My beef with Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) leaders, as
with many other civic organisations in Zimbabwe, is why they have remained doggedly
loyal MDC leaders even in the face of the overwhelming evidence of MDC leaders
have sold-out!
“It is expected that government will say there is no crisis (in
Zimbabwe); the abusers will see peace because they are benefitting but their
victims will be saying they cannot breathe,” said ZCTU President Peter Mutasa,
at a gathering to commemorate 11 March 2007 “Save Zimbabwe”.
The country still needs saving today, more so now than ever! The
economic and political crisis is worse as the Zanu PF dictatorship behind it
has become more subtle.
“One thing that is central to this debacle is that they are not
just defending political power, they are on steroids in terms of primitive
accumulation, they are defending economic gains, their diamonds, gold claims,
land; they are defending their ill-gotten wealth,” continued Mutasa.
“They will not hand it over easily. If you think they are rich,
they think they are not yet rich, if you think they are millionaires, they want
to be billionaires. If you think they are billionaires, they want their kids to
be millionaires. If you think their children are now billionaires, they want their
grandchildren to be billionaires too.”
True, Zanu PF leaders’ hunger for absolute power and wealth is
insatiable. But so too is the MDC leaders’ hunger for power and wealth. Indeed,
it was this weakness that Mugabe exploited to render MDC, as instruments of
democratic change, utterly useless.
Mugabe bribed Morgan Tsvangirai and his fellow MDC leaders during
the 2008 to 2013 GNU, with the trappings of power; the ministerial limos, the
very generous salaries and perks, a US$4 Highlands mansion for Tsvangirai,
etc., etc. In return, the MDC leaders throw all democratic reforms out of the
window; they knew Mugabe did not want the dictatorship dismantled and they obliged!
“We have no choice, it is a generational call, we need to be
persistent, government is not going to give it on a silver platter,” concluded
the ZCTU leader.
Zimbabwe has remained stuck in this man-made economic and
political crisis not because the people have not been persistent and wanted
their freedoms and basic human rights handed to them in silver platters. The
people have risked life and limb, over 500 were murdered by Zanu PF thugs in
the 2008 election alone, for democratic change.
Zimbabweans have been let down by the men and women they elected
to bring democratic change – MDC leaders.
“Know the enemy and know yourself; in a hundred battles you will
never be in peril. When you are ignorant of the enemy, but know yourself, your
chances of winning or losing are equal. If ignorant both of your enemy and
yourself, you are certain in every battle to be in peril.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War
It is shocking that ZCTU leaders like Mutasa have failed to see
MDC leaders for whom they really are – corrupt, incompetent, sell-outs and
utterly useless, an hinderance in the fight for a just and democratic Zimbabwe.
Ever since the 2008 GNU debacle, MDC leaders have been running
with the povo hare and hunting with the Zanu PF hounds. And to keep counting
MDC leaders as reliable partners in fighting for a just and democratic Zimbabwe
is naïve, to say the least.
Among the audience listening to Mutasa was MDC Alliance leader,
Nelson Chamisa.
MDC have been on the political stage for 20 years, 5 of which in
the GNU, and have failed to implement even one democratic reform. They have
been participating in flawed and illegal elections giving Zanu PF legitimacy
and thus perpetuating the dictatorship. Recognising MDC leaders as sell-outs is
not just an art of war, as Sun Tzu put it, but common sense.
6 comments:
The details of MDC leaders’ selling out during the GNU are well documented that it is inconceivable that anyone much more a ZCTU leader like Peter Mutasa would not know what happened. Knowing is one thing understanding the full import of the situation is another matter. Mutasa still considers MDC a partner in the fight for democratic change in Zimbabwe because MDC leaders’ pathetic past record is water off the duck’s back.
"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." Is a very common sentiment in Zimbabwean history and one we have ignored repeatedly and paid dearly for our folly repeatedly too!
MDC leaders are not going to implement any meaningful democratic reforms and by participating in flawed elections and giving the vote rigging Zanu PF legitimacy MDC leaders are making it near impossible for others to exert any pressure on Zanu PF to implement reforms. God knows how long it is going to take simpletons like Peter Mutasa to realise this simple reality.
