“The ruling ZANU-PF is exploiting the many
weaknesses of Zimbabwe’s electoral system to outpace the country’s divided
opposition. Yet without a real change of policy, the country seems doomed to
steeper decline,” wrote Piers Pigou.
Stating Zimbabwe’s seemingly intractable
economic and political chaos!
“The
region could help. The Southern Africa Development Community and African Union
have developed a framework for electoral conditions, and should launch an
assessment of Zimbabwe’s democratic progress and shortfalls. They should carefully
consider the concerns raised by NERA and others, and propose realistic reform
implementation timelines ahead of the polls,” he suggested, as a solution.
Pigou is right, both SADC and AU could help
Zimbabwe get out of this political paralysis; the truth is they will be very
reluctant to help. The two were involved, especially the regional body SADC,
throughout the 2008 to 2013 GNU; they regional advised Tsvangirai and his MDC
friends to implement the raft of democratic reforms designed to stop Zanu PF
rigging elections. Their advice fell on deaf ears.
President Mugabe had turned his charm
offensive, bribing the MDC leaders with the trappings of power and, as bonus,
gave Tsvangirai a $4 million Highlands mansion. In return, MDC leaders kicked the
reforms into the tall grass and failed to get even one reform implemented in
five years of the GNU. Not one!
SADC leaders accused the MDC leaders of “enjoying
themselves whilst in the GNU and forgetting why they were there,” in sheer
frustration! It is therefore not surprising that SADC leaders have stayed out
of Zimbabwe’s seemingly intractable political mess. At least for now, and not have
to deal with the same dishonest Zanu PF tricksters and the breathtakingly
corrupt and incompetent opposition leaders of the failed GNU!
The truth is Zimbabwe’s political and economic
mess have a solution, implement the democratic reforms designed to stop Zanu PF
rigging elections; this is what SADC leaders tried to get MDC to do but failed
hence their resigned frustration. So why is it that not even one democratic
reform was implement during the GNU when we had the golden opportunity to do
so? The answer is obvious; we have a breathtakingly corrupt and incompetent
opposition and a naïve electorate.
Even in the dying last months of the GNU MDC
had the chance to save the nation from another Zanu PF rigged 2013 election, as
Senator David Coltart readily admitted in his book.
“The worst aspect for me about the failure to
agree a coalition was that both MDCs couldn’t now do the obvious – withdraw
from the elections,” explained Senator Coltart.
“The electoral process was so flawed, so
illegal, that the only logical step was to withdraw, which would compel SADC to
hold Zanu PF to account. But such was the distrust between the MDC-T and MDC-N
that neither could withdraw for fear that the other would remain in the
elections, winning seats and giving the process credibility.”
It was only after the rigged elections in
which many MDC politicians lost their seats on the gravy train that the cataract
scales, born out of greed, finally fell off. They saw the wisdom of boycotting
flawed elections. They will never take part in any future elections until reforms
are implemented. “No reform, no elections!” they said.
Sadly, they soon forgot their resolution; they
cannot resist contesting the 2018 elections for the few gravy train seats Zanu
PF gives away to entice opposition participation. The cataract fog born of
greed has returned!
It is for the people of Zimbabwe themselves,
not SADC, to stop yet another flawed election taking place in Zimbabwe.
Zimbabweans should have been awake to monitor
the goings-on throughout the GNU years. They would have picked the truth of
Tsvangirai and his MDC friends “enjoying and forgetting why they were there,”
as SADC leaders rightly said. Zimbabweans too would have seen the futility of
participating in flawed and illegal elections, etc. and demanded decisive
action.
The people have allowed MDC to waste the
golden opportunity to implement the reforms, etc. out of sheer laziness on
their part, as contrast to MDC leaders’ myopic blindness brought on by greed!
The people of Zimbabwe have had the last four
years, since the rigged July 2013 elections, to review the GNU events and understand
why Zanu PF was able to blatantly rig the 2013 elections.
