Mliswa/Paradza Zanu PF will "win" 2018 even if every voted for opposition as long as they count the votes!

Confusion is when some people say this and others say that and yet others say something else which is neither this nor that. It is no exaggeration to say in Zimbabwe you will find many people who saying, this, that and something else and, given enough time to speak, will contradict themselves in all three areas! Our situation has not been helped by having all these intellectuals, analysts, leaders, etc., to whom many look up to for clarity and guidance, who are themselves the grandfathers of confusion.

The burning question in Zimbabwe today is: Should the people continue to demand meaningful democratic reforms before the 2018 elections or should we give up confident we can still have the results reflecting the true democratic wish of the people even if no reforms are implemented? Since Temba Mliswa’s electoral victory in the Norton by-election two weeks ago the number of people arguing that Zanu PF can be defeated without even one reform implemented has shot up sadly they are just as confused as ever!

“Thank you for congratulating me, it is significant in that it has given Zimbabweans confidence,” Mliswa told Paul Nyakazeya of the Financial Gazette after his electoral victory. “We had lost confidence in the whole electoral process.

“That is not to say the electoral reforms are in order. No, there are still a lot of electoral malpractices such as vote buying, violence and rigging.

“But you must understand that when people talk about rigging, what kind of rigging is it. It was now in people's minds - it was a fallacy, a propaganda that Zanu-PF even enjoyed that every election is rigged.”

Before he was booted out of Zanu PF in 2014, Temba Mliswa was party provisional chairman and an MP positions that allowed him to have direct access to President Mugabe himself, as he told Nyakazeya in the interview. His re-election back into parliament will give him a lot of political clout. It is reasonable to say many ordinary Zimbabweans will sit up and listen when MP Temba Mliswa speaks. So let us just debunk what he has just said here:

The first thing he is that his electoral victory should restore the people’s confidence in winning future elections. He acknowledges there are problems of vote buying, violence and rigging in one sentence and then dismiss them as “fallacy” in people’s minds and Zanu PF “propaganda” in the next. But just to be consistent with his new found confidence we are to take home the view that Zanu PF’s vote rigging machinery is broken and therefore there is no need to demand democratic reforms designed to dismantle the machinery.

Given enough time confused people like Temba Mliswa would contradict themselves and he did just that. Last year he contested the Hungwe West by-election to win back his parliamentary seat after he was booted out of Zanu PF. He lost that by election.

“The Hurungwe West by-election was marred by violence and intimidation because war veterans were involved,” he explained. “War veterans were out of this (Norton) election and they decided to support me. You do not need many war veterans behind you, what you need is an endorsement from the war veterans.”  

The abuse of war veterans by President Mugabe as the party’s storm troopers to harass, beat, rape and even murder ordinary people and force them to vote for Zanu PF since 2000 has been one of the most shameful and despicable things he has ever done. There is no doubt that when President Mugabe agreed to pay war veteran the unbudgeted Z$50 000 gratuity, Z$ 2 000 pension per month plus education and health allowance in 1997 triggering the 72% devaluation of the Z$; he was making a down payment bribe for their blind loyalty to his selfish no-regime-change agenda.

All those war veterans who agreed to deny the povo their freedoms and basic rights including the right to free and fair elections betrayed the nation and all the liberation war was about. Of course they realized they were doing something wrong which is why even those like Jabulani Sibanda who have fallen out completely with President Mugabe are still ashamed to take about their role as the tyrant’s storm troopers especially in the wanton violence of 2008 elections.

It is sad to note that whilst the rogue war veterans have quarreled with President Mugabe about none payment of the school fees allowances; many of them have pledged their continued blind loyalty to VP Mnangagwa. There is therefore no reason to believe they will not assume their storm trooper thuggery to impose Mnangagwa.

Both Joice Mujuru from Zim PF and Nelson Chamisa from MDC-T have made no secret of actively encouraging the rogue war veterans to join them. Even if all the rogue war veterans crossed the floor and started carrying out their political thuggery for the opposition that will not mean the end of Zanu PF politically motived violence. Zanu PF has already replaced the war veterans with party youths as its storm troopers backed by the usual Police, CIO and other State Institutions, as was shown during the Norton by-elections.

Even if the war veterans have indeed switched their political allegiance from Zanu PF, as Mliswa would have us believe; we do not want the war veterans, youths, or any other grouping assuming any tyrannical powers. We want free and fair elections where candidate seek the vote of the electorate and not to ever worry about getting the endorsement of war veterans of anybody else.

Besides Zanu PF does not rely on the use of violence alone to rig elections; the party has devised a very elaborate and expensive vote rigging scheme. As long as the party continues to enjoy total control of all State institutions and unfettered access to State resources including the billions of dollars looted from Marange diamonds, Zanu PF will rig and win the elections.

