“At the end of the day the real issue in Zim is a crisis of governance and leadership.
“The nation carries the burden of illegitimacy, of corrupt incompetent clueless and incompetent leadership. Collectively we change gears and put an end to this .It’s time for change,” argued Hon Biti.
All this is true but it is wilfully incomplete, Biti always leaves out the juicy and tragic part. He loves talking about how much the nation is suffering under Zanu PF but does not say how the regime would be history if he and his fellow MDC leaders had implemented the democratic reforms and stopped Zanu PF rigging the elections.
MDC had the golden opportunity to implement the reforms during the 2008 GNU. They failed to get even one reform implemented because they sold-out, they were busy enjoying the trappings of high office and forgot about the reforms.
“The nation carries the burden of illegitimacy,” Biti tells us but would not say that it was his and MDC’s continued participation in flawed and illegal elections, they are after the few gravy train seats bait, that has giving credibility to the flawed elections and, by extension, legitimacy to the vote rigging Zanu PF. What is more, Biti and company knew this all along as David Coltart has 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 MDC leaders participated in the elections regardless.
“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.”
Tendai Biti and company went on to participate in the 2018 elections even thou it was clear Zanu PF would rig these elections too and even after a number of the MDC factions had formed a coalition, MDC Alliance. Biti and company found the Zanu PF bait irresistible!
Zanu PF has ignored calls to implement the democratic reforms and end this curse of rigged elections and bad governance and so the coming 2023 elections will, once again, be flawed and illegal. However, Tendai Biti and the usual suspects will participate giving the elections credibility and the result some modicum of legitimacy!
“The nation carries the burden of (Zanu PF) illegitimacy!” that is only the half of it! The other half, the unspoken and yet an even greater burden, is MDC sell-outs. If MDC leaders had not sold-out, the Zanu PF dictatorship would have been dismantled by now!
Even since the 2008 GNU, MDC leaders have been hunting with the Zanu PF hounds and, for PR purposes, continued to run with the povo hare. Sadly, the Zimbabwe public has yet to realise what is going on and until they do, the country will continue on its relentless 40 year march into the abyss!
“At the end of the day the real issue in Zim is a crisis of (Zanu PF) governance and leadership!” No, it is a crisis of Zanu PF and MDC governance and leadership!
22 comments:
Biti will always tell us how much we are suffering under Zanu PF rule but will never admit MDC had the chance to end Zanu PF rule and wasted it. All Biti is fishing for is a new GNU so he can be Minister of Finance again. The new GNU will never implement any reforms just as the 2008 GNU failed to implement the reforms. He does not care about ending the Zanu PF dictatorship and whilst it continues to exist there will be no end to our suffering!
@ Mujeri
“The United States ambassador to Zimbabwe Brian Nichols' continued interference to the Zimbabwe's internal affairs has reached alarming levels with the ambassador now behaving like a prefect with the task of telling the Government how to govern. The US ambassador seems to have forgotten his core business in Zimbabwe as in recent weeks he has increasingly been tweeting supporting anti-government activists. One cannot help but wonder if Nichols frenzied behaviour, is rooted in diverting attention from the recent mucky US election, which more than a week has passed without a clear winner.
“Nichols' recent tweets have been insinuating that the Zimbabwe's judiciary system is captured by the State, hence they cannot pass fair judgments on individuals on trial.
“Yesterday, the US embassy in Harare fronted by Nichols tweeted that the denial of bail against Hopewell Chin'ono is an issue that "should concern every Zimbabwean". He further insinuated that "the constitution mandates the presumption of innocence and impartial justice – both of which have not been respected" in the case of Chin'ono. Nichols is forgetting that Chin'ono was once given bail, but he breached his bail conditions, the very reason, he was arrested again.”
Give this Zanu PF regime’s propensity to ride roughshod over ordinary Zimbabweans, denying them their freedoms and rights including, in this case, justice and even the right to life. Every one knows the inhuman conditions in Zimbabwe’s jails particularly these days with the corona virus everywhere. Of course, every thinking Zimbabwean should be worried of any Zimbabwean having to even set foot in jail!