“THE landslide victory of President Robert
Mugabe’s ruling party in a 21 January by-election in Zimbabwe’s Bikita West
constituency is a troubling bellwether for the future of the country,” warned
Pier Pigou.
“It signals that presidential and
parliamentary elections in mid-2018 are unlikely to be credible, free or fair,
and also that without fundamental change through a legitimate election, Harare
will maintain the self-destructive policies that have done so much damage.”
Pigou’s warning underlines the reality that
the country cannot afford yet another rigged election and thus focus the minds
of Zimbabweans on what THEY, not someone else, must do to ensure the next
elections are free and fair!
The people of Zimbabwe must wake up from their
sloth-like slumber and demand of Zanu PF the implementation of the democratic
reforms, the pre-requisite for free, fair and credible. A free and meaningful
vote is a right and not a privilege that Zanu PF can give to some and deny
others. Zimbabwe’s economic recovery is now dependent on meaningful political
change.
As of the double-crossing opposition, the
people must demand that they promise to deliver democratic change by honouring
their “No reform, no election!” resolution.
Zimbabwe’s political and economic problems are
not really intractable, after all they are man-made – 37 years of incompetent,
corrupt and tyrannical Zanu PF dictatorial rule – and per se within the realms
of mortals to solve. The Zanu PF dictatorship is itself a manifestation of the real
root cause of Zimbabwe’s problems – a populous that has yet to take its
responsibility of elect competent leaders with some common sense, at least,
with the seriousness and urgency the matter demands!
15 comments:
The DA in Gutu has reportedly instructed local chiefs to block the MDC-T leader, from meeting with his party supporters in the district. Tsvangirai has typically said and done nothing to stop this!
So, if the opposition leaders accept this state of affairs, what hope is there for the ordinary villagers to stop this madness!
Tsvangirai has good reason to be worried about the in-fighting and break up in ZimPF because he was one who has drum up the importance of ZimPF in next year's elections as key players in stopping Zanu PF rigging the elections. It was bad enough that ZimPF proved ineffective in the Bikita West by-election but now with the party breaking up it makes the claim of ZimPF stopping Zanu PF rigging the election a total joke.
Tsvangirai must now tell the nation why MDC-T is calling off the "No reform, no election!" when it is clear there is nothing to stop vote rigging!
Morgan Tsvangirai is reportedly concerned about ZimPF breaking up; he has good reason to be concerned.
Tsvangirai was one who drummed up the importance of ZimPF in next year's elections as key players in stopping Zanu PF rigging the elections. It was bad enough that ZimPF proved ineffective in the Bikita West by-election but now with the party breaking up it makes the claim of ZimPF stopping Zanu PF rigging the election a total joke.
Tsvangirai must now tell the nation why MDC-T has calling off the "No reform, no election!" when it is clear the party has done absolutely nothing to stop vote rigging and a repeat of 2013!
Senator Coltart was right in saying boycotting the 2013 elections was the obvious thing that year. Well it is more than the obvious thing today to boycott the 2018 elections and all those who sell-out and take part will have a lot to answer for this time! We cannot keep making the same mistake over and over again.
We cannot have people like Tsvangirai telling people he will win the elections when he knows that the whole process is flawed from start to finish. We need leaders who tell the truth and deal with the difficult problems and not sweep them under the carpet and lead the people from one disaster into the next, from one blunder into another!
We have failed to unseat Mugabe not because it is impossible to do so but because, in Tsvangirai, we have someone who is so incompetent he will never unseat Mugabe. During the GNU President Mugabe and Zanu PF were definitely on the ropes and it was Tsvangirai who let them off the hook! Tsvangirai is no longer part of the solution of end the Zanu PF dictatorship, he is now a serious part of the problem!
Wilbert Mukori is my real name and I have a birth certificate, pass port, etc., etc.; I say what I believe is right without fear or shame. I have always expressed my views thus going back to the 1980s as you can find for yourself if you look in the old Chronicle, Fin Gaz, etc. You cannot say the same about Chiremba Wematombo!