“We have allowed ourselves to be crippled by this idea that electoral reform must come from the government or ZEC,” argued Benjanin Paradza President of ZUNDE, joining the debate. “We have tried to push them but the answer we got from loonies like Jonathan Moyo is that ZANU PF will not reform itself out of power. What a painful thing to tell a suffering, dying nation! But it is true. They will not do that so what do we do? We are the people, we are Zimbabwe, and we have the power to do anything including getting rid of ZANU PF from power, if only we do it right.

“For the 2018 election, the right thing to do is to ensure that we turn out in full force to the polls and vote. And to vote, everyone must register and ensure that their names are on the voters' roll. We have less than two years to do this and time is not on our side.”

Zanu PF’s vote rigging schemes are a lot more sophisticated than you think, my brother Paradza. Nearly one million voters were denied the vote in the 2013 elections, for example, because NIKUV, the Israeli company paid a princely sum of $10 million by Mugabe, posted their details some other constituency voters roll than they expected. Many of the voters would have picked this up for themselves if the voters roll was released at least a month before voting day as is stipulated by law. Zanu PF saw to it that the voters roll was not released, even to this day!

In the coming elections, the country will be using a new Biometric Voting System (BVS); there is no doubt that NIKUV is already devising ingenious ways of corrupting the data to deny many real people the vote whilst allowing many ghost voters to vote for Zanu PF. This time the regime will release BVS data knowing fully well that few the technical know-how to read the information let alone analyse it.

Throughout the five years of the GNU, President Mugabe went out of his way to make sure Morgan Tsvangirai and his MDC friends never doubted for even one minute that MDC would win the 2013 elections even if no democratic reform are implemented. He spoilt them rotten by making sure that MDC leaders were afforded all the gravy train trappings of power plus a $4 million mansion for Tsvangirai, a former white owned farm for Ncube, etc., just to keep them sweet. We must not allow ourselves to fall for that again!

As long as nothing has been done to implement all the democratic reforms, Zanu PF will rig and win the 2018 elections just as it did with the July 2013 elections. The party’s vote rigging machinery well-oiled with the billions of dollars looted from Marange diamonds easily overcome the inconvenience of all the rogue war veterans supporting the opposition. Frankly Zanu PF would still “win” even if we all voted for the opposition as long as the party has total control of those entrusted to count! 

Zimbabwe is dying for change but not till we have MPs and not thugs and clowns

Zimbabwe is facing a serious economic meltdown; with unemployment soaring to nauseating heights of 90% plus, no clean running water in most cities and town, government failing to pay civil servants, rampant corruption with $15 billion being looted and no one arrested, etc. The people of Budiriro voted for MDC-T politician Costa Machingauta, like millions of other Zimbabweans up and down the country, to save them from the nightmare of the economic meltdown.

The economic meltdown is getting worse and worse, not better. There is no doubt that MDC-T, for all their claim that they will improve the people’s lives, have no idea what to do.

The key to Zimbabwe’s economic recovery is making sure the nation has competent and democratically accountable leaders which is only possible if the nation has free, fair and credible elections. The nation has to implement a raft of democratic reforms designed to dismantle the Zanu PF vote rigging machinery if there are going to be free and fair elections.

Nothing of any substance or meaning can ever be achieved until we cure ourselves of this intractable political system that has allowed incompetent, corrupt and tyrannical politicians to stay in power by denying the people their basic freedoms and rights including the right to a meaningful vote!

Morgan Tsvangirai and his MDC friends had the golden opportunity to implement the democratic reforms during the GNU. After five years, they failed to get even one reform implemented. Not one!

Even since the July 2013 elections MDC-T has vowed the party will not take part in any future elections until reforms are implemented. Sadly, three years later, they have failed to get even one reform implemented and it is clear they have given up hope of getting any reforms implemented. And, as noted above, the economic meltdown is getting worse and not better.

No doubt MP Machingauta would want to be re-elected in 2018 but, like everyone else in MDC-T, has precious little to show for all his years in parliament. MDC-T politicians know they are corrupt and/or incompetent and since they cannot dazzle the electorate with brilliance they have decided to baffle the people with bull! MP Machingauta decided to amuse us by turning up in parliament dressed as a clown!

Quick, send in the MP …… don’t bother the clown are here!

Zanu PF is party of corrupt and murderous thugs and it took the nation nearly 20 years to realize this. For the last 17 years the people of Zimbabwe have risked life and limb to elect MDC members into power in the hope that they will bring about meaningful democratic change. It has turned out that MDC is a party of incompetent and corrupt clowns. The question is how long will it take the people of Zimbabwe to finally admit the MDC clowns will never get them out of the economic mess Zanu PF landed the nation into?

The Zimbabwe electorate elected corrupt and murderous Zanu PF thugs in 1980 and for the last 17 years the people have put their trust in incompetent and corrupt clowns to end the Zanu PF dictatorship. If the people are serious about getting out of the hell-hole Mugabe has landed the nation into then it is clear that they must take the task of electing competent and quality leaders with the seriousness the matter demands.

