Many Zimbabweans have been comparing Zimbabwe to Lebanon in that the two countries are in serious economic, political and social trouble because of decades of corruption and criminal waste of human and material resources. The root cause of the two countries problems is political paralysis. Whilst the ordinary Zimbabweans and Lebanese people have seen the need for democratic change and fought for it; the more the countries’ ruling elite have dung in so that nothing changed.
Zimbabwe’s main opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), appropriately named to answer to the nation’s cry for democratic change, was formed in 1999. The people have risked life and limb to elect MDC into power on the understanding that they would bring about the democratic changes the nation has been dying for, metaphorically and literally.
MDC has been on the political stage for 20 years, 5 of which they were in power in the 2008 to 2013 GNU; they have failed to bring about even one meaningful democratic change. Morgan Tsvangirai and his MDC friends had the golden opportunity to implement the democratic reforms designed to dismantle the Zanu PF dictatorship during the GNU but failed to implement even one reform because they turned out to be breathtakingly corrupt and incompetent.
Zimbabwe used to be ruled by a ruthless and in your face de facto one party dictatorship, Zanu PF but thanks to MDC’s betrayal, Zanu PF has been able to keep its dictatorial powers and still claim Zimbabwe is a healthy multi-party democracy. Mnangagwa blatantly rigged the 2018 elections and, by participating, MDC and the whole Zimbabwe opposition camp, gave the flawed and illegal election process credibility and the result legitimacy.
Chamisa and his MDC Alliance friends have kept up the chorus that Mnangagwa lacks legitimacy but no one is listen to their howling monkey noise. “MDC has stringent measures to stop Zanu PF rigging the elections!” Chamisa claimed before the July 2018. Of course, Mnangagwa rigged the elections, with no reforms in place that was certain to happen, what people cannot accept is the howling monkeys’ refusal to take the consequences of their folly.
MDC leaders have failed to implement the democratic reforms but have instead learned many, many dirty stuff from Zanu PF; two of which are never to admit to failure regardless of the overwhelming evidence. Second, to always claim to have the solutions to all the nation’s problems even if you have no clue what is the problem.
“The key to resolving the Zimbabwean crisis lies in us embarking on a set of comprehensive social, political and economic reforms. Key among these are electoral reforms which will forestall the problem of contested legitimacy in Zimbabwe,” wrote Douglas Mwonzora, MDC co-chairperson on the GNU parliamentary committee that drafted the 2013 Constitution..
“These electoral reforms will see the enfranchisement of millions of Zimbabweans living in the diaspora. But this first requires the establishment of a legitimate forum for dialogue over the reforms.
“It then will call for the establishment of a governance structure to initiate and implement these reforms.”
What Mwonzora and his fellow MDC leaders have never admitted to is that the 2008 to 2013 GNU was one such constituted forum tasked to implement the comprehensive reforms but failed to get even one reform implemented because MDC leaders sold-out.
“Our Constitution provides a great starting point for reform. This means the government must stop forthwith its attempts to tamper with the Constitution, which was adopted by the Zimbabwean people in the historic referendum of 2013,” continued Mwonzora.
“The fundamental rights and freedoms of the Zimbabwean people must be observed and respected.”
What Mwonzora would not admit to is that the new constitution failed to deliver free, fair and credible elections in the July 2013 elections, before Zanu PF had amended it then.
Paul Mangwana, who was Zanu PF’s co-chairperson on the constitution drafting committee, boasted so after the March 2013 referendum approving the constitution by a staggering 94% that Mugabe “dictated” the constitution.
The new constitution is not a democratic constitution, it is dictator’s decree granting all the freedoms and rights in section after section, page after page but only to take them all away in one or two felt subsection swoop, under the pretext of keeping law and order.
Zimbabwe is in this man-made economic and political hell-hole because for 40 years now the country has been stuck with a corrupt and tyrannical Zanu PF dictatorship complete with its complement of corrupt and incompetent opposition parties, all 130 of them at the last count. It is not enough to call for the implementation of comprehensive democratic reforms it is important to realise that Zanu PF and MDC cannot be trusted to implement the reforms. The both are part of the problem and so cannot be a part of the solution too!
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Hlatswayo insisted that following the aborted meeting with the South African envoys, MDC Alliance will now maintain diplomatic pressure to make President Mnangagwa bow down to calls for crisis dialogue.
"We shall continue to build pressure both in and outside our borders to have a credible national dialogue that is mediated in order to achieve comprehensive reforms, including a new social contract, ending the economic and humanitarian crisis, electoral reforms, media reforms, ending international isolation and addressing past human rights violations," Hlatswayo said.
MDC leaders had the golden opportunity to implement the democratic reforms during the 2008 GNU and failed to implement even one reform. Not one! They have never admitted to their blatant betrayal of the people of Zimbabwe for this. Indeed, they have repeatedly blamed SADC leaders for the fiasco!
The international community must ask Chamisa why he participated in the July 2018 elections claiming “MDC has stringent measures to stop Zanu PF rigging the elections!” and is only now claiming the elections were rigged?
Zimbabwe’s rotten political system needs a complete overhaul and both Zanu PF and MDC cannot be trusted to implement the reform and reform themselves out of office. Both Zanu PF and MDC must be told in no uncertain terms that they are part of the system and the problem and therefore cannot be part of the solution too.
