Our political leaders have the knack for celebrating failure!
“On September 11, 1999, this movement (MDC) was formed at Rufaro Stadium and the country's political terrain would never be the same again,” announced Nelson Chamisa in his e-rally speech.
“Today we remain resolute, resilient and vigilant. The real issues facing our country today of hunger, joblessness, a dead economy, a broken public health system, the water crisis and poverty make the need for a viable alternative ever more urgent.
“We continue to articulate the illegitimacy of the unelected and unelectable.
“Twenty-one years on, we remain focused on our original goal which has always been to achieve positive transformation in the lives of the people of Zimbabwe.”
The people of Zimbabwe have risked life and limb to elect MDC leaders into public office on the promise the party would bring about the necessary democratic changes to stop the corrupt and incompetent Zanu PF rigging the elections to extend its stay in power. The MDC, as the party name implies, promised democratic changes the nation was dying for.
Chamisa ready acknowledges the economic and political situation is Zimbabwe has not changed. Indeed, the situation have got progressively worse in the last 21 years. MDC leaders have failed to bring about even one meaningful economic and political change. Not even one! And it was not for lack of opportunity.
Morgan Tsvangirai et al had the golden opportunity to implement the democratic reforms during the 2008 to 2013 GNU. SADC leaders had managed to force Robert Mugabe and his Zanu PF party to agree to the implementation of the raft of democratic reforms designed to stop the blatant cheating and wanton violence in the 2008 elections. It was left to MDC to implement the reforms; if only greed had not got the better of them.
Mugabe, who was the President in the GNU, bribed MDC leaders with all the trappings of high office; the ministerial limos, the very generous salaries and allowances, a US$ 4 million mansion for Tsvangirai, etc., etc. With their snouts in the feeding trough, MDC leaders forgot about the reforms. Not even the constant nagging by SADC leaders could nag MDC leaders to implement even one reform in 5 years!
To make matters worse, MDC leaders have continued to participate in the post GNU elections knowing fully well that Zanu PF was rigging the elections and that doing so would give credibility to the flawed and illegal process. They did so out of greed and David Coltart, a senior MDC leaders admitted in his book.
In his Book, The Struggle Continues 50 years of Tyranny in Zimbabwe, David Coltart, former MDC – Ncube Senator and Minister of Education in the 2008 GNU, gave details of how Zanu PF was flouting the electoral rules in the upcoming 2013 elections. It was clear the elections would not be free, fair and credible and yet the opposition still participated in the elections.
“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 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.”
Of course, MDC leaders have not only sold-out big time in failing to implement the democratic reforms but worst of all the party has all but abandoned cause of implementing the reforms and deliver free, fair and credible elections. MDC leaders are now running with the povo hare and hunting with the Zanu PF hounds!
Emmerson Mnangagwa keeps wittering about Vision 2030 when Zimbabwe will attain a middle income economic status. And yet for the last 40 years and counting Zimbabwe has suffered relentless world record economic decline under Zanu PF rule. When Mnangagwa took over from Mugabe following the 2017 military coup he promised free and fair elections and to stamp out corruption and has failed to deliver on both fronts and still he keeps wittering about Vision 2030!
Compare and contrast Mnangagwa’s wittering with Chamisa’s own.
“And true to our founding values and objectives, we remain unstinting and on course in our quest to consign repression to the dustbin and to give succour and happiness to our country's citizens,” continued Chamisa.
“Today, we celebrate 21 years of struggle and leadership.”
How can MDC is still be “on course to consign Zanu PF into the dustbin” when the party has not only failed to implement even one reform in 21 years but worse still has abandoned the cause?
After 40 years since our independence Zimbabwe is yet to achieve the milestone of holding free, fair and credible elections. A truly damning testimonial in our failed political system and political leaders. Because we have failed to end the curse of rigged elections we have, for 40 years and counting, been stuck with a corrupt, incompetent and tyrannical regime.
Whilst Zanu PF remains in power we cannot address the economic challenges of gross mismanagement and rampant corruption, the health and economic challenges of brought on by corona virus, etc.
