaders have been arguing over the swearing in of a deputy minister, the lifting of targeted sanctions, etc.; all trivial and irrelevant issues as far as the ordinary man, woman and child is concerned.
The GNU had banked on the hope that the West will help finance the country’s economic recovery have since said they would not until there was real democratic change in the country; not the half baked Mugabe dictatorship in power now. There is a lot the country could and still can do to set itself on an economic recovery path; ending the white farm invasion and restoring full property rights and ending the looting of the diamonds for example. Having a bloated regime with a matching appetite for expensive cars, etc has not helped.
Any real hope of a meaningful economic recovery in Zimbabwe is fading fast. The ordinary workers, who have been very patient till now, are running out of patience. There is a spirit of despair and desperation in the country everything points to tough times ahead. Where is the “progress” President Zuma is talking about?
SADC calls for the lifting of targeted sanction on Zimbabwe and complete ignore the fact that the GNU has failed to deliver on the economic and political reforms because Mugabe would not implement the agreed changes.
MDC should have never joined Mugabe in this GNU because Mugabe had no intention of ever sharing power with Tsvangirai. MDC did join arguing that SADC would guarantee the inclusive government's success. While SADC has just shown, once again, that it will back Mugabe no matter what. The situation proved once again that Tsvangirai and MDC were naïve to have put any faith in SADC in the first place.
Tsvangirai has explored all avenues open to him to make the GNU work and all have ended up in a dead end. MDC have NO excuse now to remain in this GNU!
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