“A UN human rights expert has called on Zimbabwe to embrace and safeguard democracy, saying that the country’s change in leadership provided an opportunity to promote political tolerance, accountability and bring an end to impunity for human rights violations,” reported Spotlight Zimbabwe.
“Clément Nyaletsossi Voule, the Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and association, concluded a 10-day official visit to Zimbabwe on Friday, the first such mission to the country by an independent expert appointed by the Human Rights Council. He went to Zimbabwe at the invitation of the Government.
“The change in leadership in Zimbabwe two years ago and its promised ‘new dispensation’ – which reaffirms the aspiration to bring the country forward in terms of democratic processes, civic space and the realisation of human rights for all – must be put into action now,” Voule said in a statement.
The sheer naivety of some of these individuals makes me puke! How can anyone be so shallow, thick and slow!!!!!
Does UN Special Rapporteur Voule, really believe that Mnangagwa and his new dispensation had not kept their promises to end corruption; hold free, fair and credible elections; etc.; etc. these last two years because they were waiting for UN instructions when to start doing so?
Mnangagwa and all his fellow November 2017 coup gangsters have been key players in the Zanu PF dictatorship dating back to the early days of the party. Mnangagwa was Mugabe’s most trusted henchman and it was none other than Mnangagwa who staged the 2008 quasi-coup that blatantly cooked up the election result to stop Morgan Tsvangirai and his MDC friends being declared the winner of the March vote. Mnangagwa and his ruthless gangsters implemented the wanton violence that forced Tsvangirai to withdraw from the run-off.
The November 2017 coup was about wrestling absolute power from Mugabe, who was about to his wife and her G40 faction, back to Mnangagwa and company. “Operation Restore Legacy” the putsch thugs called the coup; up to then, the thugs had shared absolute power with Mugabe and the coup had restored power back in their hands again.
Mnangagwa and company promised to end corruption, hold free elections, etc., etc. because they knew these are the things the people of Zimbabwe wanted to hear and the country needed to get out of the economic and political mess Zanu PF had landed the nation. It was clear as day they had no intention of honouring these promises and give up the wealth corruption brought and risk losing absolute power through free and fair elections.
It is naive that anyone would still be wittering about “new dispensation” with all the mountain of evidence that this was just a Zanu PF gimmick.
Zanu PF blatantly rigged last year’s elections and the party has been using all manner of dirty tricks and tyrannical violence including beatings, rape, abduction and even cold blooded murder to subdue the populous and retain its iron grip on power.
Zimbabwe is stuck in this economic and political mess because the country is stuck with a corrupt, incompetent Zanu PF dictatorship that has completely corrupted and captured all state institutions including the corrupt and incompetent oppositions party. State institutions like ZEC and the Police are Zanu PF departments in all but name and rig elections to secure a Zanu PF land slide victory.
The opposition have participated in these flawed and illegal elections even when ZEC has failed produce something as basic as verified voters’ roll. Their participation has given the process the minim of credibility - after all why would so many candidates (23 in the presidential race alone) contest elections they know will be rigged. Zanu PF has allowed the opposition to win a few gravy train seats and a share of the Political Party Finance (Act) annual payout - bait the opposition have found irresistible.
To get out of this economic and political mess the people of Zimbabwe need to break Zanu PF’s strangle hold on power by forcing the regime to step down so the nation can finally implement the democratic reforms to ensure free, fair and credible elections.
Zanu PF blatantly rigged last year’s elections, the regime has no democratic mandate to govern and should be forced to step down. What the people want from the UN and the international community is a commitment to pressure this illegitimate regime to step down.
It is disappointing to note that the UN has, these last 39 years, has earned a reputation of fighting in Zanu PF’s corner even when there was clear cut evidence of the regime riding roughshod over the people.
Zimbabwe is in a serious mess and stands on the very edge of the precipice, the nation’s very survival is at stake here. The people of Zimbabwe expected a firm and decisive statement from the UN underlining the seriousness and urgency of the situation.
“Zanu PF’s ‘new dispensation’ human rights must be put into action now!” There is no new dispensation, just as there were no free, fair and credible elections last year. This Zanu PF regime is illegitimate and must step down. If the UN is not going to help Zimbabwe get out of this economic and political mess then please space us the patronising and foolish insults!
5 comments:
It is nonsense that there is anyone in the UN who was fooled by Mnangagwa into believing the "new dispensation" was anything other than the same Zanu PF dictatorship, white-washed to fool the naive and gullible. The great disappointment here is how many times the UN has decided to go along with the Zanu PF regime even at the expense of the country and people's long term interests.
The UN would never ever give such a foolish report anywhere else except in a third world country!
Zimbabwe would not be in this mess if the UN has not been so bloody patronising! It is sickening.
Clement Nyaletsossi Voule, a UN envoy on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, told reporters after a 10-day fact-finding visit that Zimbabweans were questioning the capacity of President Emmerson Mnangagwa's government to bring about change.
"Albeit the common belief that a transformation will come, I believe that the long-awaited hopes are fading," Voule said.