Yes America has had a “mucky election process” (nothing compared to Zimbabwe’s blatantly rigged July 2018 elections which culminated in the shooting dead of 7 protestors to silence the nation).
Surely you are not suggesting that Zimbabweans should forget about the corrupt and tyrannical oppression in the country just because America had “mucky” elections!!! The sheer stupidity of some people is astounding! No wonder Zimbabwe is a Banana Republic, with village idiots like Mujeri, it could not be anything but.
@ Kundayi Masekesa
“Brian Nichols should stick to his diplomatic duties and not interfere in our internal affairs.He must know that Zimbabwe is an independent state that needs no hand holding from the Americans.”
Ambassador Nichols knows that Zimbabwe is a Banana Republic ruled by corrupt and murderous thugs who cannot bear to hear the truth about the mess they have caused spoken. Hopewell Chin’ono is in trouble because he dared speak the truth about Zanu PF corruption. Zanu PF has been threatening to have Ambassador Nichols deported - go ahead!
FORMER MDC-T national organising secretary Abednico Bhebhe has said the country should break from the past and commit to the future generations by ending Zanu-PF hold on power.
Bhebhe told NewsDay in an interview yesterday that the country now needed a fresh and able leadership without dictatorial tendencies which will uphold the rule of law.
The MDC-T is planning to hold an extraordinary congress next month as mandated by the Supreme Court to deal with the leadership question.
Zimbabwe is notorious for recycling the same deadwood and make a big song and dance about it, presenting it as renewal and progress. Mnangagwa booted out his former boss, Robert Mugabe, and a few other Zanu PF thugs around him and claimed this was enough to transform the dictatorship into a “Second Republic, a new dispensation!” The reality was something else, Zimbabwe remained the same pariah state ruled by corrupt, incompetent and vote rigging thugs.
Abednico Bhebhe, Thokosani Khupe, Nelson Chamisa, Tendai Biti, etc. these are the same corrupt and incompetent individuals who, together with Morgan Tsvangirai, have failed to implement even one reform in the last 20 years including the 5 years in the 2008 GNU. No amount of musical chairs shuffling can ever change the reality that these MDC leaders are corrupt, incompetent, sell-outs and utterly useless!
Zimbabwe is not going to get out of this hell-on-earth the country finds itself stuck in by recycling deadwood. The country will needs competent leaders and a competent electorate to find such leaders.
Why millions of Zimbabweans have failed to understand that the primary task of the 2008 to 2013 GNU was to implement the democratic reforms to ensure free and fair elections! This should have been as plain as day but clearly it is not, even today with all the benefit of hindsight, implementing the reforms still remains rocket science to many.
If someone has no clue what the reforms are about they will not know how the reforms were to be implemented nor appreciate the consequences of failing to implement the reforms. It is little wonder calling MDC leaders sell-outs has made many an MDC supporter’s blood boil!
Still, MDC leaders’ failure to implement the democratic reforms is the number reason Zimbabwe is still in this economic and political mess since the 2008 GNU. Of course, MDC leaders have sold-out and there is no chance of the nation ever getting out of the mess as long as the people continue to follow sell-outs and murderous tyrants blindly like sheep to the slaughter.
One does not need to be a rocket scientist to understand what the democratic reforms are; just common sense and a bit of effort!
SOME of Zimbabwe's largest companies have painted a grim picture of the country's socio-economic situation, reporting a sharp fall in revenues, as the relentless economic meltdown intensifies.
This has pushed the manufacturing sector to the brink, diminishing hopes for a projected 7,4% economic growth next year.
So dire has the industrial crisis been that one of the country's biggest manufacturers, United Refineries Limited, stopped production last week citing a worsening economic climate.
Zimbabwe's largest industrial body, the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI), has announced plans to retrench staff, while the Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce (ZNCC) has pleaded with government to pick up the business lobby's bills.
At the heart of the crisis are continuing forex shortages, declining buying power and fuel and power supply bottlenecks, which have been compounded by the Covid-19 scourge.
