We can blame Mugabe and his Zanu PF
thugs for a host of things but blaming them for the fact that not even one
democratic reform was implemented during the five years of the GNU is a clear
sign of political immaturity, to say the least.
“Sadc
ordered media and security sector reforms in order to ensure free and fair
polls. But Mugabe pressed ahead without them. The outcome of the poll remains
questionable owing to several irregularities,” wrote Jera in his/her article “Democratic
ouster of Mugabe unlikely”, Bulawayo Opinion column.
It is not true that “Mugabe pressed
ahead without” the reforms; he took full advantage of the fact that not even
one reforms had been implemented after five years of the GNU. The reforms
should have been implemented in 18 months of the proposed GNU in the end its
life was extended to five years and yet still no reforms were implemented. Not
even one reform!
The GNU was never meant to last
forever and five years was over three times the original life and it was
therefore not a matter of Mugabe pressing ahead holding elections without the reforms
but more of those responsible for getting the reforms implemented having failed
to do so although they had five years instead of 18 months to complete the
task!
It was for Tsvangirai and MDC to implement the
reforms; SADC reminded them of this throughout the GNU but were ignored. SADC
literally begged the MDC leaders not to take part in the July 2013 elections
without the reforms but again their warning fell on deaf ears.
Tsvangirai and his MDC friends were
not just corrupt and breathtakingly incompetent but, more significantly, they
sold out. It is no secret that Mugabe bribed MDC leaders to do nothing about
the reforms. As SADC heads accused MDC leaders of “enjoying themselves whilst
in the GNU and forgot why they were there”!
Tsvangirai and his MDC friends have
lost political credibility because they failed to get even one reform implemented
after five years in the GNU, even after being warned repeatedly about their importance.
Only the politically naïve and gullible
would take Tsvangirai’s “no reform no elections” call seriously because anyone
who understands what happened during the GNU knows that it MDC that failed to
implement the reforms and so blaming Zanu PF for no reforms is political cynicism
at its worst.
It makes sense for Zimbabwe’s opposition
parties to boycott elections until the democratic reforms are implemented, a
pre-requisite for free, fair and credible elections; that is all opposition parties
except the MDC factions. Tsvangirai and his MDC friends are the ones who landed
the nation into this mess of having not even one reform implemented; they
refusal to acknowledge that they are corrupt, incompetent and they sol-out big
time during the GNU, does not change the fact that they are corrupt, etc.
Tsvangirai’s “no reform no election”
call is tantamount to “no elections because MDC’s corrupt and incompetent!” It
is not surprising that Mugabe and Zanu PF are taking full advantage of this
confusion. Everyone knows that Mugabe and his Zanu PF thugs would never win
free and fair elections in Zimbabwe. People can blame Mugabe for a multitude of
things but no one worth his/her salt can blame him for the failure to have even
one reform implemented during the GNU. Of course Zanu PF will never ever
implement any meaningful reforms since they are not to blame for none being
implemented during the GNU but will take full advantage of the confusion MDC is
creating by falsely blaming Zanu PF for their own failures.
Indeed President Mugabe would want
attention to remain focused on blaming game and away away from the key point
that these reforms are still important and must be implemented. The sooner
Tsvangirai acknowledged he and his MDC friends are corrupt and incompetent the
sooner the nation will move on to the important issue of getting the reforms
implemented!
'Let those who are boycotting
elections continue to do so and we will continue to rule, we will increase our
MPs in parliament,' remarked VP Mnangagwa.
Tsvangirai’s denial that MDC leaders are corrupt,
incompetent and are responsible for the failure to get even one reform
implemented is what helped Mugabe and Zanu PF “win” the July 2013 elections and
will help them keep them in power for years to come. The first step in ending
the Zanu PF dictatorial rule is accepting the reality that MDC leaders are
corrupt and incompetent and have lost political credibility and not to sweep all
this under the carpet!
3 comments:
No one who has followed Zimbabwe's flawed political system would dispute that the country has failed to hold free, fair and credible elections. Of course Zimbabwe does not have a level playing field but that is not what is at issue here. What is at issue is the Tsvangirai's refusal to accept that he and his party had the opportunity to implement a raft of democratic reforms which would have levelled the playing field.
Complaining about the uneven playing field is one thing but complaining about that when you had the opportunity to level the field but did not because you accepted bribes to do nothing is another matter!
Whilst it is true that the uneven political playing field still needs levelling it is important to accept that those who sold-out last time cannot be trusted to implement the reforms and therefore it is important that they are identified and let out of all talks on the subject! Wilbert
“But his appeals were in vain as his legal team were handicapped by the state-controlled ZEC's refusal to produce documentation necessary for the case. Sadc proved unhelpful as all the heads of state - bar Botswana's Ian Khama - protected Mugabe.”
SADC heads were very helpful to MDC throughout the GNU as it was them reminded Tsvangirai and company about the need to implement the reforms but their warnings were ignored. SADC heads begged MDC not to take part in the July 2013 elections without the reforms, as Samuel Sipepa Nkomo and many other MDC leaders have since admitted, but again MDC ignore them. There for anyone to then turn round and say SDAC heads were “unhelpful” shows political ignorance of the worst kind! If someone doesnot know what they are talking about then it is best to shut the fcuk up!
“This is why, whenever we campaign as a political party; or engage our constituencies, we make commitments to instil hope, courage, faith and ultimately a sense of confidence that we will bring maximum happiness to every citizen if voted for,” said Professor Ncube.
Yes Professor, you are no different from your other MDC colleagues like Obert Gutu, Eddie Cross, etc. in that you love wittering about trivial issues but say nothing about the big issues that matter to the people and the nation.
You and your MDC friends were voted by the people in 2008 on the ticket to deliver the democratic changes the nation needed desperately to end the corrupt and tyrannical Zanu PF dictatorship. You were a senior member of the GNU and as a lawyer by profession you knew what was required to get the raft of democratic reforms implemented.
The GNU was meant to last 18 months; plenty of time for all the reforms to be implemented. In the end the GNU lasted five years; so you had more than three times as much time as you needed; and yet you failed to get even one reform implemented. Not even one!
Stop patronizing the people, with stupid lectures on what Aristotle thought about “eudaimonia – a desire to thrive”. We do not give a damn about that; tell us why you failed to get even one reform implemented in five years!
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