ZEC has barred MDC Alliance from attending a ZEC organised all political parties meeting and the reaction from the MDC A spokesperson Fadzayi Mahere has been “full of sound and fury signifying nothing,” as William Shakespeare would say.
“Hon. Madzimure of the MDC Alliance has been barred from ZEC’s provincial consultative meeting for political parties which is scheduled for tomorrow in Harare. ZEC has an obligation to consult all stakeholders and to be independent,” said Mahere on Twitter.
ZEC has done a lot worse things than barring opposition members from attending stakeholders’ meetings which, from past experience, are just time wasting talk-shops. MDC A leaders know that ZEC; as is the case with the rest of the judiciary, Police, Army and all the other state institutions; is incapable of delivering free, fair and credible elections because it is a Zanu PF department in all but name.
“We reiterate our call for electoral reform and constitutional conduct on the part of ZEC,” continued the effervescent Mahere.
The 2008 Zimbabwe elections were a watershed because Zanu PF showed the full array of the party’s ability to rig elections. The part stepped in to stop ZEC announcing the result of the March 2008 vote and after six weeks of cooking up the figures Morgan Tsvangirai’s 73%, by Mugabe’s own Freudian slip, was whittled down to 47%, enough to force the run-off.
As far as Zanu PF was concerned, the run-off was all about punishing the people for having rejected the party in the March vote. And the people were punished; property was destroyed, the people were beaten, raped, abducted and over 500 were murdered in cold blood.
SADC leaders forced Robert Mugabe and his Zanu PF to sign the 2008 Global Political Agreement (GPA), agreeing to the need for Zimbabwe to implement a raft of democratic reforms to restore the independence of ZEC, Police, Army, etc. and stop a repeat of the blatant cheating and wanton violence of 2008.
The GPA established the Government of National Unity (GNU) in which Morgan Tsvangirai and his MDC-T and Arthur Mutambara and his MDC-M constituted the major partners. During the five years of the GNU, MDC leaders could do a lot more than “reiterate the call for democratic reforms”; it was in their power to implement the reforms!
Sadly, it was not to be; MDC leaders failed to implement even one token reform in five years of the GNU. Mugabe bribed Tsvangirai and company with the trappings of high office and, with their snouts buried in the feeding trough, MDC leaders forgot about the reforms for five years.
SADC leaders were the guarantor of the 2008 GPA and they made one last minute bid to get the reforms implement. They wanted the scheduled July 2013 elections postponed until the reforms were implemented.
“In 2013 the Maputo Summit, in June 2013, before the elections, the Maputo Summit was all about having the elections postponed – the SADC summit. I went there,” Dr Ibbo Mandaza of SAPES told Journalist Violet Gonda.
“I was there at the Summit and Mugabe pretended to agree to a postponement of the elections. If you recall, the postponement was based on the need to reform at least electoral laws.
“And after that Summit, Morgan Tsvangirai, Tendai Biti, Welshman Ncube, all of them were called to a separate meeting by the Heads of State of SADC in the absence of Mugabe, that same evening. And they were told; I was sitting there outside the room with Mac Maharaj; they were told ‘if you go into elections next month, you are going to lose; the elections are done’.”
As we know Tsvangirai and company ignored the SADC leaders’ warning and participated in the 2013 elections for the same reason the MDC leaders had failed to implement the reforms during the GNU - greed. MDC leaders knew Zanu Pf was offering a few gravy train seats to entice the opposition and they found the bribe irresistible.
At it 2014 MDC-T congress the party resolved they would never participate in future elections until the reforms were implemented. “No reform, no elections!” they said.
By the end of the following year, 2015, it was clear the party was going to participate in future elections even if not even one token reform was implemented. Greed had once again got the better of MDC leaders.
By participating in the flawed and illegal elections, MDC A is gives the vote rigging Zanu PF legitimacy and in return the MDC leaders get a share of the spoils of power.
