There are a number of critical points during the Second World War when Germany dictator, Adolf Hitler, had done everything and turned to his Italian Fascist Allay, Benito Mussolini, to do his bit only to be let down again. “The only thing dependable about the Italians,” the Nazi dictator reportedly said in despair, “is their undependability!”
Mugabe must know how Hitler felt because the Zimbabwean dictator has done absolutely everything to ensure there will be no regime change in Zimbabwe but all that now hangs on Tsvangirai delivering the yes vote in the referendum. In a twist of fate Mugabe’s fate is now in the hands of the very man he has despised and even called a puppet. Well unless he can make that puppet give the performance of it life and convince an increasingly skeptic Zimbabwe public Mugabe will not have the yes vote.
For the last four and half years Mugabe has manage to resist all pressure to implement the agreed democratic reforms, without which it is impossible to have free and fair elections. He knows his party will not win free and fair elections and that is why, naturally, he had the reforms kicked into the tall grass.
The GPA called for the writing of a new democratic constitution with a view of delivering the same thing – free and fair elections. Mugabe somehow managed not only to “dictate”; as his party’s representative on committee tasked to write the constitution, MP Paul Mangwana, has been boasting; he also managed to get Tsvangirai and his MDC friends to rubber stamp the document. No wonder Mugabe had the biggest grin ever when he announced the final Copac constitution had been agreed.
In making sure that none of the reforms ever saw the light of day and dictating the Copac constitution have confirmed Mugabe’s reputation as a shrewd politicians it has had the opposite effect on Tsvangirai, it confirmed he was nothing but a puppet and Mugabe pulled all the strings!
If Tsvangirai is going to deliver the yes vote Mugabe so desperate want in the referendum the former has to demonstrate he can get Mugabe to implement the reforms the tyrant has refuse to implement for the last four and half years in four weeks. Mugabe, for his part, has now to bolster the image of the man he has dedicated the last 15 years to blacken.
A NO vote in the referendum will a complete disaster for Mugabe and Zanu PF; a new body will be constituted to implemented the reforms and write a democratic constitution, there will be free and fair elections and, as night follows day, there will be the dreaded regime change in Zimbabwe!
Just as Adolf Hitler must dreaded having the fate of a key battle in Mussolini’s hands Mugabe must be cursing that his fate is now in the hands of the puppet Tsvangirai!
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Minister of Defense, Emmerson Mnangagwa, is adamant there will be no security sector reforms. “They want to hear that you are compliant, that you accept security sector reforms. What does that mean? It means to have non-governmental organisations and trade unions operating in the defence forces. Pasi nazvo! They would want you to say you are non-political, you must serve any Government.”
The regime is even trying to “buy” the Army and Police’s loyalty by allowing them to take part in some of the lucrative economic activities like mining diamonds in Marange.
“We cannot depend on allocation from the fiscus alone. This is why I have decided that the ZDF will be involved in economic development in order to achieve its vision. This, we will,” Minister Mnangagwa said.
None of this can change the fundamental fact that it is not the work of the Soldier or Police Officer to keep a corrupt and oppressive regime in power against the democratic will of the people.
Regime change is like a ripe fruit, it will fall soon or later! Mugabe and Zanu PF have denied the people of Zimbabwe their basic democratic rights for 33 years and now they are using the Police and Army to intimidate and terrorize the people. Enough is enough. It is not the work of the Soldier or Police to keep corrupt and oppressive leaders in power against the democratic will of the people.
Zanu PF's reign of terror is drawing to a close; regime change, denied for so long cannot be denied or delayed anymore!
@Flyboy
The Copac constitution was "dictated" by Mugabe - a tyrant and so you can imagine what kind of democratic constitution it would be-, as Paul Mangwana has since boasted and twiddle-dee and twiddle-dum just came along and rubber stamped the document. That is why Mugabe had such a contented grin when he announced the constitution had been agreed on 17 January 2013.
You only have to read the Copac constitution and you will immediately see why it was Mugabe who dictated it. It is so weak and feeble it cannot deliver even the most basic rights such as the right to free and fair elections- free of the usual violence and the right to life itself. The two MDC have since acknowledged this and hence their insistence now in having the reforms implemented. Without the reforms there is no way the violence of 2008 are not going to be repeated - Copac constitution will not stop the violence.
"Motor mouth" Douglas Mwonzora keeps harping on about stupid things like the Copac constitution has limited the presidential term to two five-year terms. Without a free vote, Zimbabweans would be no better off than the Chinese, their too have a president who can serve for a maximum of ten years but only the Chinese Communist Party decide who that president. In Zimbabwe the people are told who to vote for or else they get beaten, raped and hundreds even killed; that is what the Copac constitution offers us. And that is what "motor mouth" is over the moon about as the bargain!