The brain of many Zimbabweans has ossified into fat, after decades of idle existence, and is now impermeable to reason, logic, reality and/or truth!
"I have written several letters to Mnangagwa. I have sent emissaries to Mnangagwa to say come let us reason together. This problem for Zimbabwe is too big for you.
"You are incapable of solving it alone. It takes two to tango. Come let's look at the problem together. But he doesn't listen."
Chamisa you had your dialogue and had five years of the GNU tango and you failed to get even one reform implemented. You have been writing to Mnangagwa calling for a new GNU not because you want to implement reforms but so you can get back on the gravy train.
MDC failed to implement even one reform during the 2008 to 2013 GNU because you lot were comfortable; you had the ministerial limos, the generous salaries and perks, Tsvangirai had his US$4 million Highlands mansion, etc. You only remembered about the reforms after Zanu PF rigged the 2013 elections and you lost your ministerial limos, etc.
You and MDC A will participate in the 2023 elections even if not one reform is implemented because you are after the few gravy train seats Zanu PF is offering as bait!
I dare you to deny MDC A will not participate in the 2023 elections with no reforms. I dare you! We all know that Tendai Biti, David Coltart, Job Sikhala and the rest will other reform their original parties or stand as independent candidates rather than pass the chance to win the few gravy train seats Zanu PF is offering as bait.
MDC is now in politics for whatever spoils of power it can get from Zanu PF even when it means participating will give the vote rigging Zanu PF legitimacy! You lot do not care that elections are rigged and the nation is stuck with bad governance. You lot are sell-outs!
Chamisa said since the courts were failing to ensure justice, "political disputes must therefore be settled in the stadium of the people."
"That means our zones of resolving political questions of the day are going to be superintended upon by the people who are going to be umpires, the referees, but also going to be actors," Chamisa said.
Chamisa is a just a hypocrite who is just taking advantage of the people’s failure to comprehend what is going on here.
MDC leaders had the golden opportunity to implement the democratic reforms during the 2008 to 2013 GNU; they failed to get even one reform implemented because they had their snouts in the feeding trough and forgot about the reforms.
“Mazivanhu eMDC adzidza kudya anyerere!” (MDC people have learned to enjoy the gravy train good-life, they will not rock the boat!) boasted Zanu PF cronies when asked why MDC leaders were not implementing the reforms.
Since the GNU debacle MDC leaders have participated in elections knowing Zanu PF was rigging and that by participating they would give the regime legitimacy. They still participated regardless because they also knew that Zanu PF was giving away a few gravy train seats as bait – that they found irresistible!
MDC leaders have given up getting reforms implemented and have settled for whatever spoils of power they can get from Zanu PF as their reward for helping Zanu PF remain in power by giving the vote rigging regime legitimacy. Both MDC and Zanu PF are taking full advantage of the majority of Zimbabweans who have no idea what reforms are about and therefore failed to notice MDC leaders sold-out during the 2008 GNU!
MDC leaders will never implement any reforms and thus deliver free and fair elections; they are just paying lip-service to reforms and free and fair elections. Chamisa and company will participate in the 2023 elections with not even a token reform implemented, just as they have done in the past!
@ Mbofana
“As in any other relationship borne out of desperation, and even a need for protection from powerful enemies - Zimbabwe's involvement with the Chinese has been anything but equal and fair - as the Asian superpower has virtually turned its southern African poodle into a shameful lapdog, that would do anything for its master.
However, in spite of a two decade post-independence flirtatious relationship with the West - whereby, the Zimbabwe regime were awarded carte blanche to wantonly and cold-bloodedly massacre over 20,000 innocent civilians in the Matebeleland and Midlands provinces, whilst the leadership of then ruthless tyrant Robert Gabriel Mugabe was being heralded in Washington DC, and London as exemplary, with his knighting by the queen of England - this was short-lived, and quickly turned toxic, after the murderous land reform program in the early 2000s, which resulted in Harare seeking refugee in the arms of their former benefactors, who had obviously been feeling rather betrayed by this West-Zimbabwe marriage, in spite of the Chinese liberation struggle investment.”
