"Do
unto others as you would have them do unto you!" Is rightly considered the
"Golden Rule" because it is the fountain of all just, fair and
peaceful human relations; the fountain on which human civilization is build.
Like
all rules, the Golden Rule is there to protect the just against the unjust and
the weak against the strong, the fair against the unfair and the peace loving
against those who would disrupt the peace for whatever reasons. There are
unjust and selfish individuals out there who, if left to do as their please,
will spoil everything for us all.
It is
therefore imperative that those who break the Golden Rule must be punished. The
punishment must serve two purposes; to reprimand the wrongdoer and thus making
it clear their behaviour will not be tolerated. The punishment must assure the
victims and society at large that the lawlessness will not happen again and, if
practical, compensate the victim(s) of their lose.
The
Golden Rule is common sense really. Sadly, many societies, nations, etc. have
descended into chaos and lawlessness with some of them stuck there for
generations because they have failed to apply common sense. It is not so much
that these societies have failed to grasp the essence of “Do unto others as you
would have them do unto you!” They grasped all that! They have fallen flat on
the faces on policing and enforcing the Golden Rule.
So,
the Golden Rule alone is not enough to guarantee justice, peace, liberty,
progress and prosperity for all. The Golden Rule must be policed and enforced
without fear or favour. That too is common sense!
There
is no denying Zimbabwe is a Banana Republic, a failed state, a pariah state,
ruled by corrupt, incompetent and murderous thugs who have been rigging
elections to extend their tyrannical rule. The Golden Rule has been corrupted
the wicked rule the roost. There is no justice, no peace and no progress.
The
few ruling elite have become filthy rich at the expense of the majority who
have been denied their freedoms, human rights and dignity. 41 years of gross
mismanagement, rampant corruption
And rank
lawlessness have all but destroyed the country’s once robust and promising
economy. 50% of our people are now living in abject poverty and basic services
like education and health care have collapsed after decades of being starved of
funds.
Zimbabwe
is standing on the edge of the precipitous abyss; the decades of corrupt and
tyrannical rule have brought us here. There is only so much human beings can
endure before they rebel and all hell breaks lose. Rebellion transforms rational
humans into a lawless mob hell bend on death and destruction. Zimbabweans have
been pushed well beyond the limit of endurance. We must act quickly to restore
the rule of law and walk away from the edge of the abyss.
"The
findings of the United states on human rights abuses in Zimbabwe are correct
and everyone wants a situation where we don't continue on that path," acknowledged
Lovemore Madhuku, National Constitutional Assembly (NCA) leader and a member of
Mnangagwa’s POLAD.
Madhuku
was commenting on the recent USA report castigating the Zanu PF regime for its
repeated human rights violations. The Americans have made it clear they will
not lift the economic sanctions impose of the regime until there are democratic
reforms and good governance in Zimbabwe.
"The
re-engagement efforts must not be affected by the human rights issues,” argued
Madhuku, according to The Standard.
"There
must continue to be reengagement, but the fact that there are human rights
abuses must not justify the continuation of sanctions.
"Their
approach to punish by imposing sanctions is not the way. You keep pointing them
out and ensuring that Zimbabweans themselves are alert.
"For example, let us convince those that continue to vote for Zanu PF not
to do so and let us continue to have reforms and push for electoral reforms and
political reforms so that the next elections will be better and ultimately the
solution to end all this is to change the government in the future.”
Madhuku’s
arguments must be dismissed with the contempt they rightly deserve for two
reasons:
1) 1) Madhuku
does not deny that Zanu PF is a repeat abuser of human rights notable denying
the ordinary Zimbabweans the right to a meaningful vote and good governance.
For 41 years and counting Zanu PF has blatantly rigged elections and has, to
this day, stubbornly refused to implement any democratic reforms. To argue that
the regime should not be punished for its contemptuous disregard of the rule of
law and the heart-breaking human suffering and deaths the decades of corrupt
and tyrannical Zanu PF rule have brought is foolish. It is the more
contemptuous considering Madhuku is a Law Professor! One shudders to think what
he is teaching his students if he is against punishment, one of the trio tenets
without which rule of law cannot stand.
2) 2) “Let us
continue to have reforms and push for electoral reforms and political reforms!”