MDC A’s repeated calls for reforms are worse than Judas Iscariot’s futile gesture of throwing away the thirty pieces of silver after the deed was done. At least Judas was sincere in his remorse since he not only throw away the blood money but went on hang himself. MDC leaders are stubbornly refusing to admit they sold-out in failing to implement any reforms but worst of all are now the ones keeping the Zanu PF dictatorship in power as long as the later keeps paying them the thirty pieces of silver.
“We reiterate our call for electoral reform and constitutional conduct on the part of ZEC,” continued the effervescent Mahere.
“We decry partisan conduct that serves the interests of the regime in Harare. The only explanation for this unusual conduct by ZEC is that they are being unconstitutionally influenced to try and decimate the main opposition to serve the interests of a few elites. The people will not allow this to happen.”
It is happening, Zanu PF has been rigging elections for 41 years and counting and it is you, MDC leaders, not the people, who are allowing this to happen. The people have risked life and limb to elect MDC leaders into power on the understanding the party will implement the democratic reforms the nation has been dying for. After 21 years, 5 of which in the GNU, MDC has not implemented even one token reform.
Indeed, instead of implementing the reforms to stop Zanu PF rigging elections it is MDC that is now giving vote rigging Zanu PF legitimacy and thus perpetuating the dictatorship.
It was USA Ambassador to Zimbabwe 2004 to 2007, Chris Dell, who warned in a leaked cable to Washington that Morgan Tsvangirai was “a flawed and indecisive character who will be come an albatross round the nation’s neck if he ever got into power.”
MDC leaders have been in power, they have tasted power and are now as addicted to it as the Zanu PF thugs, and to end the Zanu PF dictatorship we now have the added task of having to fight MDC first. MDC leaders have failed to implement any reforms and yet they not only refuse to admit failure, they are fighting to remain in office. MDC leaders have indeed become the milestone round the nation’s neck dragging us down into the crashing abyss.
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Members of Parliament (MPs) are reportedly restless as their terms of office are coming to an end with the government yet to allocate stands promised to them.
We have government laws which say that we cannot just allocate people stands in bushes without any developments like sewers, roads or any servicing. We agreed that as Parliament, together with the Minister of Finance, money should be allocated for infrastructural development.
This is the gravy train spirit once allowed is near impossible to eradicate and the serious economic meltdown in the country has only to fuel this mentality where holding public office is now seen as the only way to feather one’s nest and escape poverty.
The fight for public office is now a no-holds-barred and only the scum would want to take part in such dirty contests. The need for the country to clean up its corrupt political system has never been more urgent than it is now.
FINANCE and Economic Development Minister, Professor Mthuli Ncube, has showered praises on President Mnangagwa's leadership, describing him as the "best boss" to ever work with and under.
Since coming into power three years ago, the New Dispensation led by President Mnangagwa has been credited for championing a comprehensive economic reform agenda under the mantra "Zimbabwe is Open for Business'.
Beginning with the short-term Transitional Stabilisation Programme (TSP:2018-2020) and now the National Development Strategy (NDS1:2021-2025, the country is reclaiming lost ground on the economic front, with Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth projected at 7,8 percent this year – way above regional and global estimates.
As the head of the Treasury since his appointment in 2018, Prof Ncube, a former African Development Bank (AfDB) chief economist and vice president, says he enjoys working closely and under President Mnangagwa as part of a team tasked with transforming Zimbabwe's economy.
The former Wits University and London School of Economics lecturer told The Chronicle that he was convinced President Mnangagwa has the right qualities to lead the country.
Any economic gains this regime has made was at the expense of the millions of ordinary Zimbabweans who have, literally, been thrown to the wolves. The country’s education and health care services have all but completely collapsed and 49% of the people now live in abject poverty.
The “Zimbabwe is open for business!” mantra was a lead balloon that never took off, the flood gate of investors have never materialised because Zimbabwe was still the same pariah state it was under Mugabe. All the coup did was boot out a few thugs but only to replace them with new thugs; the investors are a shrewd lot, they were not going to be fooled by that!
As long as Zimbabwe remains a pariah state ruled by corrupt and vote rigging thugs, there will never be any meaningful economic recovery. Indeed, by denying so many Zimbabweans a decent education Zanu PF is making is even more difficult for the country to recovery from this mess.