It was downright foolish to have entrusted the destiny of the nation in a corrupt and murderous thug like Mugabe but only a fool will then go on to elect a corrupt and incompetent clown like Tsvangirai to get the nation out of the hell-hole. Zimbabwe is desperate for meaningful change, is dying for economic recovery; we would not be in this hell-hole if we had not elected thugs in 1980 and clowns will never lead us out of the hellhole.

People get the government they deserve and we after 36 years we cannot say we do not deserve this corrupt and tyrannical Mugabe dictatorship complete with the coterie of completely useless opposition clowns! 

When mafia Nyikayaramba talk of "security threat" he is threatening you. By Nomusa Garikai

"It (corruption) is now a security threat because it is causing people to create mafias or alliances where if one is accused of being corrupt, he quickly asks for the help of other big names to protect him or her,” Chief of Staff Administration Major General Douglas Nyikayaramba told a Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Defence and Security.

"The ordinary citizens expect authorities to address these issues, but then if they see nothing happening to the alleged criminals, they will end up being ungovernable and creating problems for the defence forces.

"Development is being derailed so that individuals can benefit at the expense of the whole nation."

Yes, it is the same Major General Nyikayaramba who swore just before the 2008 elections that he would never “salute anyone with no liberation war credentials!” A serious treasonous act in its own right.

As for his condemnation of corruption, Nyikayamba could only fool the fools because the Zimbabwe’s security sector involvement in the looting of Marange diamonds is an open secret. Professor Jonathan Moyo, whose $400 000 fraud case is the hot news at present and one of the “big names” Nyikayaramba was talking about, knows only too well of the Army’s looting and was quick to remind the errand Major General.

“Nyikayaramba said corruption is a major security threat. Unravel and uncover missing $15 billion,” challenged the “nutty” Professor.

The truth is the nutty Professor, the treasonous Major General and all the other corrupt cronies up and down the country are all extremely nervous about even some truth on corruption coming out in the public domain for two reasons:

1)   they all know that if the whole truth about Professor Moyo’s looting was to come out, for example, they would have opened the flood gates for details in other cases of corruption to come out. You throw someone like Professor Moyo to the wolves and you can be sure of one thing they will not want to go down alone, they have collected a lot of detailed information of other people’s corrupt activities and will sing like a canary to save their skin or just for the hell of it.

2)   Once people know the truth on some corrupt activity then, as day follows night, they will be demanding that the corruption be stopped immediately and that no stone should be left unturned to recover the loot and punish the guilt. So those who had benefited from the corrupt activity will not just have their source of easy wealth turned off but, worst of all, facing tough payback time.

For the last 36 years President Mugabe has steadfastly denied that corruption was a problem in the country. He attributed the country’s poor economic performance on the drought, the targeted sanctions imposed by the West, etc.; corruption was never ever mention. By pretending corrupt was not a problem the regime has allowed it the space and time to grow and spread to the deadly killer cancer it is today.

Zimbabwe is facing serious economic meltdown, unemployment has soared to 90% plus, public health and education have all but collapsed due to poor funding, government is failing to pay civil servants, etc. And yet the nation continues to lose billions of dollars every month through the now institutionalized looting spree.

Not even a wealthy nation like the USA with a GDP of $18 trillion can sustain the massive hemorrhaging of $15 billion through corruption what more Zimbabwe’s a GPD of $14 billion!

Zimbabwe has no chance of ever ending the serious economic meltdown it is facing today without first ending the rampant corruption!

It is great that people like Major General Nyikayaramba now publicly acknowledge that where corruption has been allowed to grow and spread unchecked for decades those involved often gang up into mafia syndicates because that is exactly what has happened in Zimbabwe. We have mafia thugs in the Police, Army, ZEC, parastatals like ZESA and Air Zimbabwe, etc. and with the Godfather housed in State House.

Nyikayaramba is also right in saying corruption in now a serious security threat to the nation. Since the state security is in the hands of the Mafia gangsters like him who are sworn to maintain the corrupt status quo at all cost, on the one hand. On the other hand, the corruption has produced the serious economic meltdown which is socially and politically unsustainable.

The nation is already walking on the knife edge of economic collapse and social upheaval because of the economic meltdown brought on by the decades of corruption. To do nothing about ending the corruption will tip the nation over the edge. The only reason why the nation has done nothing about ending the corruption all these last 36 years is because the mafia Zanu PF regime has always threatened the nation with carefully Zanu PF orchestrated security problems.

For 36 years we have allowed people like the corrupt Professor Moyo, treasonous Major General Nyikayaramba, the corrupt and murderous Mugabe and the rest of the Zanu PF mafia thugs hold the nation to ransom; we were to allow them to loot the nation blind or they will instigate nationwide lawlessness. They have looted the nation blind alright, they are robbing us of our human dignity and even the bear necessities of life, and yet they still demand more! The question is how much longer are we going to allow this madness to continue?