Government had promised to intervene by injecting up to ZW$18 billion (about US$220 million) to help firms pull through, but it reneged on the pledge leaving hundreds of manufacturers in the red.
Employers responded by throwing one million workers out of jobs, with the tourism industry retrenching 25% of its staff, according to ZNCC.
The tourism sector had been promised ZW$500 million (about US$6 million) in state bailouts, but it may contract by 98% after government again reneged on its promise.
At least ZW$1 billion (about US$12 million) has been wiped out of the tourism sector since the Covid-19-induced lockdown came into force in March, according to the Hospitality Association of Zimbabwe.
Investment analyst, Samuel Mapuranga agreed this week that the virus had compounded a dire economic crisis in Zimbabwe, but the country must place its focus on rebuilding a shuttered industry.
An analysis of key industrial statistics released by big firms this week indicated that in the absence of action, growth would remain subdued as the country has failed to build the foundations on which industry will return to full-scale production to lift the economy.
Corporate data analysed by the Zimbabwe Independent this week revealed that these figures were only a precursor to the headwinds that have confronted firms since January.
It never rains but pours! In Zimbabwe it is pouring cats and dogs!
The country’s few remaining industries are in serious trouble and off-load their workers on the mountain of unemployed. The IMF, WB, AfDB and all the other international lenders from whom the country would hope to get the much needed financial assistance to kick start the economy have been so disappointed by Zimbabwe’s failure to deal with such basics as ending corruption, good governance, holding free and fair elections. After decades of broken promises to reform the IMF and company have walked out, literally.
There will be no school exams this year as those responsible for setting the exams and marking them have walking out siting poor wages. This was the final nail in the country’s education service; it is dead and ready for burial.
The strained brought by the corona virus was the nail nail in the coffin of the country’s public health service; it too is ready for burial.
It is said that nations cannot be declared bankrupt but does that also apply to a Banana Republic because the Banana Republic of Zimbabwe is well and truly dead!
THE majority of residents in Zimbabwe's major urban areas are drinking sewage-contaminated water due to poor management systems by local authorities, AuditorGeneral Mildred Chiri has revealed in her latest audit report.
An assessment by the Auditor-General on six major cities in the country showed that urban local authorities were failing to attend to sewer blockages within 24 hours, resulting in raw sewage mixing with drinking water.
This ultimately gives rise to outbreaks of waterborne diseases such as typhoid, dysentery and cholera, among others.
It is cruel and heartless but most important of all it a historic fact say that Zimbabweans deserve to drink sewage water and all the other tragic economic hardship they are facing today. Zimbabwe’s economic meltdown is a man-made problem, a result of 40 years of gross mismanagement, rampant corruption and rank lawlessness. The people have seen all this coming and they chose to do nothing about it. Nothing!
In the end, nations get the government they deserve. Zimbabweans certainly deserve this corrupt and tyrannical Zanu PF dictatorship complete with its entourage of equally corrupt, incompetent and utterly useless opposition parties. They have done very little to deserve a competent government and must now suffer the consequence of their own political and mental inaptitude in keeping with the Charles Darwin maxim of survival of the fittest.
AN investigation by a seven-member team from the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) into the looting at Chiadzwa diamond fields in Manicaland has revealed cartels connected to military and political elites continue smuggling the precious mineral out of the country and salting away proceeds, The NewsHawks have established.
The team visited Chiadzwa on 9 September to conduct a weeklong investigation, which confirmed massive looting, including on claims owned by the Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Company and Anjin.
State security sources revealed the team compiled a report for CIO director-general Isaac Moyo which named diamond looting syndicates, but the dossier was doctored to avoid exposing those close to top officials.
“The report mentioned three cartels in particular, one linked to the security sector, the other one to a politically connected tycoon who has been on an asset-acquiring spree in the past few years and the other to a deputy minister,” a state security official revealed.
“The report gave headaches to the CIO top brass, given that the kingpins of the cartels are connected to the top most powerful people in government and the security sector.”
