Dr Alex Magaisa teams up with the Herald to send the
opposition on a wild goose chase as the opposition chases Mugabe’s 63%
popularity rating according to an Afrobarometer survey.
“My message to the opposition in the wake of the
Afrobarometer survey has been that the opposition should not be flippant in
their response to its findings. Even if they have criticisms of the report and
believe that it is not a true reflection of the people's attitudes, my advice
has been to adopt the "What if it is correct?" approach,” Magaisa
told The Herald Political Editor, Tichaona Zindoga in a long interview.
“In other words, even if you don't believe it, assume that it
might be right and find ways of addressing the issues that it raises.”
This is a nauseatingly nonsensical argument, design to set
the opposition on a wild goose chase whilst the hare they should be after is
allowed to get away.
No doubt Dr Magaisa gave MDC the same stupid “what if it is
correct!” advice in 2012 following another Afobarometer survey that gave Mugabe
a higher popularity rating than MDC. MDC took their eyes off the ball – of
implementing the democratic reforms – then to focus on holding nationwide
political rallies which had MDC leaders criss-crossing the country east to west
and north to south and everywhere else in between to improve their rating.
In the end Mugabe did not “win” the July 2013 elections
because he was popular but because he was able to blatantly rig the election;
that is the irrefutable historic fact. Nearly one million voters failed to cast
their vote, most of them were suspected to be MDC supporters, in that election
because Mugabe, with the help of the Israeli company Nikuv, had deliberately
posted the voters names in the wrong constituency.
Zanu PF supporters were issued with voter registration slips
which allowed them to vote although their names were not in the voters roll.
The arrangement these supporters to at more than one polling station. There
were many confirmed reports of bussed in voters voting on elections day.
If MDC had ignored the Afrobarometer’s survey and just
concentrated on task of implementing all the democratic reforms, as SADC and
other parties advised, then MDC would have stopped Nikuv tampering with the
voters roll, for example, because an independent and none partisan ZEC would
have ensured an accurate voters roll was produced and released to all parties
on time.
There would have been no bussed in voters because a reformed
Zimbabwe Republic Police would have arrested those involved and thus nipped
that vote rigging trick in the bud, etc. In short, the July 2013 elections
would have been free, fair and credible.
Instead of advising MDC to once again concentrate on getting
all the democratic reforms implemented and thus stop a repeat of the July 2013
elections in Zimbabwe’s next elections; Magaisa is once again telling the
opposition to take their eyes off the ball. And judging from MDC-T’s response
the distraction is working!
“Naturally, the MDC will
use the (Afrobarometer) report to inform its strategies going forward. These
types of surveys assist us in providing data on the electoral environment,”
responded MDC-T spokesman Obert Gutu.
In all it’s over 15
years in politics MDC-T has never produced anything anyone could call a
“strategy” and no one expects these corrupt and incompetent individuals to do
so now or ever.
MDC failed to implement
even one reform in their five years in the GNU because they are incompetent, they
swallowed hook, line and sinker of Magaisa’s stupid advice, and corrupt, Mugabe
bribed them to kick reforms into the tall grass. Of course MDC leaders
“sold-out” as Mukanya Thomas Mapfumo rightly pointed out.
“It is an indisputable
fact that the present political environment in Zimbabwe is dominated by fear
and insecurity largely because of the tyrannical and dictatorial tendencies of
the Zanu PF regime. Since attaining independence in April, 1980, the Zanu PF
regime has, over the years, perfected the art of political thuggery, voter
intimidation and electoral manipulation,” continued Gutu, with his usual
breath-taking incompetence.
MDC-T has already produced a watered down list of eight
reforms from the original raft of democratic reforms agreed in the 2008 GPA.
Whilst MDC-T has rightly identified Zanu PF’s culture of political violence as
a serious impediment to the holding of free, fair and credible elections yet
none of the eight reforms the party has demanded will do anything to end this
serious problem. Nothing!
Even if Afrobarometer’s survey was right and one accepted
Magaisa’s "What if it is correct?" approach; still it would have made
no sense back in 2012 to ignore the implementation of the democratic reforms
given Mugabe’s historic record of rigged elections. Today, with the benefit of
hindsight of yet another Zanu PF blatantly rigged July 2013 elections; one
would expected MDC’s commitment to getting ALL the democratic reforms
implemented properly unshakeable. Instead MDC is again neglecting this task to
chasing this popularity rat race!
4 comments:
Why they called themselves MDC - Renewal, I will never know! This is the same group of corrupt and incompetent individuals who sold-out during the GNU. What is there to renew? What they should have done is apologize to the nation for selling out to Mugabe and resign. They should have followed Judas Iscariot's example, the biggest sell-out in history, he brought back the thirty pieces of silver and hanged himself. He did not mess around with renewal or any of that repentance bullshit because there is no going back for sell-out!
As the then administrative head of Masvingo province, Bhasikiti had uneasy relationship with the flood victims who branded him as the face of an uncaring government which has failed to deliver on its promises.
Now that he is no longer par of government, Bhasikiti is now speaking the language of the affected families as the Member of Parliament for Mwenezi East as he moved a motion seeking urgent government intervention - See more at: http://www.bulawayo24.com/index-id-news-sc-national-byo-67664.html#sthash.jNid40eQ.dpuf
Poor Bhasikiti, after years of hunting with the dogs he now thinks he can run with the hares too! He not only smells like a dog, looks like a dog, eats like a dog and s**ts like a dog; he is a dog and will never fool anyone that he is anything else!
Many of those who fought in the war of independence (no doubt some exaggerate the role their played whilst others played no role, all their heroic stories are false) have always considered themselves to be special and therefore entitled to special privileges, freedoms and rights. They really believe they have the right to oppress and deny other the freedoms and rights the whole nation fought and many died for.
As the liberation heroes they believe they have the right to deny everyone else the freedoms and rights since it was them who made it possible for the rest to have these freedoms and rights.
The basic human freedoms and rights are not for anyone, not even those who carried the guns and suffered greatly under the white racist regime, to give to some deny to others. This is something people as low ranking in the Zanu PF dictatorship as the green-bombers, war vet like Mutemadanda and Jabulani Sibanda right p to Mugabe himself have failed to understand. They must be made to understand this.
The right to a meaningful say in the governance of the country is a basic right that must be granted to all and none of this “no regime change” nonsense. If the people's vote cannot result in a change of government then what value is that vote to anyone!
@ frogmaster
By failing to implement not even one form necessary for free and fair elections in return for all the gravy train goodies Mugabe gave them, plus $ 4 million Highlands mansion for Tsvangirai, MDC sold-out. They betrayed all the people of Zimbabwe who are suffering under this Mugabe dictatorship.
It is now two years since the rigged elections and you still have no clue what happened; that speaks volumes about you!
Post a Comment