"I have perceived from my different meetings around the country that there is a serious deterioration of the political, economic and social environment since August 2018, resulting in fear, frustration and anxiety among a large number of Zimbabweans.”
This is pure speculation; what is there to support this foolish notion that transformation “will come”? Zimbabwe has followed a steady path of economic decline for the last 39 years and as long as the country remains a pariah state ruled by corrupt and murderous thugs the decline will continue.
We are fighting to revive Zimbabwe’s decline by fighting to end the curse of pariah state and the last thing we want is some half-wit encouraging the illegitimate regime that the country can still have economic recovery and maintain the dictatorship!
If you can show me how it is sanctions and not corruptions that has made the few ruling elite filthy rich; affording the palatial Blue Roof mansion and an extravagant lifestyle to match; and made the the majority filthy poor; left to live in mud hut with no health care, no jobs and no future; I will believe this cock and bull tale!
Until we have free, fair and credible elections, sanctions are going to remain!
“We are ready to engage with Mnangagwa, but on principle,” he said.
He continued saying, “we don’t want to share power with ZANUPF, we want to share a vision, we want to share ideas, we want to share the pride of the people,” said President Nelson Chamisa yesterday.
Nelson Chamisa and his MDC party have made it crystal clear that they want to share political power by forming a National Transition Authority, a watered down version of the 2008 to 2013 GNU. The party confirmed this in its party congress in May, five months ago. Now Chamisa is telling us something else, “he does not want to share power but a vision!”
Neither Chamisa nor Mnangagwa have a vision, they lack the intellectual ability to come up with anything above mediocrity and hence the reason the country is in such a mess. Both man have blundered from pillar to post dragging their respective parties and the nation along with them!
The US ambassador to Zimbabwe has joined the UN and the International Monetary Fund in throwing down the gauntlet to President Emmerson Mnangagwa on corruption and human rights.
Brian Nichols said there was no chance of the world heeding Mnangagwa’s plea for the end of sanctions until Zimbabwe cleaned up its act.
The IMF has raised the red flag over alleged corruption involving a key Mnangagwa ally, Kuda Tagwirei of Sakunda Holdings.
It said the government had printed money to pay one of Tagwirei’s companies, in the process undermining the country’s fledgling currency.
The international pressure on Mnangagwa mounted as he attempted to convince the UN General Assembly that he had done enough to justify the lifting of sanctions imposed during the rule of Robert Mugabe.
“Those that impose illegal sanctions must heed this call and lift them now … Cooperation is a win-win game. Sanctions are a lose-lose game. Zimbabwe deserves a restart,” he told a poorly attended session in New York.
High-powered lobbyists in Washington and London hired by the government, including BTP Advisers, Mercury Public Affairs, Ballard Partners and Avenue Strategies, have failed to improve international perceptions of Zimbabwe, and Nichols said Mnangagwa had no one but himself to blame for allowing corruption to go unchecked.
“It is high time government does a cleanup. What we need is a stable economic environment, so any measures meant to effect that are welcome,” he said.
With strong public institutions, Zimbabwe would not be a beggar, he said, because billions stolen from public coffers could have been used to provide health care and a higher standard of living for all Zimbabweans.
“Just look at a few cases: in the command agriculture programme for general Zimbabweans, there is over US$3bn unaccounted for in that programme.
“You have the National Social Security Authority, where the former minister [Prisca Mupfumira] that oversaw that programme is currently on trial because over US$70m was looted.
“Even in the Zimbabwe National Roads Administration, millions of dollars have been stolen. You have an electricity utility where millions have also been looted, and the list goes on and on.”
The ambassador said investors remained keen on Zimbabwe but were anxious about runaway inflation and disregard for corporate governance.
“If Zimbabwe could resolve these key issues, that will improve the country’s attractiveness to investors. Underpinning all of that is transparency and the rule of law,” he said.
Nichols said Mnangagwa’s claims in his state of the nation address this week that the US had stage-managed a series of recent abductions were “ridiculous, insulting and obviously untrue”.
At the heart of Zimbabwe’s economic meltdown is the nearly four decades of bad governance that sucked dry the nation’s wealth and energy and scared away all local and international investors. The cure for bad governance is democratic reforms designed to restore the independence of the democratic institutions and their ability to uphold the rule of law and perform such key activities as delivering free, fair and credible elections.
By failing to hold free, fair and credible elections Zimbabwe missed the opportunity to cure itself of the curse of bad governance. The argument that this illegitimate Zanu PF regime can remain in office, even if it implemented every democratic reform put before it, it will still be an illegitimate government.
If we are ever going to get out of this vicious cycle of illegitimate regime staying in office to rig the next elections, a cycle that has been going on for the last 39 years now, then Zanu PF must step down so we can appoint an interim administration to prepare the nation for fresh free and fair elections. Those who want Zanu PF to remain in office in the hope it will implement reforms are refusing to learn from the past - 40 years of Zanu PF rigging elections!
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