The people of Zimbabwe should have enjoyed their freedoms and rights including the right to free, fair and credible elections ever since the country attained her independence on 18 April 1980. Zanu PF and MDC leaders have turned this into a struggle lasting 40 and 21 years respectively. And we are being invited to join in “celebrating the struggle!” How foolish is that!
How ironic that Zimbabweans risked life and limb to elect MDC leaders in the hope Chamisa et al will deliver the democratic changes; only now, 21 years latter, the people discover that MDC leaders not only sold out on reforms but are the ones blocking change!
5 comments:
Among the bigwigs who could be jettisoned in this latest party carnage are MDC Alliance vice president Lynette Karenyi-Kore, the coalition's firebrand deputy national chairperson Job "Wiwa" Sikhala and Joana Mamombe.
This comes as Khupe has already recalled a staggering 21 legislators out of the party's total 110 representatives that it won in the National Assembly and the Senate in the 2018 national elections - as well as dozens of councillors around the country, as the needless ructions escalate by the day.
"Basically, the MDC is not only falling apart, it has actually fallen apart. It cannot challenge Zanu-PF in this current factional state. Zanu-PF must be delighted that the opposition insists on opposing itself," the ever perceptive Chan told the Daily News last week.
The sad reality though of many of the current opposition leaders is that they have become poor clones of the people in power that they claim to despise - including displaying off-putting tyrannical and narcissistic tendencies, which is unhelpful for their causes and the country's democratic quests.
The worry of many people in this regard is, if these opposition figures can display these despicable qualities before they get into power, what will they behave like if they become our rulers. As unfair as this line of thinking may seem like, it is entirely understandable given citizens' experiences of the past four decades.
The most frustrating thing about the ongoing opposition ructions is that the country has never needed a stronger and united opposition than now. Indeed, and with Zimbabwe's current political and economic challenges, long-suffering citizens want a viable opposition that will assist the nation to overcome its decades-long crises.
MDC leaders sold-out in failing to implement even one token reform during the 2008 to 2013 GNU. It was not a mistake, they sold-out. They had their snout in the feeding trough and they forgot about the reforms.
“Mazivanhu eMDC adzidza kudya anyerere!” (MDC people have learnt to enjoy the gravy train lifestyle, they will not rock the boat!) boasted one Zanu PF crony, when asked why MDC was not implementing the reforms during the GNU.
Since the 2008 GNU, MDC leaders have insisted in participating in elections knowing fully well that Zanu PF was rigging, they also knew that Zanu PF was giving away a few gravy train seats, and these were what they were after.
The 2018 election result was bound to produce a weak opposition and MDC leaders have now contrived to make the opposition even weaker with all these MDC MP recalls. MDC was useless before the recalls and to dwell on the consequences of the recalls is just an exercise in futility dividing useless into fragments of nothingness.
BY ROBERT BURNS
Scots, wha hae wi' Wallace bled,
Scots, wham Bruce has aften led;
Welcome to your gory bed,
Or to victory!
Now's the day, and now's the hour;
See the front o' battle lour;
See approach proud Edward's power—
Chains and slavery!
Wha will be a traitor knave?
Wha can fill a coward's grave!
Wha sae base as be a slave?
Let him turn and flee!
Wha for Scotland's king and law
Freedom's sword will strongly draw,
Freeman stand, or freeman fa',
Let him follow me!
By oppression's woes and pains!
By your sons in servile chains!
We will drain our dearest veins,
But they shall be free!
Lay the proud usurpers low!
Tyrants fall in every foe!
Liberty's in every blow!—
Let us do or die!
People have often said that Mnangagwa and his Zanu PF cronies have no clue what to do to revive the comatose economy; these people spot on, Zanu PF has no clue. But that has not stopped the party witter on and on about this vision 2030 nonsense.
When you do not have a clue how to get from point A to point B, you will have no problem saying you will get there in record time. “Muromo hauzarirwi nerwizi!” (There is nothing big mouth cannot do!) as the Shona would say.
If the truth be told, Chamisa and his MDC friends had no clue what democratic reforms were required much less how they were going to be implemented and over what time scale. Yes, MDC has failed to implement even one reform in the last 21 years; but what of it.