MDC has become but a surrogate partner of Zanu PF the two are like cats they growl at each other in public but cooperate in private, the truth comes when you see the kittens!
No to corrupt, Zanu PF as well as MDC corruption.
We had the golden opportunity to implement the reforms which would have stopped Zanu PF rigging elections, MDC leaders failed to implement even one reform in five years. Not one!
In July 2018 Mnangagwa blatantly rigged the elections and MDC leaders from all the different factions and a host of other opposition opportunist participated in these flawed and illegal elections giving the process credibility and the results legitimacy.
We cannot keep on protesting again Zanu PF corruption and oppression when there are those among us who continue to work with the regime keeping it in power.
You, Comrade Sikhala, you are an MP and so is Tendai Biti and many others, you participated in the July 2018 elections knowing Zanu PF was rigging the elections but also knew Zanu PF will give away a few gravy train seats.
Are you fighting for genuine democratic changes or to pressure Zanu PF to share with you the spoils of power? Are you fighting to get reform finally implemented or to up grade your MP position to cabinet post in a new GNU?
What democratic changes has MDC brought in 20 years?
If you seriously expect Zimbabweans to unity behind MDC then you must stop treating everyone the same way Zanu PF is treating the people - idiots with no clue what is going on!
The people of Zimbabwe risked life and limb to elect Morgan Tsvangirai and his banded MDC mongoose on the promise they would implement the democratic reforms designed to dismantle the Zanu PF dictatorship. Mugabe fed the mongoose well on beetle grubs and such like they completely forgot about the reforms.
The need for free, fair and credible elections is now greater than ever with the country sinking deeper and deeper into the morose. And yet the hope of any reforms being implemented now is completely out of the question as the 2013 and 2018 elections have shown. MDC have participated in these elections knowing Zanu PF was rigging the elections but knowing that the party would give away as bait a few gravy train seats. This is a very cosy political arrangement: Zanu PF rigs the election to get the presidency and 2/3 majority. MDC participate in the flawed elections to give the process credibility and Zanu PF legitimacy in return for a few gravy train seats.
The real losers are the people who remain stuck with the corrupt and tyrannical Zanu PF dictatorship.
The only realistic hope of breaking this political deadlock, paralysis, is to have a new GNU tasked to implement the reforms. Both Zanu PF and MDC cannot and must not play an role in the new GNU because they are responsible for the paralysis and therefore cannot be the solution too!
Ever since the 2008 to 2013 GNU MDC leaders have stoically refused to ask any question as to why they failed to implement even one meaningful reform during the GNU. They have participated in all the elections since the GNU knowing the elections will be rigged but knowing too that Zanu PF was giving away a few gravy train seats as bait, these they could not resist. To hide they were participating in the elections out of greed they have pretended they have devised ways to "win in rigged elections" as Obert Gutu once put it.
When MDC lost the 2013 elections, Morgan Tsvangirai complained of "Day light robbery!" At the next party congress the members passed a resolution; "No reform! No elections!" the resolution was soon ditched as it became clear the party would not be able to stop the tide of the leaders eyeing the Zanu PF bait!
Chamisa did not dispute the whole election process; he was clearly happy that there was no free media, 3 million in the diaspora were denied the vote, there was no verified voters' roll, etc. The one thing he was unhappy about was ZEC's presidential vote count. The whole election process was "full of errors, it was not transparent, lacked traceability and verifiability" according to the EU Mission report. Chamisa claimed he won the election although his figures too could not be verified!
Chamisa has once again taken up the reform mantra; he is now calling for a power sharing arrangement with Zanu PF that will implement "comprehensive reforms". He has not give one example of what these comprehensive reforms are much less why the 2008 GNU failed to implement even one token reform.
When the next elections come round all MDC leaders will be falling over one another to participate in the elections knowing Zanu PF was rigging the elections as long as the bait gravy train seats are still there.
The people of Zimbabwe must wake-up to the political reality that Zanu PF and MDC are now working together and a determined to keep the present status quo in which former gets the lion's share of the political power and the later gets the scraps and we, povo, get nothing!
As at the date of the Supreme Court judgment, it was common cause that the third respondent (MDC-T) contested the July 2018 harmonised elections under the unconstitutional leadership of Nelson Chamisa and became the main opposition party in Parliament, after garnering 88 out of 270 seats in the National Assembly and 25 out of 60 in the Senate; part of Kwenda's ruling read.
"The applicants (eight expelled) are the Members of Parliament referred to. The corrective measures ordered by the Supreme Court mean that the same party is now led by the second respondent (Khupe) as its interim president with the specific mandate to convene an extraordinary congress in order to elect a new president," Justice Kwenda said
Even the most foolish of Chamisa’s supporters cannot pretend he/she did not see this coming!
MDC leaders are breathtakingly corrupt and incompetent and it is no surprise they have blundered from pillar to post. The most foolish think they have done was too fail to implement even one reform in five years of the 2008 to 2013 GNU.
The very fact that there are some Zimbabweans out there who still support these MDC leaders goes to show how naive and gullible some people are. With such a naive electorate it is little wonder the country is in a real mess and, worst of all, has no hope of escaping as long as we continue to have such foolish voters.
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