You are right, the Chinese were very disappointed to see Mugabe cosying up to the West in the first 20 years after independence. The Chinese did bide their time. The West-Zimbabwe marriage did not last, it turned sour over the later reckless spending habit and failure to pay his debts.
The Chinese played along by feeding Mugabe and his cronies’ insatiable greed mansions and extravagant lifestyles and in return China asked for rights to exploit Zimbabwe’s resources. Zanu PF ruling elite are now addicted to their extravagant lifestyles and they know they owe it all to the Chinese and the Chinese know they are making a killing and will do anything to keep Zanu PF in power.
The big losers in this Zanu PF- China relationship are the ordinary Zimbabweans who are stuck with the corrupt, incompetent and tyrannical Zanu PF dictatorship which together with their Chinese handlers are robbing the nation blind.
Like it or not, the Chinese will never allow any reforms to be implemented and Zimbabwe to hold free, fair and credible elections. Zimbabweans have no say in this, it is the Chinese who have the say. They are our new colonial masters!
"Polad should engage in income-generating projects contributing to economic revival whereby issues touching on the welfare of Polad need to be expedited as they go a long way in making them not only sharing of ideas, but adding to the economic growth in this country through utilising the farms, thereby setting an example to the nation on how agriculture, which is pivotal to the economic growth of the country, has to be done and whilst at the same time we need to increase on awareness and visibility," the report says.
Polad insiders said diplomatic passports had been added to the demands, which Mnangagwa's government was "actively considering".
Ordinary Zimbabweans are finding it difficult to access passports with people, who applied for the travel document as far back as 2019 yet to get it.
The Polad members are said to have justified the requests for diplomatic passports and vehicles by saying these would help them discharge their duties.
"There is also an issue of diplomatic passports and vehicles," said the source.
Everyone in the opposition camp who participated in the July 2018 elections KNEW that Zanu PF was rigging those elections. They also KNEW that Zanu PF was giving away a few gravy train seats plus cut of the annual budget Political Party Finance Act allocation, the found this bait irresistible.
Of course, they all understood that by participating in the flawed and illegal elections they were giving the process credibility and, by extension, giving the vote rigging Zanu PF legitimacy. The bait was the payment for their trouble.
When Mnangagwa launched POLAD, this was a bonus to the opposition leaders and it is no surprise they have been as keen as mustard to cash in and squeeze more of the spoils of power.
Chamisa has refused to join POLAD for no better reason than that he is special and deserve special treatment from Mnangagwa. Chamisa wants Mnangagwa to create the Leader of Opposition and Shadow Cabinet posts complete with the ministerial limos, salaries and perks.
Chamisa and company are calling for reforms but that is all hot air. They are gearing for the 2023 elections knowing Zanu PF will rig, they are after the bait Zanu PF is dangling!
@ Mbofana
All the opposition politicians who participated in the July 2018 elections are opportunists, they all knew that Zanu PF was rigging the elections but participated regardless because they also knew that Zanu PF would be giving away a few gravy train seats and a cut of the Political Party Finance Act budget allocation.
By participating the opposition gave the flaw elections credibility and the the vote rigging Zanu PF legitimacy.
No one with half a brain was fooled by Chamisa’s foolish claim that Mnangagwa stole the elections because it was none other than Chamisa himself who had insisted in participating in the elections claiming his party would stop Zanu PF rigging the elections.
“MDC has stringent measures to stop Zanu PF rigging the elections!” said Chamisa before the July 2018 elections.
By participating MDC A as with the rest in the opposition gave Zanu PF legitimacy. It is nonsensical for Chamisa to therefore claim he alone could withdraw that legitimacy as he pleased.
Chamisa has been pushing for the creation of the Leader of Opposition and Shadow Cabinet post for himself and his MDC A friends.
Chamisa et al do not care that Zanu PF is rigging the elections and denying the majority of Zimbabweans a meaningful say in the governance of the country. All they care about is they get a share of the spoils of power. Of course, all our opposition politicians are opportunists!
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