Moyo, security officials said, was cautious after seeing the names of persons involved and recommended the tightening of security to plug leakages instead of going after the looters.
“He watered down the report because he did not want to step on certain toes,” a security official said.
“Tightening security became the priority and not nailing the syndicates.”
Rampant looting and smuggling of diamonds, particularly by organised syndicates and state actors, have characterised operations at Chiadzwa since 2008.
Companies with intricate links to the security services were among the players licensed by the government when Zimbabwe began mining diamonds in Chiadzwa.
However, the firms were booted out of Chiadzwa in 2016 on allegations of understating earnings, tax evasion and smuggling. This led to the formation of the ZCDC in 2017, which was the only firm extracting diamonds in Chiadzwa until early this year when Anjin Investments was allowed back in. Anjin Investments (Pvt) Ltd is a joint venture between Chinese company Anhui Foreign Economic Construction (Group) Co. Ltd and a Zimbabwean entity, Matt Bronze Enterprises (Pvt) Ltd, owned by the military, founded on December 2009.
Besides the smuggling by syndicates, armed robbery gangs, suspected to comprise members of Zimbabwe’s security forces and some artisanal miners have also in the past raided the Chiadzwa diamond fields, getting away with tonnes of precious ore after overpowering ZCDC security in movie-style raids of the mining area.
One such heist was carried out in April last year, four months after another dramatic robbery.
ZCDC last year fired 80 employees on suspicion of involvement in the diamond heists.
When Mnangagwa came into power in 2017, he promised “zero tolerance on corruption” but after a year or so with the wholesale looting still going on, especially in the diamond industry, he gave up. “Corruption is deeply rooted!” he admitted.
The Edward Chindori-Chininga led Parliamentary Committee on Mines revealed in 2012 that the foreign mining companies and their local partners were not seeing any records of quality and quantity of diamonds, to whom they were sold and for how much, who benefit from the loot and how much they got, etc., etc. The diamond mining operations were not subject to the usual cooperation laws and regulation affecting everyone else. Parliament saw the report and did nothing because they all knew this had been approved by cabinet!
Corruption has been institutionalised in Zimbabwe and that is exactly what Mnangagwa meant by it being “deep rooted!”
Corruption can only be uprooted if Zanu PF is uprooted first. Nothing of substance will ever change in Zimbabwe until the country implement the democratic reforms, the pre-requisite for free, fair and credible elections.
HIS NAME IS PETER CHAKA – He is employed by Zimbabwe embassy in South Africa working for the external branch of the Central Intelligence Organisation.
He was promoted recently to the Special Tasks division responsible for the Southern Region under Masvingo, Bulawayo, Mberengwa, Victoria Falls and others.
Yesterday he was in Nyika and then traveled to Ngezi, for a mission at Sikhala’s farm and at the MP’s lawyer Harrison Nkomo’s farm, on one of his special projects assignments.
He left Ngezi, then Nyika on the way to Masvingo.
Well there is one thing we should all know by now - Zanu PF thugs believe they have the divine right to rule Zimbabwe. When Mugabe said "My Zimbabwe!" he meant it literally too!
40 years of absolute power in which the party has institutionalised looting in which those involved are not subject to the usual laws and regulation such as keeping audited company records, paying tax, etc. Those granted the mining concessions in Marange and Chiadzwa, for example, have carte blanche powers to do as they please, they are above the law. It was the GNU cabinet that approval these concessions and a 2012 Edward Chindori-Chininga's report confirmed this and parliament did nothing about.
After 40 years of absolute power and wholesale looting, Zanu PF is not going to give up power. Indeed, Zanu PF would rather burn down the whole country, make it ungovernable, than allow someone else to rule it! "Shaisano!" as one would say in Shona!
The biggest mistake we, the people, have made was to allow Zanu PF to rig elections and get away with it. We must now reclaim our freedoms and rights including the right to free and fair elections. Zanu PF has held the nation to ransom for 40 years, this must now end!
