National elections are important in that they offer the
nation a chance to decide which way to go; in that regard, this year’s
elections are the most important in the country’s history because of what is at
stake. Zimbabwe has fallen from its position in 1980 as one of the top five
richest nations in Africa with promising prospects of becoming the South Korea
of Africa. Today the country is the poorest nation in Africa with ¾ of its
people living in heart-breaking abject poverty cheek in jowl with the filthy
rich ruling elite. Depending on the outcome of the coming elections; the nation
will either continue hurtling down this road of self-destruction it has
travelled these last 38 years or finally put an end to this madness. A simple
and yet grime choice!
There are those who would want to talk about Robert Mugabe
and his Zanu PF thugs, how they are the ones who have destroyed the nation’s
economy after four decades of gross mismanagement and rampant corruption. They
will also point to how the nation has been stuck with the regime because it
rigged the vote and used violence included cold blooded murder of its political
critics and opponents. Whilst all these details are all true and of great
historic importance they do not address the all-important and critical question:
in all these years, was the nation ever offered any opportunity put an end to
the Zanu PF madness and take a different road? If the nation was offered any
such opportunity (ies); then why did the people fail to take it?
The coming elections are one golden opportunity for the people
of Zimbabwe to end the madness that has landed us all in this hell-on-earth
situation in which 72.3% of our people live on US$1.00 or less a day. If people
sit-up and pay attention to how we have wasted many golden opportunities in the
past to change from this disastrous course; learn from the lost past
opportunities, we might have hope of getting it right this time!
Zimbabwe has had many golden opportunities to end Zanu PF’s
corrupt and tyrannical rule, the best chance by a long mile was during the GNU,
and has wasted them all.
Following the 2008 blatant vote rigging in which ZEC was
ordered to recount the vote to reduce Tsvangirai’s 73% vote to 47% and the
worst case of wanton violence in the run-off that followed SADC leaders stepped
into Zimbabwe’s seemingly endless political chaos. The regional leaders forced
Mugabe to agree to a raft of democratic to dismantle the de facto Zanu PF dictatorship,
striping the regime of all its carte blanche powers to rig elections. This was
a clearly defined roadmap, with the X showing where we were, Y where we should
be plus a compass with which to navigate.
It was left to Morgan Tsvangirai and his MDC friends to
implement the reforms. to follow the roadmap. After five years, MDC failed to
get even one reform implemented. The details of why MDC failed to implement
even one democratic reform are there for all to read; if will suffice to say:
1)
MDC leaders are corrupt and incompetent; they
sold-out, Mugabe bribed them to forget the reforms and they did.
2)
Implementing the democratic reforms still
remains the only viable way out of the political mess; implement the reforms
and the country put an end to the madness that has dragged us into this
hell-on-earth.
3)
MDC leaders continue sell-out on implementing
the reforms and if they are not stopped, they will drag the nation deeper into
the hell-on-earth we are in.
When it was clear that MDC leaders had sold-out during the
GNU, SADC leaders advised MDC leaders not to contest the 2013 elections. MDC
leaders did not listen out of selfish greed as one of the MDC leaders, 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,” he wrote.
“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.”
MDC leaders have been coming up with all manner of excuses
why they are continuing on this ruinous path of contesting flawed and illegal
elections whose consequence is a nightmare to the nation. Nelson Chamisa’s lie
that the Americans promised to bankroll Zimbabwe’s economic recovery to the
tune of $15 billion is an example of the sicken depth of depravity these MDC
leaders have sunk in their selfish greed.
“When we met with President Trump in America alongside Biti,
he asked us how much we needed to move the country forward and we told him that
we needed $15 billion,” Chamisa told an MDC Alliance rally in Mutare.
He told his naïve and gullible
audience that President Trump assured them the money will be dished out in the
event of an MDC victory “since his government had faith in the MDC Alliance.”
To start with, the $15 billion funding was a lie as the US Embassy
has been quick to point out.
“We do not support individuals or political parties,” said
the US Embassy Official. “We do not take a position on who is going to be a
political leader of a country. The outcome of an election is up to the people
of that country to decide.