If Zimbabwe had a free media - should have 20 independent TV stations, 200 independent Radio Station - and freedom of expression I know this Copac constitution would be rejected by the people in the referendum. Mugabe is counting on an ignorance electorate who would follow their leaders, twiddle-dee and twiddle-dum, who have already endorsed Copac rubbish and vote yes in their millions in the referendum. With the yes vote safely in the bag, Mugabe would then roll out his Zanu PF terror machine - well oiled with Marange diamonds money - and subject the people to the violence they believed the Copac constitution would banish and secure another Zanu PF electoral victory.
The only problem now is that twiddle-dee and twiddle-dum are having a tough time convincing the public the reforms will be implemented. The two idiots failed to get not even one reform implemented in four and half years and now say they will get all the reforms implemented in four weeks!
Mugabe for his part he cannot afford to lose this referendum. A NO vote will mean the appointment of a new body which will be tasked to implement the reforms and write a democratic constitution; Mugabe will be powerless to stop that. Free and fair elections will be the last nail in Mugabe's coffin!
For the people of Zimbabwe, we have our best chance ever to define the Zimbabwe we really want to live in and bequeath to posterity; all we have to do is vote NO in the coming referendum!
@ G Galloway
I want to see free and fair elections- free of the scourge of violence, with a free media, etc. And the people of Zimbabwe have been denied this basic right and now they will finally enjoy it!
Mugabe has never held free and fair elections all these last 33 years; there was none of you "glorious land reform" until ten years ago. Why did he not allow free and fair elections before then? This is about political power and the unfettered access to the nation's wealth and resources and Mugabe and Zanu PF's resolve to hold on to power even if it meant denying the people all the basic rights including the right to a meaningful say in the governance of the country and the right to life itself!
Well the old fart has reached the end of the line; his 33 years of mismanagement, corruption and looting has destroyed the country's economy and driven millions of our people into a live of abject poverty and despair. We all know Tsvangirai is a flawed and indecisive leader giving to blundering but even this goat herder is an appealing proposition as president than Mugabe; that is how much the people hate Mugabe!
Whilst Zimbabweans would vote for the goat-herder any day they are aware that a yes vote in the referendum is a vote for Mugabe that is why they are going to vote NO.
The next two months are going to be the most trying of his political career for Mugabe. He will not want to frighten away the voters with his usual macho fist waving and so he has to look as harmless and even sweet as a child. Tell you what with each passing day he looks more like a hen that has just laid a square egg!
People are not going to be fooled by Mugabe’s frozen Cheshire-cat grin; they know he is a ruthless and heartless tyrant who would set the whole country on fire just to remain president for one more day! The people know Mugabe is desperate for a yes vote in the referendum and that alone is enough to motivate even the sick to go and vote NO!
@ G Galloway
I know Mugabe would gladly revert to the Lancaster House Constitution (LHC), especially if he lost this referendum. The only problem for Mugabe is that if he lost the referendum he will NOT be able to revert to the LHC. A new body will be constituted and tasked to implement the reforms and write a democratic constitution this dysfunction GNU has failed to implement in five years! It will have the tasks completed in one year or less. Needless to say Mugabe will have no say in the new body and I do not have to add that Mugabe will lose the free and fair elections that will follow.
By refusing to implement the reforms, Mugabe is making it impossible for Tsvangirai to say to the people the elections that will follow are NOT going to be a repeat of the wanton violence of 2008. And without that assurance the people are going to vote NO.
I can see the quandary Mugabe is facing: if he agreed to the reforms and commit himself to free and fair elections then he is sunk because there is no way he can win free and fair elections. On the other hand if he continues to stubbornly refuse to have the reforms implemented – which is the most likely course he will pick - then the people will smell a rat, if they have not done so already, and vote NO in the referendum. So either way Mugabe is f****d!
The old fart has soiled his pants and the smell is terrible and yet he continues to seat there looking statesman and innocent. Everyone can see Mugabe is in trouble and they all want to see him humiliated. He cannot seat there for much longer; he will have to stand up and let the whole world see him for the murderous shit-covered tyrant he is!
Zimbabwe’s 2012 “O” level results are out and over 81% of the 172 000 students failed to get a pass in five or more subjects. This is so, so sad. 81% failed to pass five subjects and they now join the 80% unemployed; this is a completely lost generation! What kind of parents will they make?