Why millions of Zimbabweans have failed to understand that the primary task of the 2008 to 2013 GNU was to implement the democratic reforms to ensure free and fair elections! This should have been as plain as day but clearly it is not, even today with all the benefit of hindsight, implementing the reforms still remains rocket science to many.
If someone has no clue what the reforms are about they will not know how the reforms were to be implemented nor appreciate the consequences of failing to implement the reforms. It is little wonder calling MDC leaders sell-outs has made many an MDC supporter’s blood boil!
Still, MDC leaders’ failure to implement the democratic reforms is the number reason Zimbabwe is still in this economic and political mess since the 2008 GNU. Of course, MDC leaders have sold-out and there is no chance of the nation ever getting out of the mess as long as the people continue to follow sell-outs and murderous tyrants blindly like sheep to the slaughter.
One does not need to be a rocket scientist to understand what the democratic reforms are; just common sense and a bit of effort!
Zimbabwe is not a fully fledged totalitarian state like China and North Korea. In the last 40 years we have had many golden opportunities to end the Zanu PF dictatorship and the best chance, by long country mile, was during the 2008 to 2013 GNU.
Why millions of Zimbabweans have failed to understand that the primary task of the 2008 to 2013 GNU was to implement the democratic reforms to ensure free and fair elections, speaks volumes of who we are - a naive and confused lot! After decades of rigged elections, this should have been as plain as day. It was not at the time and still is a complete mystery to many today even with the benefit of hindsight.
With no clue what the reforms are, how they would be implemented and, most important of all, with no appreciation of the dire consequences of failing to implement the reforms; it is little wonder these confused individuals are even furious to hear MDC leaders called sell-outs.
People like Tendai Biti have taken full advantage of the ignorance of the masses to airbrush the GNU years out of the historic narrative and continue to present themselves as the champions fighting for change. They hardly ever talk of democratic reforms much less implementing them, because they know they missed the boat during the 2008 GNU and Zanu PF are not going to give them another chance.
MDC leaders’ failure to implement the democratic reforms is the number reason Zimbabwe is still in this economic and political mess. And as long as MDC continue participating in these flawed elections and giving Zanu PF legitimacy it is going to be very hard to force Zanu PF to accept meaningful democratic change!
For their part, MDC leaders will continue participating in these flawed elections as long as they continue to enjoy popular public support - the fact that these are ignorant and desperate people is of no account.
The Zimbabwean people have to make a concerted effort to understand such matters as what constitute free and fair elections, what reforms would be required to deliver free elections, etc. A healthy and functioning democracy demands an informed and diligent electorate. One does not need to be a rocket scientist to understand these matters; only they need is is common sense and some mental effort!
The consequences of failing end the Zanu PF dictatorship is worsening economic meltdown, millions more living in abject poverty and even worse political tyranny as Zanu PF fights to retain power at all cost. The country’s education and health care are all but dead.
If we do nothing to end the dictatorship and the window of opportunity to do so is closing fast; the future is going to be hell-on-earth, of that we can be certain.
@ Bajila
“The Late Genius Kadungure Did His Business In Very Unusual Ways,” Opinion.
1) He was the CEO of Piko Trading Group which owns four companies namely Pioneer Gases, Quick Gases, Rivonia Gases, and City Center Freight. Besides himself, no other board member of any of these companies is known. Even after his tragic death, none of his companies has released a statement saying anything about the death of the CEO. While there is absolutely nothing wrong with this, it is very UNUSUAL for multimillion-dollar companies to have no known bureaucracy and to deffer an opportunity to publicly mourn their CEO.
2) Piko Trading Group and all its subsidiaries sell products and services that are wanted by many people in the countries where they are stationed. USUALLY, for such companies to grow fast they need to have top class systems for marketing and customer support. They say “Companies do not advertise because they are big. They are big because they advertise”. The world’s richest oil and gas tycoon is Mukesh Ambani. His companies do web, gloss, billboard, and other digital forms of marketing. Even Harare-based gas companies like Intergas, BOC Gas, Master Gas Energy, etc have these USUAL attributes of a modern business. However, Piko Trading Group and all its subsidiaries have no website, no officially designated public relations manager, and no network of depots where new and prospective clients can access the product. One wonders how they built and kept a clientele that made the millions. Again, while there is nothing wrong with this, it is very UNUSUAL.