This is laughable if this was not such a life and death matter! The MDC leaders
had five years to table reform proposals during the 2008 to 2013 GNU; they did
not have to “push” Zanu PF then. They failed to table even one token reform in
five years. And ever since the GNU debacle, the MDC and the rest in the
opposition camp, including Madhuku, have all participated in the flawed and
illegal elections for the sake of few gravy train seats, a cut of the Political
Party Finance Act budget allocation and, for presidential candidates, a seat on
POLAD. By participating in the flawed elections the opposition have given
credibility to the process and legitimacy to the results. As long as Zanu PF is
assured of the opposition’s participation and legitimacy the party will never
ever implement any reforms. The opposition is not doing anything to end Zanu PF’s
corrupt and tyrannical rule; they doing the exact opposite, they are
perpetuating Zanu PF’s tyrannical rule. Instead of lifting the sanctions
imposed on Zanu PF leaders, the Americans and their Western allies must
increase the sanctions and make them bite. Indeed, there is good reason to
extent the sanctions to include the opposition leaders who have taken it upon
themselves to frustrate efforts to pressure Zanu PF to implement reforms.
11 comments:
The west must be careful not to have a fixation with MDC, the party has already proven that it is corrupt and incompetent. The implosion within MDC A is a result of the leaders' own incompetence and to blame Zanu PF for it is to completely miss the point!
@ Kaitano
“Dialogue that enables the development of processes that will result in undisputed election results is the only dialogue that is essential among stakeholders in the country in order to address the country’s challenges,” you said.
You have hit the nail in the head right there! Whatever we do; be it dialogue, another military assisted transition or whatever; it must result in the implementation of democratic reforms and free, fair and credible elections. Nothing else will do. Nothing!
The rest of your article is concerned with bringing President Mnangagwa to talk with Nelson Chamisa. “Listening President, please swallow your pride and listen to evidence of election rigging by your agents. That will help find solutions to future elections, and that will move the country forward,” you argue.
What hope is there of getting Mnangagwa and Chamisa to implement the democratic reforms, especially when we all know that the 2008 to 2013 Zanu PF and MDC GNU failed to implement even one reform?
If you had all your wits about you then you would realise that Mnangagwa rigged the elections but got his legitimacy regardless from the participation of Chamisa and the rest of the opposition in the flawed and illegal elections. Mnangagwa will never ever implement even one reform as long as he knows the opposition will participate in elections and give him legitimacy.
No one of standing has been listening to Chamisa’s nonsense about Mnangagwa being illegitimate because they know it was Chamisa’s participation in the 2018 elections that gave Mnangagwa legitimacy. As we speak, MDC A is gearing to participate in the 2023 elections with no reforms in place. Chamisa will complain that the elections were rigged and, of course, no one with half a brain will listen!
Mwonzora was told in no uncertain terms that his claim to be the main opposition leader in Zimbabwe was dubious during a March 31 virtual meeting with EU heads of mission, multiple sources that followed the proceedings.
“The envoys told Mwonzora that they had challenges recognising him as the face of the opposition because he did not participate in the 2018 elections as a presidential candidate,” said the official, who requested to remain anonymous.
“The two parties, however, agreed that broad-based dialogue should include Chamisa.
-The Standard
I would take the above report with a truck-load of salt! The western nation are smart enough to know that the implosion in the MDC A resulting in all the recalls of the party’s elected officials are of Nelson Chamisa and Tendai Biti’s own making. The pathetic performance of the MDC leaders during the 2008 to 2013 GNU has proven beyond all doubt that these individuals are corrupt and incompetent. It would be very foolish, to say the least, for anyone especially those in the West who should know better, to be backing corrupt and incompetent MDC leaders!
Mnangagwa rigged the 2018 elections but only got his legitimacy from the opposition’s participation. We would not be in this mess if Chamisa and company had not participated in the elections and, guess what, they are preparing to participate in the 2023 elections and thus giving Zanu PF another five more years.
The biggest challenge for Zimbabwe is to end this cat and mouse game Zanu PF and MDC have been playing. Chamisa and company must stop participating in elections, give Zanu PF legitimacy and then make a big song and dance about Zanu PF lacking legitimacy. Enough of this nonsense!
If the 2023 elections go ahead with no reforms then the plebiscite must be declared null and void regardless of MDC A participation.
The Golden Rule, democracy, rule of law, etc. work in those societies where seeing oneself in the other person's shoes comes naturally. Sadly, that is not the case in Zimbabwe!
Our leaders love making a big song and dance about injustice whenever it occurs and how they would stamp it out. Fighting injustice is their ticket to getting into a position of power and authority. Once there, instead of upholding the law, policing and enforcing it for the good of all they disregard and abuse the law and seek to appease those breaking the law for a share of the spoils.
Lovemore Madhuku's NCA was formed to challenge Zanu PF's disregard and abuse of the country's constitution. NCA's constitution stipulated that leaders could only remain in office for a maximum of two terms. When the time came for Madhuku to relinquish as post, he changed the constitution so he could stay. So NCA advocated the respect of the constitution as long as the same was not expected of Madhuku!