Everything is pointing to the critical importance to have a truly democratic constitution, not the Copca rubbish now on the table, a.s.a.p. Until we address the country's chronic problem of bad governance, which can only be addressed by having a strong and no nonsense democratic constitution, nothing can move.
This fight is between the ordinary men and women of Zimbabwe for their basic rights and freedoms against a corrupt and tyrannical ruling few who have denied them their rights and dignities.
It is a cheap trick to drag the British and rhodie farmers into this but it is to be expected.
Still the people know what they are fighting for and have their eyes firmly fixed on that objective and will not rest until their rights and freedoms are secured and firmly guaranteed.
@G Galloway
Make no mistake the Copac Constitution is not even worth the paper it is written on that is why the people must reject it! It is going to be rejected, that I can assure you.
You clearly have your own fight against the rhodies and the British. By all means fight it with them; why are you dragging the people into your own war. Let me rest assure you the people's fight for the rights, freedoms and human dignity will not and must never be held prisoner to your imaginary war with the rhodies and the British! Never!
@ G Galloway
The Copac constitution is too weak and feeble to deliver and guarantee the common man's basic rights and freedoms including the right to free and fair elections and the right to life itself. This constitution must have been dictated by a tyrant who desired nothing else but to retain his tyrannical rule on the land. This nation has already wasted the last five years and US$ 100 million on this Copac rubbish alone.
Let us throw away this rubbish, write a proper democratic constitution so we can finally move on. The 81% failure rate of our children is just another grim reminder of the dear price this nation is having to pay for dithering and wasting time. In the name of the living GOD we must reject this Copac rubbish, vote NO and stop wasting another day!
@ Culligan
Well it Mugabe and Zanu PF who are scared of free and fair elections not the people, they have waited all these years for that and they must not be denied or kept waiting for another day longer.
The people of Zimbabwe will too have this God given right and exercise it without fear for the safety of their property, their security or fear of body harm or their very lives! This is a birth right; every Zimbabwean alive today or yet to be born must and will enjoy this right as such - a birth right!
The issue of basic rights and freedoms must be settled this year, 2013 properly and stop this nonsense of “incremental gain” or “democracy is a process not an event”. Those who want us to accept this Copac rubbish so “we can amend it after the elections” or have some sections “suspended for the next ten years” are asking us to navigate not by a fixed and consistent reference point but by a changeable one here today but somewhere else tomorrow.
For the last 33 years we have wander around and abused by those to whom we are entrusted the power and authority to lead. Instead of having a strong and robust constitution from which all laws were derived, a Northern Star of a Mountain from which to get all our bearing; we had weak constitution made worst by the disregard of rule of law and amendments, this was like using the ramp of a wandering bull elephant to get our bearing. Enough is enough!
We must seat down and write a wholesome democratic constitution to be the northern star by which the nation is to be ruled tomorrow and for generations to come. A constitution that will grant all Zimbabweans, not next year now or the minute they are born, their basic rights, freedoms and human dignities. This is an event that can be marked and remembered for generations to come by year, month, date and hour the democratic constitution is enacted into law.
@ G Galloway
I have already told you this Copac rubbish is too weak and feeble to deliver and guarantee basic rights, freedoms and liberties such as the right to free and fair elections. I or anyones does not need to explain to the people; they have eyes, they can see for themselves that there is no free media and freedom of expression and they can see the Soldiers and Zanu PF thugs intimidation them and they know the violence will get a lot worse as soon as Mugabe has their yes vote. They are not stupid.
The people said what they wanted in the constitution and in dictating the Copac constitution Mugabe ignored all the people said. So why are you asking me now to come up with proposed changes. The referendum is not asking people to come up with changes it is asking a simple question: Do not accept the Copac constitution? Yes or NO. It is a rubbish constitution and therefore the naswer has to be NO, period.
@ Dumbu
So you want a yes vote because the nation has already spent five years writing this Copac constitution and you want to vote yes and move on. It is tempting to agree with you but first let us look at the facts.
There reason why is has taken four and half years to write a document which was supposed to be ready in 18 months is because Mugabe has deliberately dragged out the whole process. He knew that many people will lose patience and would be so keen to see the whole thing concluded they will take off their eyes off what really matters - the contents of the document. That is exactly what happened. So Mugabe ended up "dictating" Copac; Paul Mangwana has been boasting and you only have to read the document to know that is true; and twiddle-dee and twiddle-dum lined up to add their signatures!
Mugabe has done exactly the same thing with the democratic reforms; dragged out the whole process so not even one reform has been meaningfully implemented; not one.
