Mujuru calls for fresh elections, that is knee-jerk reaction - must implement reforms first

“Former vice president and opposition leader Joice Mujuru has called for fresh elections amid public anger and protests over the country's deteriorating economic situation,” report VOA

“Mrs. Mujuru told a news conference held at her Harare residence Tuesday that President Mugabe should dissolve government to pave way for fresh elections to contain the country's economic crisis.”

This is the kind of knee-jerk reaction one would expect from someone like Mai Mujuru – she is certainly not one of the bright stars on the Zimbabwean political stage. The last thing we would want to do right now is to be stampeded into fresh elections that produce cosmetic changes and nothing more. What we need is substantial political changes to end the dictatorship and lay the solid foundation of a healthy and functional democracy to last this generation and posterity.

Calling for fresh elections without making sure everything is done to ensure every sector and section of Zimbabwe society is freed from influences of the Zanu PF dictatorship will, at best, produce a new government with reduced Zanu PF influence. But, given time, the party will rebuild and bounce straight back as we have seen happen in 2013.

We need to implement ALL the democratic reforms properly and make sure the next elections are free, fair and credible.

It is doubtful if Mai Mujuru understands what people mean by free, fair and credible elections, much less know what it will take to dismantle the Zanu PF dictatorship to create a democracy. She has been in government for donkey years and should have seen the rot in Zanu PF; if she did, then it has never sunk in. It would be irresponsible and reckless of us to let someone like her have a say in what the nation should do at this critical hour in our history.

In 1980, we had our first golden opportunity to build a free, just and prosperous Zimbabwe most of our people dreamt of during the bitter war of independence. Sadly it was not to be because Mugabe and his cronies, including Joice Mujuru, betrayed the nation. They systematically undermine the country's democratic institutions and denied the people their freedoms and rights to create this corrupt and tyrannical dictatorship for the sole purpose of gratifying their insatiable appetites for absolute power and the world pleasure influence and money brings.

We had our best golden chance to end Mugabe corrupt and tyrannical rule during the GNU when Morgan Tsvangirai and his MDC friends were tasked to implement the democratic reforms designed to dismantle the Zanu PF dictatorship. Not even one reform was implemented in five years and Mugabe rigged the July 2013 elections to remain in State House causing the political chaos and economic misery we are seeing today.

Mugabe thought he could rig economic recovery just as easily as he had rig the 2013 elections. He failed to do so because the economy is made of stern stuff than the likes of Mai Mujuru or Tsvangirai the dictator was able to cheat and bamboozle with ease.

Zimbabwe is facing a serious economic meltdown pushing unemployment to 90% plus, 76% of the people are now living in abject poverty, regime is failing to pay civil servant wages to say nothing of essentials like medicines, etc. Meanwhile the ruling elite’s insatiable has soared into the stratosphere with Mugabe himself admitting that $15 billion in diamonds was looted in the last six years alone. Six months latter not even one person has been arrested, proof of the regime’s laissez faire attitude to corruption and all the other problems fuelling the country’s worsening economic meltdown.

Mugabe was warned economic hardships caused by the worsening economic meltdown were socially and politically unsustainable and, since he had failed to address the root causes, he must resign. He had the choice to step and allow peace change or risk violent change to force him out of office if he tried to hang on. The rioting and protests sweep the nation are a consequence of his refusal to step down. Now that the fire of violent rebellion has been lit there is no putting it out until the whole regime is burn to ashes if it tries to hang on to power.

What this nation needs is not just to see the back of Mugabe and his cronies but that we lay a solid foundation for free, just and prosperous Zimbabwe we dreamt of before independence. 36 years of corrupt and tyrannical Zanu PF rule resulting in the deaths of over 30 000 innocent Zimbabwe, the political chaos and the economic hardship was not the Zimbabwe we dreamt of in 1980. This should have never happened; still, we are where we are.

The very least we must do now is to learn from the mistakes of the last 36 years that got us into this mess and take a solemn oath to never make the same mistakes ever again. Surely allowing Mugabe and his cronies so much political room for them to establish this corrupt and tyrannical dictatorship was one big mistake. Our starting point today must be to make sure the dictatorship is totally dismantled and not be just content with removing the dictator and a few of his immediate cronies.

We must implement all the democratic reforms to dismantle the Zanu PF dictatorship and replace it with well-grounded and robust democratic institutions and then hold the nation’s first free, fair and credible elections. We wasted the golden opportunities to build a free, just and prosperous Zimbabwe in 1980 and then in 2013; we must not waste this opportunity this time.