Just as the Zanu PF’s vision 2030 is a mirage; free, fair and credible elections is MDC’s mirage promised 21 years ago but will continue to move beyond reach.
What makes our situation really tragic is that the ordinary Zimbabweans themselves have no clue what is going on and so are easily fooled. Politicians have exploited the electorate’s ignorance to promise them the moon on a silver platter but have delivered hell-on-earth and got away with it again and again.
Yes, free, fair and credible elections are within our reach but only if Zimbabweans snap out of their sloth-like slumber, sit up and pay attention on the big issues affecting the country. People have no excuse for not knowing what is required to have free and fair elections, for example. It is not rocket science!
@ Nelson Shumba
“You must think using your brain how does MDC change the constitution when they are not in power. Come on this becoming none revelant topic which you keep on repeating with no takers. You also a citizen can you also take a leading role in this issue and we see.where you can go maybe we support you rather keeping blaming other people while you are folding your hands and poor crap.”
It is a tragedy that even now with all the benefit of hindsight and the countless articles on the matter, you still fail to understand what the 2008 Global Political Agreement and the GNU that followed were about. The GNU did produce the 2013 Constitution, the fact that it has failed to deliver the freedoms and rights we wanted is because it is a weak and feeble constitution.
MDC leaders should have implemented the democratic reforms during the GNU. They failed to get even one reform implemented.
If we are serious about ending the Zanu PF dictatorship and replacing it with a healthy and functioning democracy then we must educate the electorate. A well informed electorate would have known that the 2008 GPA presented the golden opportunity to implement the democratic reforms and would have taken MDC leaders to task for wasting it.
The naive and gullible electorate whose brains have atrophied into fat and is therefore impermeable to reason and logic continue to follow these MDC sell-outs like sheep to the slaughter! Trust me, even if there was an Albert Einstein of governance he/she would not rescue Zimbabwe as long as a significant number of our people are what they are - brain-dead.
How would an idiot like you, Shumba, distinguish Albert Einstein from Nelson Chamisa or Emmerson Mnangagwa. Indeed, the last two would appeal to you because they will promise you the moon on a silver platter and you will believe the nonsense!
@ Tim Rainhard
An all too familiar joke that has been doing the rounds ever since Zimbabwe's economy hit turbulence is that every citizen of this country has become an economist of sorts. This places the burden of filtering inferior suggestions on the advice-taker.
The Chicago Sun-Times once created an advice column that ran under the pen name Ask Ann Landers which, in one of its instalments, advised thus; "Know when to tune out, if you listen to too much advice you may wind up making other people mistakes.”
The report went on to state that the monetary authorities should worry about stability of the exchange rate and not about the value, before appearing to contradict itself by saying "exchange rate stability will be achieved when economic agents perceive the local currency as a store of value."
Parliament, which rarely comments on monetary policy, said there is need to decentralise the auction system so that it can be managed by commercial banks, while allowing the gap between the auction rate and parallel rate to close so as to encourage forex liquidation in the formal market.
"….The central bank must ensure that winning bidders on the auction market get their foreign currency on time to squeeze out the parallel market," opined Parliament, which is often accused of lacking depth and quality expected of an institution that should not only be exercising oversight over the Executive but crafting laws for the country.
But in spite of its shortcomings, the National Assembly could not resist the temptation of giving advice to the monetary authorities; after all every citizen of this country is now an “economist".
Zimbabwe’s parliament has always lacked “depth and quality expected of an institution that should not only be exercising oversight over the Executive but crafting laws for the country”.
At the height of the drought in 1990s ZESA was forced to reduce power generation at Kariba Dam. Parliament stepped in and “instructed” that ZESA must stop wasting the water coming out of the turbines, it must be pumped back so it can be used again and again to generate power.
Of course, this was not going to make the country’s electricity power shortages worse as all the power from the turbines would now be diverted from the grid to power the water pumps. It was pointless arguing with these MPs, they were convinced they knew best!
Of course the lack of depth and quality in parliament, Executive, etc. have all conspired to make Zimbabwe the Banana Republic it is today! Zimbabwe needs a complete overhaul of its political system to get rid of the deadwood.
Post a Comment