To people like Madhuku, Nelson Chamisa, Emmerson Mnangagwa, etc. they consider themselves the ruling elite and the rules governing the ordinary mortals do not apply to them. Mnangagwa cannot be held to account for the human rights abuses much less punished with the sanctions; he should be appeased and nagged to implement reforms at his own pace – regardless it is now 41 years of rigged elections!
In Zimbabwe people clamour for rule of law as long as it suits their selfish agenda especially when they are in positions of power and authority. Since rule of law is there to protect the weak from the powerful it is no surprise the weak are left to suffer!
The people of Zimbabwe must wake-up to the reality political leaders must be accountable to the people for democracy and rule of law to work. The people must demand the implementation of the reforms BEFORE the next elections and it is foolish to let the politicians place a part in this, especially discredited opportunists like Madhuku, Chamisa and Mnangagwa!
Asked by NewZimbabwe.com on Thursday why the board had not sought the approval of current minister Soda Zhemu to have the managers reinstated, Gata said this would be tantamount to pre-empting the labour court’s pending decision.
“The situation has been difficult for the managers who were sacked,” he said.
“We cannot do anything except to wait for the courts’ decision regarding their dismissals.
“The sad part is that they were doing their job and could not object to directives from above.
“They are suffering. Children are not going to school and cannot afford to pay for their legal representation to speed up the court hearings. We cannot intervene now as a board,” Gata said.
New Zimbabwe should have asked Gata whether his own appointment was not a “directive from above”? The country is in this economic and political mess because of decades of gross mismanagement and rampant corruption all in the name of political patronage. Gata is a hypocrite pretending to dislike political patronage when he is one of the beneficiaries of the rot!
Hugh Jarse • 10 hours ago
Quote: "The Golden Rule is common sense really. Sadly, many societies, nations, etc. have descended into chaos and lawlessness with some of them stuck there for generations because they have failed to apply common sense."
Common sense has been absent in Zimbabwe for decades! Greed and stupidity took over long ago, along with violence! C'mon, Zimbabwe! You've had DECADES to make the change, with another "A" grade opportunity, which was wasted, not that long ago! No wonder the rest of the world shows no interest in your self-inflicted problems... If you don't and won't help yourselves, there's no one else who will.
Zimbabweans are like hares caught in the flood of a speeding car, it is blinded by the light and panicked by the pending danger!
@ Mbofana
“So how is it possible that someone considered too old to run a school class, can be entrusted with running an entire country?”
Our constitution, like many others the world over, does not put any upper age limit on elected officials and rightly so too. If the election is free, fair and credible one has to trust the electorate to elect the best candidate for the job. The emphasis being on free, fair and credible elections.
The nightmare for Zimbabwe has always been that elections are not free, fair and credible. Even if one is young enough to run a school, as Mugabe and Mnangagwa were – they too were once upon a time spring chickens – once, she or he will have to win free elections to earn the mandate to rule. Mugabe and Mnangagwa have never won free, fair and credible elections!
THE ruling Zanu-PF party is targeting chiefs, council bosses and their employees for indoctrination at the Hebert Chitepo School of Ideology to help drum up support ahead of the 2023 general elections.
An internal memorandum dated February 25, 2021 shows that the party has been directed to recruit traditional leaders, council bosses and employees for the party's ideology indoctrination.
The ruling party said in order to create a strong bond between the party and government, the district co-ordinating committee (DCC) members would be trained together with Rural District Council (RDC) chairpersons, chief executive officers, district development co-ordinators and chiefs.
Chiefs, according to the Constitution, are supposed to be apolitical, but have been abused by the ruling party in successive elections in return for tokens of appreciation such as cars and cash allowances.
The memo, written by Chitepo School of Ideology principal Munyaradzi Machacha to secretary for administration obert Mpofu, stated that the training would be part of the party's strategy to mobilise five million votes for Zanu-PF ahead of the 2023 elections.
The letter was copied to party national chairperson Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri, secretary for finance Patrick Chinamasa, national commissariat, secretary for national security and the secretary for transport and welfare, among others.
Zanu PF is stepping up its coercive activities well ahead of the elections so that by the time election observers arrive in the country the damage is done. The party will ask its operative to wind down their activities so the observers can once again report that the election was peaceful.
None of these traditional leaders and council employees will dare refuse to attend these ideology indoctrination sessions. Being accused of supporting the opposition is a label one would not want to wear, especially for those in the rural areas where the Zanu PF thugs rule the roost!