Even PM Twiddle-dee and his Siamese twin if you please Minister Twiddle-dum have woken up (belatedly as usual) to the reality that Copac is too weak and feeble to deliver free and fair elections and it is therefore imperative that the agreed reform should be implemented if there are to be free and fair election. No chance of that happening, of course.
Mugabe has resisted implementing the reforms for the last four and half years, what is the chance of getting him to do so in the next two months? Zero!
What Mugabe has been doing to encourage people to vote yes is making sure there is peace and quiet throughout the land; lure the gullible into a false sense of security. And it is working; the nation will not even hear a squeak from Jabulani Sibanda, Chipangano or Soldiers.
Once Mugabe has the yes vote safely in the bag; the Zanu PF terror machine will be rolled out, this time it is well-oiled with Marange diamond money. Limbs will be broken and there will be body-bags. The only question to be settled is whether the wanton violence that will follow was the same or worse than 2008?
The upcoming referendum is not to settle who will keep the leopard skin, as you seem to think. The nation is deciding a more profound but subtle question than that; do we want the violence of 2008 repeated this year and in future? Vote yes and Mugabe and Zanu PF will not disappoint you.
Everyone can see nothing, absolutely nothing, has been done to stop the repeat of the 2008 violence to say nothing about free media, etc. The referendum is essential asking whether all the necessary reforms have been implemented and this Copac rubbish is the democratic constitution GPA promised. The answer to both parts has to be no. To then turn round and vote yes for some spurious reason like being tired of the whole process is not just foolhardy but recklessly so!
@ Shamma1
Zimbabweans have waited for over 33 years now to exercise their basic right to free and fair elections and you want to tell me they must once again be denied this right.
It has taken these clowns four and half years to come up with this rubbish, just how many more years do you want to give them?
This Copac constitution is rubbish not everything you said. It is rubbish because those who wrote deliberately wanted it to be rubbish. If it was your limbs, your livelihood and your very life and those of friends and family are all on the line then you would not be talking of this constitution that denies all these being as "water under the bridge"; you moron.
This constitution must not be allowed to pass in the referendum. The people must vote NO! Only the morons with seats on the gravy train will want this Copac rubbish passed.
What NCA should also say and has not said is that this Copac constitution is too weak and feeble to guarantee basic rights like the right to own property, the right to free and fair elections and the right to life itself. This Copac constitution will not stop the repeat of the political violence that marred the 2008 presidential run-off, for example.
PM Tsvangirai keeps talking of getting Mugabe to implement the reforms agreed in the GPA. He has failed to get the tyrant to do so these last four and half years, it is naive to think he do so in two months. Without the reforms, there will be nothing to stop Mugabe and Zanu PF using violence.
Vote yes in the referendum and you would have voted for the repeat of the 2008 violence; it is that simple!
@ Chimbwido
Has this Mugabe regime held free and fair elections, ever?
This is about the people, ordinary Zimbabweans, demanding free and fair election - free of violence, with free media and freedom of expression, etc. It is nonsense that any Zimbabwean demanding these basic rights must have supported Ian Smith's white racist regime and want it back.
You, Mugabe and Zanu PF have your quarrel with whites in Zimbabwe, the British and West in general no Zimbabwean in his right mind will allow their demand for justice and human dignity to be held hostage to other outside issues real or imaginary.
@ Chimbwido
If the Copac constitution stated in no uncertain terms that all politically motivated violence would be subject to an independent judiciary inquiry and these force guilty will be sentenced to a minimum of five years in jail, for example, that would end the country's culture of violence.
Yes we all know what you mean by "people themselves should brave it out and go and vote". In 2008 Zimbabweans were subjected to some of the worst political violence in human history, that is what you calling "brave it".
@ Elma Sabudo
@ Elma Sabudo
My point is the Copac Constitution is too weak and feeble to stop the culture of violence. It is not enough to say people have a right to a free vote and then say nothing about what happens when that right is denied as has happened only too often in Zimbabwe.
If the Copac constitution stated in no uncertain terms that all politically motivated violence would be subject to an independent judiciary inquiry and these found guilty will be sentenced to a minimum of five years in jail, for example, that would end the country's culture of violence.
Mugabe has activily allowed his party thugs to terrorize the people beating, raping and murdering them establishing this culture of violence. This Copac rubbish is doing nothing to end this. Mugabe "dictated" it and saw to it that he his thugs will still be above the law.
If people vote NO then we will have the agreed reforms implemented BEFORE the elections. It was agreed in the GPA that these reforms are necessary for free and fair election they MUST be implemented. Mugabe and Zanu PF should not be allowed to make a unilateral decision to kick the reforms into the tall grass and get away with it.
A NO vote will avoid another blood bath and we must and will avoid a repeat of 2008
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