“We do not make such promises
to individuals or political parties.”
But, most worrying of all, the lie was a deliberate and
calculated ploy to draw the Zimbabwe voters away from the important and
pressing matter of the elections going ahead with no reforms in place. The MDC
does not want the people to talk about its intention to contest the elections
with no reforms in place because the party knows that it has failed to provide
an answer to that question.
After 38 years of Zanu PF rigging elections, it is insane
for Zimbabweans to keep contesting flawed and illegal elections. We cannot say
we do not know what to do because SADC leaders have given us a list of
democratic reforms we should have implemented by now.
Nelson Chamisa's
promise of $15 billion USA funding was a lure get Zimbabweans to participate in
yet another flawed election process and not to ask the MDC leaders the awkward
question of why no reforms have been implemented. He is just being as cynical
as the crocodile luring the wildebeest to cross the river with promise of the
sweetest grass on the other side!
4 comments:
@ Nomazulu
"The politics of Zimbabwe today is not those values and principles we held so high in Zapu during the liberation days in Zambia. Zimbabwe's politics is the politics of the stomach. The stomach determines what to do in any given opportunity arising." Once again you have hit the nail on the head! "Kubaya gudo mukanwa!" as one would say in Shona.
It is the "politics of the stomach" that allowed mismanagement and corruption to run riot. If you cannot beat them, join them! This culture has resulted in the criminal waste of the country's material and human resources turning the country from its position as one of the top five richest nations in Africa in 1980 with potential to become the South Korea of Africa to become the poorest nation in Africa today.
The root cause of dog-eat-dog in fighting in Zanu PF of these last ten years is the fear of the growing poverty, the country's economic collapse has not spared the ruling elite. The chefs are fighting over the ever-shrinking national cake. Those who fail to keep their position on the high table are in serious trouble. Look at the late Nathan Shamuyarira and Enos Nkala; they lived their last years in S**t Street.
We welcome Comrade Didymus Mutasa a few years ago to S**t Street. The shine of decades of good living in Ease Street wears off very quickly, he was a changed man in no time!
No among of bootlicking will save these politicians from poverty; as the economy shrinks Zanu PF will have to continue "baby dump", as Grace Mugabe would so aptly put it, more and more chefs. The November coup has allowed more and more in the Army to be more assertive and there is going to be so many "babies dumped".
The irony is, it is the bootlicking and politics of the stomach has is the root cause why we are starving, instead of filling our stomachs we are all hungry. The likes of Perrance Shiri, VP Chiwenga and even President Mnangagwa himself are just village thugs who should have never been allowed to be anything beyond village head! Now they have tasted absolute power and the spoils it brings removing them from power is not going to be a walk in the park! The country's economic mess has produce hundreds of thousands of bootlickers, who will do anything to stay in power! For the country to register any meaningful economic recovery we must wrestle power from that lot! Boy oh boy, are we in trouble!
@ kaitano
It is now clear that President Mnangagwa is not going to implement any democratic reforms and therefore these elections are not going to be free, fair and credible. Our focus must now be on drawing the whole world's attention on his failure to hold free and fair elections and making sure the whole process is declared null and void.
We must not dilute our message that the elections are not free and fair by including the failure to facilitate diaspora vote because not all nations have facilitated their nationals in every corner of the world to vote!
@ Ngara
President Mnangagwa has promised free, fair and credible elections; this is not a privilege but a fundament right which he has systematically denied millions of Zimbabweans these last 38 years. It is the duty of every thinking Zimbabwean out there to make sure that he delivers free and fair elections and does not get away with it if he fails! Right now, it is clear the thug is up to his usual vote rigging dirty tricks again. Read my lips: HE IS NOT GOING TO GET AWAY WITH IT!
@ Bhebhe
A USA official has since announced that many business men and women are flying into Zimbabwe "to set shop". President Trump does not care whether Zimbabwe's elections are NOT free and fair and will work with the vote rigging ZAnu PF regime just to get some of the action that the Chinese and Russians are getting.
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