In short, to build a multimillion dollar business in a country where many have failed because mismanagement and corruption at a national level are rampant; one must be very talented or as corrupt as hell! There is no in between here.
Addressing journalists in Harare, Zanu PF acting spokesperson Patrick Chinamasa said Zimbabwe could have intervened in the Mozambique war, but was frustrated by sanctions which crippled its economy.
"If we had no sanctions and the country operating in a normal manner, the insurgency is Mozambique was a clear case on intervention by Zimbabwe," Chinamasa said.
"But the sanctions have made us not intervene. We are then asking the United States President-elect Joe Biden to remove the sanctions which he co-authored, if he's intelligent enough.”
Zimbabwe has been under US sanctions since 2001 over alleged gross human rights abuses which started during the late former President Robert Mugabe's era.
"Do we have the capacity to challenge a superpower? How can Zimbabwe be a threat? We are said to be a hostile nation; even if we want to be hostile, we have no capacity to stand up to a superpower like the US. They should just do the honourable thing and remove their sanctions which they imposed on the country."
Zimbabwe in the mid-1980s intervened in the Mozambican civil war after Renamo rebels led by the late Afonso Dhlakhama turned against former President Joachim Chissano.
The army was deployed to defend the Beira Corridor which hosts a fuel pipeline into Zimbabwe. The troops were only withdrawn 14 years later following a gruesome fight. Six year later, Zimbabwean troops again intervened in the Democratic Republic of Congo civil war, causing the local economy to collapse.
The root cause of the military unrest in Mozambique is the failure by the Mozambique government to deliver justice, freedom and economic prosperity to all and not just the few ruling elite. The de facto one-party dictatorship that has ruled Mozambique since the country’s independence in 1975 has served the ruling elite well but served the nation badly.
Compared to Zimbabwe, Mozambique is a free and prosperous nation. 40 years of corrupt and tyrannical Zanu PF de facto one-party dictatorship has left the nation’s economy in ruins and millions living in abject poverty. There are many Zimbabwean economic refugees in Mozambique today.
Chinamasa, like the rest of the Zanu PF ruling elite, is trying to blame sanctions for the country’s economic meltdown; this is just a time wasting avocation to draw attention away from corruption and bad governance, the real causes of the economic meltdown. After 40 years of misrule, the chicken have finally come home to roost. Zimbabwe is in a real economic and political crisis.
Zanu PF would love to be involved in the fighting in Mozambique; to draw attention away from its own internal crisis and employ its bloated Army, for one thing. If someone will bankroll Zimbabwe, it will be out there fighting; the country is too broke to finance the operation itself!
Zimbabwe is just a gun for hire, its decades of military adventures are over! Zimbabwe is just a pretentious Banana Republic whose, once upon a time, lion’s row is now the raucous call of a bull frog. How the mighty have fallen!
Tendai Biti enjoyed his term as Minister of Finance so much so that he did not want to upset Mugabe by implementing the democratic reforms. He was so cocksure that whatever happened, even if Zanu PF was to rig the July 2013 elections and win, everyone would still want him to continue as Minister of Finance. He was shocked when Mugabe named Patrick Chinamasa Minister of Finance after the 2013 elections.
Ever since the 2013 rigged elections, Biti has reminded the people of Zimbabwe just how much they are suffering because Zanu PF is still in power and how much better off they would be if he, Tendai Biti, was Minister of Finance.
Of course, if Biti and and his MDC friends had implemented the democratic reforms, they have failed to implement even one in 20 years, Zanu PF would no long be in power. The real tragedy here is that the people themselves have failed to see that by failing to implement even one reform in 20 years it is proof MDC has no clue what they are doing. The people of Zimbabwe should have deserted MDC in droves after the party's selling out during the 2008 to 2013 GNU; they did not and continue to follow MDC like sheep to the slaughter.
