Patson
Dzamara could not hide his disappointed at the small crowd that bothered to
attend the “Feedback Rally” called by NERA group on 5 April 2017.
"I am appalled by what I am seeing. I for one was out of the country, attending to some personal business. I was supposed to return to Zimbabwe tomorrow but I had to change my ticket and I came back today in order to attend the rally,” said Dzamara.
"The lack of co-ordination and poor attendance is disappointing. I am totally surprised that it seems as though Zimbabweans are not yet ready to cross over. I wonder what more incentive we need to face Mugabe's morbid regime head on. Elections are around the corner and Zimbabweans are still dilly dallying. At this rate we may not make it through."
Patson
Dzamara is the brother of Itai Dzamara, the Africa Square activist who, with a
handful of others wrote to President Mugabe demanding that he must go because
he has failed to govern. Itai was abducted, for his trouble, over two years ago
in broad daylight and has never been seen or heard from ever since. It is
tempting to tell Patson to take heart from his brother’s activism; although
only a handful of other stood by Itai’s side in Africa Square, the truth of his
message was not in anyway diminished! Still, there is need to take stalk here.
Asking
the people “to face Mugabe’s morbid regime head on” when there is hope of
making a difference is one thing. Asking them to face the regime when there is no
hope of changing even one iota is another matter.
The
people of Zimbabwe believed Morgan Tsvangirai, Tendai Biti, Welshman Ncube and all
the other MDC leaders that the 2013 elections will be free, fair and credible
and will bring about meaningful political change. Of course, the whole nation
was disappointed and shocked when Zanu PF blatantly rig the elections land the
nation in the economic and political mess we see today.
The
people were very foolish to believe have MDC leaders the 2013 elections would
be free and fair since not even one democratic reforms was implemented in the
five years of the GNU. The people should have listened to the SADC leaders who
warned against taking part in the elections with no reforms in place. Mr
Dzamara will have to agree that the people will be very, very foolish indeed to
allow themselves to be dragged into yet another election without demanding the
assurance that the necessary reforms have been implemented this time.
After
the rigged July 2013 elections all the MDC factions agreed on two things; that
Zanu PF rigged the 2013 elections and that they will not contest any future
elections without first implementing the reforms. MDC-T, MDC-N and the MDC Renewal
(before it too fragmented further) have all boycotted all by-elections in pursuance
of their “No reform, no election!” resolutions.
It is
common knowledge that not even one democratic reform has been implemented since
the July 2013 elections. Douglas Mwonzora, Secretary General of MDC-T and
convener of the NERA grouping, has himself admitted that less than 5% of the
electoral reforms have been implemented.
So
why, oh why are MDC-T, MDC-N and all the other opposition parties, 50 at the
last count, all saying they will be contesting next year’s elections?
Senator
David Coltart explained why the MDC leaders had all contested the 2013
elections even when it was obvious Zanu PF was going to rig the election.
“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 in his book The Struggle Continues 50 years of tyranny in Zimbabwe.
“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.”
So,
when MDC leaders, to the man and woman, maintained their position that the 2013
elections will be free and fair they all knew they were lying!
Today
the same opposition claim they are being very courageous in once again
contesting the elections and “look the tyrant in the eyes,” as Tendai Biti told
Zimeye listeners a week ago. They are all lying again, they are contesting the flawed
elections to win the few gravy train seats Zanu PF has since learned to give
away as bait.
No Mr
Dzamara the people have very good reason to be wary of our corrupt and
incompetent politicians, on both sides of the political divide, because they
have been lied to, conned, betrayed, harassed, beaten, raped and many even
murdered in cold blood and yet the promises of freedom, human rights and
economic prosperity continue to be a mirage.
If
the people are refusing to attend meaningless NERA Rallies and to be dragged
into a flawed election in which Zanu PF and the opposition share the spoils of
power then this is the wisest move the ordinary people of Zimbabwe have ever
made! With no reforms in place, there is nothing for povo in next year’s
elections other than the usual broken promises and another five years of misery
and hopelessness.
4 comments:
The feedback rally was to announce that ZEC will buy the BVR kits from one of the three suppliers shortlisted by UNPD. This was the "great victory for the people of Zimbabwe"? I am not surprised the people did not bother to attend the rally; who has time to waste listening to that rubbish!
These opposition politicians know that not even one democratic reform has been implemented and yet they are mobilizing to contest in the elections. They clearly do not care whether the ordinary people are harassed, harangued, beaten, raped and even killed as long as they get a seat on the gravy train. If povo are ever going to get any of these politicians to listen to them then right and proper that povo start boycotting these stupid rallies where they are promised everything but get nothing.
“Zimbabwe’s economy remains in a dire state. While it has stabilized since 2008-09—when the inflation rate peaked at close to 80 billion percent per month and a loaf of bread cost 10 million Zimbabwean dollars —the best estimates put 63 percent of Zimbabweans below the poverty line, while 4.1 million people—more than a quarter of the 14.5 million population—are short of food because of a drought Mugabe declared a national disaster in parts of Zimbabwe in 2016. Economists attribute much of the economic meltdown to misguided policies by Mugabe’s ZANU-PF regime—such as forced land redistribution from white farmers, often to government officials with little farming experience, which resulted in international donors suspending aid in the early 2000s to Zimbabwe. Between 2000 and 2008, Zimbabwe’s GDP fell by half, the sharpest contraction in the shortest period of time of any economy not at war, according to the World Bank,” reported Spotlight Zimbabwe.
Well there is something every Zimbabwean will always hand their head in shame for generations to come. What kind of people would allow themselves to be dragged into the gutter and then into the sewer itself and for all these years?
In our soul searching, the people have to ask themselves how they had allowed themselves to be ruled by such corrupt, incompetent and murderous tyrants like President Mugabe and his Zanu PF thugs. It would be foolish for Zimbabweans to ever entrust the nation’s destiny to corrupt and incompetent leaders again. It would be sheer folly to elect back into office those leaders with a proven track record as corrupt and incompetent.
Mai Mujuru is corrupt and incompetent. Any hope of her “reinventing herself” are clearly misplaced since she ready admit the Zanu PF regime of who she was a very senior member of was corrupt and oppressive but denies being corrupt and oppressive herself. If the truth be told, the only reason she is so desperate to get back into high office is so she can take up the looting and plunder from where she left off when she was booted out of Zanu PF and government.
“Every organisation big or small needs a system of internal monitoring and evaluation. Otherwise if you say anyone criticising me is a sell-out, you can’t improve,” said Fay Chung.
“It’s now even worse because if you criticise Zanu PF leadership you are fired from the party because you are now a sell-out. You may be arrested, beaten up or chased away from the party.”
Ms Chung is right. It is a pity that she did not say it when she was in power and had a chance of changing things. She is saying these things now when the horse has bolted!
Mwenezi East by election this weekend.
How long are we going to allow vote buying and people being herded to the polling stations like cattle and pretend the election was free and fair? Zanu PF is not going to implement any reforms to restore the dignity of our election process and the basic human rights to free and fair elections as long as there are these foolish opposition politicians who risk all for the sake of a chance to get a gravy train seat.
Zanu PF has the coercive power to force people to attend its rallies and can rig the vote; there is little we can do to force the regime to change. We can, however, force the opposition to change by boycotting their rallies and, come voting day, spoil the ballot raher than vote for either Zanu PF or the opposition!
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