You have never said anything, as far as I know, that Mugabe would not approve of, on the contrary you have played your role as a double agent - saying things that will appear to the uninitiated to be anti-Mugabe but they are not. You are using an assumed name because you are ashamed and hide your true identity because you fear someone shows you for the sell-out you are.
I am furious at Tsvangirai and MDC for selling-out and failing to implement even one democratic reforms during the GNU. I have said this a thousand times and will say it a thousands times again because it is true and, more significantly, implementing the reforms is the cure to stopping Zanu PF rigging the elections and have free, fair and credible elections. My mission is to get the reforms implemented and I will do that!
Anyone with any common sense will know Mugabe has spent most of his time and looted treasure and committed all manner crime and thuggery from vote rigging , rape and even murder - he has murdered over 30 000 - to ensure one thing above all - that there are no free, fair and credible elections. So only an first class idiot would say someone fighting for free and fair elections - the one thing Mugabe dreads above all else - is a CIO.
You may be a CIO double agent Chiremba Wematombo but above all you are a first class idiot!
This corrupt and tyrannical Zanu PF regime is like a school bully who stamps on the victim's toes and twist their foot to crash them whilst pretending not to hear the victim's protestations. When the bully happens to be a school prefect or some such authority figure, you know you are in deep trouble. Here the bully has all the corrupted State institutions and public resources to back him, has ruthlessly crashed the lives out of over 30 000 innocent Zimbabweans to say nothing of the millions who have been beaten and raped.
Pastor Mawarire's life has been saved because of his high profile but is can be sure the regime will be watching him 24/7 and the harassment will never stop.
The regime has us all cowing and grovelling in fear to its caprice and tyranny. The more we have given in to regime's machinations the more powerful, give an inch to appease these bullies and they take twenty inches and tomorrow they will be back to take a hundred inches. There is no pleasing these thugs!
It is times like this that one deeply regrets the wasted opportunities to end the Zanu PF tyranny, the best chance by far was during the GNU. Tsvangirai sold-out our best chance to end Zanu PF dictatorship peaceful for a $4 million Highlands mansion and all that globe trotting. It is a great pity that many Zimbabweans have been so painfully slow to see Tsvangirai is now part of the problem and not part of the solution!
It is tempting to tell you, Wilbert, to ignore people like Chiremba but since
there are many Zimbabweans who are as insane as he/she; we would not be in this mess if we did not have so many insane people and, worse still, we will never get out of the mess as long as they continue to rule the roost! We have to acknowledge the problem of our insane fellow citizens and try find a cure, if we can.
Albert Einstein said insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expect a different result. Zimbabweans have been taking part in rigged elections again and again, knowing the elections will be, and expecting that Zanu PF will lose - we are clearly dealing with a lot of insane people in Zimbabwe!
When one looks at people like Chiremba Wematombo, putting aside his/her double agent role of pretending to be a caring MDC-T supporter to encourage the real MDC supporters to continue in their folly, one cannot deny that there are MDC supporters who insane in their own right. We have to address this herd of mindless sheep.
Since the 2008 elections neither Tsvangirai nor any of his supporters can ever say they did not know Zanu PF rigs elections. In the March 2008 Zanu PF turned 73% into 47% after six weeks recount. President Mugabe won the July 2008 presidential run-off by using wanton violence. In the July 2013 Zanu PF denied nearly one million opposition supporters a vote whilst bussing its own supporters to cast multiple votes.
Nothing, absolutely nothing, has been done to stop Zanu PF rigging the 2018 elections and yet once again the usual suspects are queuing up to take part in the elections hoping against hope that Zanu PF will lose an election it has a free hand is rigging!
What Einstein did not explain is that the insane are not only incapable of figuring out for themselves that one does not toss a coin 100 even 1 000 times and have Heads each time with a normal coin but worse still not comprehend the warning of fake coins with Heads on both sides.
It is bad enough that our simpleton like Chiremba has completely failed to grasp the true meaning of rigged elections but his/her head full of nonsense. We have a serious problem trying to end a corrupt and tyrannical regime rigging the elections for the umpteen time and the idiot is asking what is the relationship between Wilbert and Patrick. What difference would this make to the task of stopping Zanu PF rigging the elections, is what I would want to know?