One of the many democratic reforms Zimbabwe has been dying for all these years will be to end Zanu PF’s strangle hold on state institutions including traditional and local authority which has traditional leaders and councillors doubling up as party political commissars!
To hold the 2023 elections without first implementing the reforms is futile because Zanu PF will rig the elections. Mnangagwa and his cronies must be left in no doubt that if the 2023 elections go ahead without reforms then the process will be declared null and void. If Zanu PF will not implement the reforms we must find others who will!
@ Abednico Mwembe Mwembe
“The last kicks of a dying donkey are very dangerous and we need to make sure the dying donkey dies alone peacefully without taking along with it some innocent citizens to its grave. All citizens across the country lets make sure we start campaigning now for Zanu to be kicked out of power 2023. Lets tell everyone especially in rural areas and farms that Zanu is our problem and must go if we really like and love our country. In our families and associations lets make sure we tell everyone Zanu must follow Mugabe must go this time. No one must vote for Zanu. THE ruling Zanu-PF party is targeting chiefs, council bosses and their employees for indoctrination at the Hebert Chitepo School of Ideology to help drum up support ahead of the 2023 general elections.”
Zanu PF has the coercive muscle and it is once again flexing it.
The people of Zimbabwe have risked life and limb to elect MDC leaders on the understanding the party will deliver the democratic changes the nation needed to end Zanu PF’s coercive powers. MDC has been on the political stage for 21 years, 5 of which in the GNU, and yet has failed to bring about even one token democratic change. Not even one.
“We should tell people Zanu PF is the problem!” What are you wittering about! The people know that already. The people also know that MDC has sold-out on implementing reforms and hence the reason Zanu PF still continues to enjoy its tyrannical powers. The people know that until reforms are implemented, it will be foolish of them to defy Zanu PF in the vain hope of MDC support.
Indeed, the MDC leaders are not defying Zanu PF in anyway; they are gearing to participate in the coming elections and completely ignore all coercive activities going on!
Those who were shuffled from government to Zanu-PF and are enjoying the same perks they used to when they were Cabinet ministers, cannot be trusted with our future.
They should accept that they have run their race and give others a chance.
They failed to inject fresh ideas during their tenure as ministers or Zanu-PF bureaucrats, what new things can they come up with now?
So, the thrust of this article was to call on Zanu PF leaders to accept that they have failed and must step down! If I had a penny every time I heard that, I would be a billionaire today! If Zimbabweans are ever going to get out of this hell-hole then they really need to step up their act!
Mnangagwa and his cronies are not going to step down regardless of the mess the country is in because they believe they have the divine right to govern Zimbabwe. After 41 years of this corrupt and tyrannical rule, what else do they have to do to drive that message home.
The fight for a democratic Zimbabwe has to start with the fight for free, fair and credible elections. It is most disheartening that there are millions of Zimbabweans out there who still have no clue what constitute free elections and hence the reason Zanu PF has rigged elections and got away with it.
We need to take the issue of good governance with the seriousness and urgency the matter demands! Do that and we will be ready to confront the Zanu PF thugs demanding meaningful change.
Mutsvangwa added the government would fund the programme upon enactment of the necessary law.
"The programme shall also be mandated to generate its own income through engagement in commercial activities. The youths will not pay fees but will be provided with uniforms, training kits and travel expenses, and will be accorded allowances as the economy improves."
The controversial programme was introduced in the early 2000s by the now late Youth Minister and one time Zanu-PF political commissar Border Gezi as an orientation programme for the youths before they sought employment in the country.
However, the graduates, derisively referred to as Green bombers because of their light green uniform, were often accused of unleashing terror against perceived opposition members in the communities they lived in.
They have also been dismissed by opponents as indoctrination camps for desperate young men and women who were being trained to become Zanu-PF foot soldiers.
Critics of the training programme have also questioned why children of top Zimbabwean politicians are instead taken to expensive universities abroad while those of the poor are confined to the camps to be fed on Zanu-PF propaganda under the guise of national youth training.
The green bombers left their mark as ruthless operatives during “operation Mavhotera papi!” (Who did you vote for!) when Zimbabwean voters were punished for having rejected Robert Mugabe and Zanu PF in the March 2008 vote. The green bombers together with the war veterans were given the licence to harass, beat and rape. The cold blooded murders were left most to the Police, CIO and Soldiers.
The people had voted for Tsvangirai, 73%, according to Mugabe’s Freudian slip, in the March 2008 vote. In the June run-off Mugabe got 84% of the votes!
Zanu PF is preparing to deploy the green bombers in the 2023 elections. The green bombers’ menacing presence everywhere will save as a constant reminder to all of “operation Mavhotera papi!” and few would ever want to go through that one ever again.
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