@ Shapiro
It was USA Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Chris Dell, who said in a leaked cable back to Washington that Tsvangirai was "a flawed and indecisive character who would be an albatross round the nation's neck, if he was ever to get into power". The Ambassador was right, as the events of the 2008 to 2013 GNU have shown. Indeed the Ambassador could have said the same of all the MDC leaders!
It is therefore rich to serious expect the shrewd and savvy American politicians to be influenced one way or the other by "flawed and indecisive" MDC leaders. Zanu PF leaders and their apologists do not have the guts to confront the Americans head-on and so landed a soft target - MDC leaders. No one who knows just how corrupt and incompetent MDC leaders are would ever believe the nonsense that they influenced the Americans in any way.
@ Reckshon Chapfika
"It is easy to disrupt smooth governance if the opposition parties refuse to accept defeat. I think this is a real bad time to talk about the legitimacy of the winner. Zimbabwe actually went to court, judgement was passed. So ! The onus is on the so called opposition."
It is impossible to have free and fair election when 3 million voters (more than 2.4 million of the supposed winner) are denied the vote, there is no verified voters' roll, etc. MDC A knew Zanu PF was rigging the July 2018 elections but still they participated because they also knew that Zanu PF was giving away a few gravy train seats.
By participating in the flawed elections MDC gave the process some credibility and, by extension, gave the vote rigging Zanu PF regime some modicum of legitimacy.
Before the 2008 to 2013 GNU Zimbabwe had a de facto one-party dictatorship and Zanu PF blatantly rigged the elections. The nation's challenge was to implement the democratic reforms designed to stop the vote rigging. Zanu PF has since changed tact, the party has since learned that it can keep all its dictatorial powers and rig elections and get away with it as long as it allows the opposition to win a few gravy train seats.
As far as the ordinary Zimbabwean is concerned they are still being denied their freedoms and rights including the right to a free vote. Mnangagwa has dismissed that as nonsense and pointed to the hotly contested elections, there were 23 presidential candidate for example, as proof the elections are free, fair and credible. "Why would so many opposition candidates contest the elections if they were not free, fair and credible?" he has asked.
Before the 2008 GNU Zimbabwe had a corrupt and tyrannical dictatorship blatantly rigging elections. Since the GNU we still have the same dictatorship blatantly rigging the elections only this time it has a corrupt and incompetent opposition participating and thus giving the impression these are multi-party democratic elections!
Since you removed Ian Smith in 1980, what improvements have you done?, asks Julie in her weekend message VIDEO.
This girl is now a thorn in Mnangagwa's backside! She asks the simplest questions that are, more often than not, the hardest to answer. And it is her knowing and mocking laugh that is driving ED and his cronies nuts!
Julie may has her misaligned baby teeth but the same cannot be said about her verbal jabs and left hook!
ZANU PF MP for Chirumhanzu-Zibagwe Prosper Machando has warned youths they will be beaten up if they dared protest against government.
Machando was speaking at Thursday’s National Association of Youth Organisations’ (NAYO) Youth Indaba in Harare.
“Adding a voice to national issues is not bad but very good so that we are heard, but the way we do it is questionable,” said Machando.
As Zimbabwe's economy sinks deeper and deeper into the abyss, Zanu PF will resort to brutal force to cow the nation into submission. The people have had many golden opportunities to end the dictatorship, other than street protests, but have wasted them all. Zanu PF has managed to get away with rigged elections because the people themselves did not know what constituted free, fair and credible elections, for example. If the people of Zimbabwe are serious about ending the curse of rigged elections and bad governance then they must learn the A, B, C and D of democracy.
Street protests will not change much in a country whose electorate do not know what constitutes free, fair and credible elections! Street protest are a poor substitute to knowledge!
A TOTAL of 653 healthcare workers have been infected with the coronavirus since the Covid-19 pandemic was first started in Zimbabwe in March, but all of them have now recovered, information minister Monica Mutsvangwa has said.