We are in this mess because we have insane people with the right to vote. As a nation, we have more than our fair share of insane people; we have a real task in our hands opening their eye, especial when those who are blind think they are the smartest people on earth.
MDC has been contesting elections since 2000 and has lost the elections not because of what Wilbert said but because Zanu PF rigged the vote and the opposition has foolish people who will not do the "obvious" thing of implementing the reforms BEFORE the elections as Senator Coltart admitted.
No doubt you want to teach Wilbert the same lesson you taught Itai Dzamara and you are teaching Pastor Mawarire right now. As long as nothing is done to stop the economic rot, you will have your hands full because the demand for political change is only going to get louder!
It is not all who call themselves silly names like Zanu yaora who are fighting for democratic change! There are a lot more wolves in sheep clothing - pretentious anti-Zanu PF names!
Air Zimbabwe is operating 3 planes with 800 employees and 28 directors. President Mugabe’s son-in-law was the most recent top-heavy addition to the company!
So how much is the parastatal earning in revenue and how much is it spending to earn that revenue?
Air Zimbabwe is not the only enterprise with more chiefs than Indians, every institution in the corrupt Mugabe Zimbabwe is bloated to the point of being ridiculous. Whilst Ian Smith had fought the liberation war with only two brigades, for example, President Mugabe increased the size of the army by creating three more brigades after independence and yet the nation not even at war!
If you cannot attack the message attack the messenger!
Those of us in the Zimbabwe Social Democrats (ZSD) have made it clear we are committed to fight for free, fair and credible elections because it is a fundament right of every Zimbabwean and, most important of all, it is the key to securing a competent and accountable government the nation solely needs! The country has failed to stop the mismanagement, corruption and lawlessness, the root causes of the economic meltdown, because it has failed to remove from power the incompetent and corrupt Zanu PF dictatorship because the regime rigs elections.
Stop Zanu PF rigging elections and this nation will have the competent and accountable government.
ZSD has criticized Tsvangirai and his MDC friends for betraying the nation during the GNU by failing to implement not even one reform when they had the golden opportunity to do so. President Mugabe bribe MDC leaders with the trappings of office and a $4 million mansion for Tsvangirai and they returned the favour by doing nothing to implement the democratic reform. Of course, MDC leaders sold-out!
MDC leaders have not repented after sell-out the nation during the GNU they are carrying on in their treasonous ways. They participated in the 2013 elections even thou they knew the elections were flawed because they wanted the few seats Zanu PF gives away. Tsvangirai and his friends promised they will not contest another election until the reforms are implemented but have since change they minds, they again going to contest the 2018 elections.
Tsvangirai et al sold-out during the GNU and have since been pursuing their own selfish agenda of securing a seat on the gravy train regardless of how much that undermines the nation's struggle for free, fair and credible elections. ZSD members and many other Zimbabweans out there have done a great job of highlighting this fundament weakness in Tsvangirai and all the other opposition leaders pursuing the same line.
The exposure of Zimbabwe's opposition camp as corrupt, incompetent and as totally useless in delivering the democratic changes the nation wants has not gone down well with both Zanu PF and the opposition. The latter are protecting the scraps they are getting and it is in Zanu PF's selfish interest to maintain the public facade that the opposition is competent and there is no need to implement the dreaded democratic reforms.
What you, Chiremba Wematombo and your friends Denford Masariri, Zanu yaora and many others have failed to do is produce any counter arguments to prove Wilbert and others are wrong; Tsvangirai et all did not sell-out during the GNU and they are capable of delivering change. So, what you are doing instead is attacking Wilbert, the messenger.
Any readers foolish enough not to see the difference and, worse still, the futility of attacking the messenger and not the message have only themselves to blame. As for me, I think the increased attack on the messengers of change is proof both Zanu PF and the country's mediocre opposition are feeling the increasing pressure for meaningful change and they panicking!
@ Top Sgeleqe
It is a historic fact that Zanu PF did not withdraw all its freedom fighters from the field in assembly points as agreed. The party used these militants to intimidate the voters and stop other parties campaigning freely. The late Cephas Msipa has talked of how PF Zapu was stopped campaigning in some areas, "no go areas", in the 1980 elections.
It is naive to claim the 1980 elections were free and fair and as soon as Zanu PF got into power it has seen to it that all the elections that followed were not free and fair.
We are in this political and economic mess because we have failed to stop Zanu PF rigging elections, we have ignored the problem for many years and when we had the opportunity to deal with it have failed to settle the matter. We must now deal with the problem of vote rigging decisively and restore the rights of every Zimbabweans to free, fair and credible elections and not waste time, money and human lives pussy-footing over the matter.
@Phunyukabemphethe
Zanu PF rigged the 1980 elections just as it has rigged all the other elections so this talk of anyone voting for the party is an oxymoron. Zanu PF has never been 100% Shonas just as PF Zapu was never 100% Ndebeles and the other tribes; Zanu Pf was even more integrated after the 1987 unity accord; so, your tribal ranting is nonsense and counter productive.
Many of us want a democratic, peaceful and progressive Zimbabwe post this Zanu PF dictatorship and not a nation divided along tribal lines which is what your tribal vomit is promoting!
@ Shona hater
Many other people from all the other tribes have been in positions of power and authority and they have not changed much! Your tribal hatred is just a variant of President Mugabe's hatred of other political parties and look the mess that caused. Whilst many people are fighting for a democratic, free and prosperous Zimbabwe you are hell-bend on dragging the nation back into Gukurahundi mark2 with your tribal agenda.
Both MDC-T and ZimPF have shown that they have no answer to Zanu PF's vote rigging juggernaut as we saw in the 2013 nation elections and the recent Bikita West by-elections, respectively. The people of Zimbabwe must reject this nonsense of being dragging into flawed elections by a corrupt and incompetent opposition camp whose only interest in contesting the elections is to win the few seats Zanu PF throws away.
“The worst aspect for me about the failure to agree a coalition was that both MDCs couldn’t now do the obvious – withdraw from the elections,” wrote Senator David Coltart in his recent book.
“The electoral process was so flawed, so illegal, that the only logical step was to withdraw, which would compel SADC to hold Zanu PF to account. But such was the distrust between the MDC-T and MDC-N that neither could withdraw for fear that the other would remain in the elections, winning seats and giving the process credibility.”
Senator Coltart was commenting on MDC leaders’ stupid decision to contest the 2013 elections. Now there is no opposition politician who does not know that Zanu PF is throwing away the few seats to entice them to participate and give the flawed and illegal elections a veneer of legitimacy. The nation is sick and tired of politicians, on both sides of the political divide, selling out on such key issues corruption, freedom, free and fair elections, etc.
MDC-T, ZimPF and all the opposition politicians contesting the 2018 elections with not even one reform implemented are doing it knowing the elections will not be free and fair, they know they will be helping to perpetuate the Zanu PF dictatorship and know too they are contesting for the selfish reward of the scraps gravy train seats Zanu PF throws away. Zimbabwe cannot afford yet another rigged election and therefore no stone will be left unturned to stop another opposition sell-out!
We do not need President Trump, SADC or anyone else to do for us what we can do for ourselves. We can stop Tsvangirai, Mujuru and all these other opposition politicians selling-out by participating in elections we all know will be rigged for the sake of the few seats Zanu PF throws at them.
As long as there are opposition candidates contesting the flawed elections Zanu PF will never accept democratic reforms. As long as Zanu PF continue to throws away a few gravy train seats there will be many opposition politicians who will give all manner of excuses to justify why they must contest the elections. This is a vicious cycle but one we can easily break at its weakest link - the opposition.
We must make it clear to all opposition politicians that the price for selling-out of free, fair and credible elections is now prohibitively high - they will be told in no uncertain terms that, by contesting flawed elections, they are selling-out and this time they will be held to account if they ignore the warning!
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