“Cabinet reiterates the need for the public not to lose vigilance through complacency,” state-run Herald newspaper, in its Wednesday editions, quoted Information Minister Mutsvangwa was quoted telling a media briefing.
As of November 2, Zimbabwe had recorded 8,389 confirmed cases, 7,939 recoveries, and 245 deaths related to Covid-19.
This is just meaningless nonsense. How many healthcare workers have been tested for corona virus since the outbreak in March? And yet as frontline workers they are supposed to be tested every week at the very least. In Zimbabwe there are health care workers who have not been tested even once.
Zimbabwe's corona virus cases and death figures are totally meaningless!
As a US senator in 2001, Biden co-sponsored the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act, which paved the way for the US to impose travel and economic sanctions on individuals (and their associates) responsible for the deliberate breakdown of the rule of law, politically motivated violence, and intimidation in Zimbabwe. These targeted sanctions have been imposed since 2003 on select individuals in the ruling ZANU-PF government and companies known to facilitate human rights abuses, undermine the rule of law, and engage in looting public resources for personal or political gain.
President Biden has to admit that the human rights situation in Zimbabwe is a hell lot worse now than in 2001. The revision of ZDERA is clearly long over due. The targeted sanctions screw must be tightened and make them count.
The targeted individuals must selected with greater care and attention. Individuals like Professor Mthuli Ncube, Minister of Finance, know the regime is illegitimate but elected to work for it for selfish reason. The opposition leaders are participating in flawed elections giving Zanu PF some modicum of legitimacy. All these individuals must now be added to the sanctions list.
Spotlight Zimbabwe, is going to publish an exclusive “Zimbabwe Readers Political Report 2023”, next month in which our editorial team led by our editor, will give detailed analysis and political reasons why former cabinet minister, Saviour Kasukuwere, is all but going to be installed as President in 2023.
If Spotlight Zimbabwe's prediction was to come true and Kasukuwere was to be Zimbabwe's President it is be a sign the country has continued to regress! Kasukuwere is a thug and electing him back into power will show the nation has learned nothing!
They also added that Zanu pf has subjected them to slaves in a foreign land, therefore they vowed to do all they can to remove Zanu pf.
"It's now clear that Chamisa holds the future of our Country. We have seen it that Zanu pf holds no keys of progress as it has totally destroyed everything in the country.
"We are concerned about our future and those of our children in Zimbabwe. Right now we are seeing people arrested for no crime and tortured in the hands of Zanu pf. Chin'ono has committed no crime but he's languishing in jail. Some people who are back home think that we are living well here not knowing that we are in a hell. We are living like slaves" , said one of the member.
There is no denying that the Zanu PF has all but completely failed to govern and the future is grime. But is it not tempting providence to argue “Chamisa holds the future”?
The people of Zimbabwe have risked life and limb to elect Chamisa and his MDC friends into power on the understanding they would implement the democratic changes to end the Zanu PF dictatorship the nation was dying for. MDC has been on the political stage for 20 years, 5 of which in the GNU, and yet have failed to implement even one democratic reform. Not one!
The country is still in this political and economic mess because MDC leaders have proven to be breathtakingly corrupt and incompetent. It is therefore a great shock that anyone, anyone at all, with half a brain would entrust the nation’s future to those who are corrupt and incompetent!
Zimbabweans came out in the thousands in support the November 2017 military coup, because they were convinced that anyone; even Mnangagwa with his proven track record as corrupt, vote rigging and murderous thug; was better than Mugabe. We have a knack for convincing ourselves that there is a difference between a black mamba and cobra and forgetting they are all deadly snakes.
The blind loyalty to MDC is not new, we saw the same blind loyalty to Zanu PF after independence. Those who do not learn from history are destined to repeat the same mistakes over and over again.
Until we learn the important of electing competent leaders with some common sense, at least; there will be no escape out of the hell-on-earth Zanu PF landed us in. If we do not even have the common sense to MDC leaders for the sell-outs they are, there is no hope of escape!
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