It is all very well for Professor Mthuli Ncube to call Mnangagwa, the “best boss ever” he will probably go back to Switzerland the day his ministerial appointment is terminated and will never have to deal with the consequences of the decades of Zanu PF corrupt and tyrannical rule. The millions of ordinary Zimbabweans caught in this nightmare will never agree with Ncube’s idiotic remark.
@ Mbofana
Why is it that in this day and age, when the human species has significantly evolved from the medieval mindset, and become more civilised and mature in terms of our reasoning capabilities, as well as our understanding of human relations and democracy, do we still have national leaders who consider themselves demi-gods, who are infallible and beyond reproach such that anyone who dares speak out, or stand up against them, is punished?
Surely, I would have thought that we had since evolved from the days of kings and queens who would charge anyone, who expressed dissent, with treason.
Power corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely! In Zimbabwe our leaders have enjoyed absolute power and now everyone who gets into any position of power behaves like a tyrant - they too, want absolute power.
After 37 years of being bullied by Mugabe, Mnangagwa believe it is now his turn to bully everyone. Of course, he does not see what he is doing as bullying hence the reason he boasts of the "New dispensation, a democratic Second Republic, etc."
Even the opposition politicians think they are special and hence the reason they will talk down to the people and will never answer such question as "What is MDC doing to stop Zanu PF rigging the elections?" Of course, if you have no answer, pretending that you are too important to answer is one way to hide your ignorance.
@ P Ruhanya
“Zimbabwe Defence Forces commander, General Vitalis Zvinavashe, released a Press statement in the state media, saying: We wish to make it very clear to all Zimbabwean citizens that the security organisations will only stand in support of those political leaders that will pursue Zimbabwean values, traditions and beliefs for which thousands of lives were lost, in pursuit of Zimbabwe’s hard-won independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity and national interests.
To this end, let it be known that the highest office in the land is a straitjacket whose occupant is expected to observe the objectives of the liberation struggle.
We will, therefore, not accept, let alone support or salute, anyone with a different agenda that threatens the very existence of our sovereignty, our country and our people.
Militarising the electoral environment renders results of polls devoid of being an indicator of the people’s democratic choice, but rather an expression of the people’s choice of life over death.
No matter how independent the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) might try to be, if the context of the electoral process is not liberated from military capture, elections will remain neither free nor fair.
This systematic and blatant militarisation of politics – the electoral process – has not only subverted elections and the people’s will for the past 41 years, but also ultimately democracy itself. Without comprehensive reforms and de-militarisation of the electoral process, Zimbabwe faces yet another stolen and disputed election in 2023.”
You have hit the nail on the head again and again there. There are those who are deceiving the nation with their “stringent measures to stop Zanu PF rigging” in 2018 and for 2023 have “SOLID PLAN to deliver real change”! This are just lies to justify why they are participating in rigged elections.
As you correctly pointed out “without comprehensive reforms and de-militarisation of the electoral process” we are just heading for yet another rigged elections and by participating we would be giving Zanu PF legitimacy.
I do not agree with your suggestion that Zanu PF rigged elections could ever be overwhelmed by “tsunami of youth votes - as happened in Zambia” because Zimbabwe is not Zambia. Zambia’s electoral system is not captured in anyway near what we see in Zimbabwe!
@ ZACC
“Those in possession of ill-gotten wealth, bring it back and you won’t be arrested, we will give you amnesty.
Justice Matanda-Moyo said corruption is more expensive, undermines service delivery, deprives the government of taxes, and causes capital flight while also making the country unattractive to foreign direct investment.
She said Government is carrying out many projects under the National Development Strategy 1(NDS1) and Devolution Agenda among others and continuing to allow corruption will result in substandard work being done.
Justice Matanda-Moyo said Zacc is this year focusing on preventing corruption, which is cheaper than chasing after stolen wealth.
Zimbabwe which is reportedly losing over a billion dollars through corruption every year is ranked among the most corrupt nations in the world.
The picture has choked efforts to revive the economy as it scares away potential investors while financial institutions reduced financial support.”
This should make very interesting reading to the UN rapporteur who is visiting Zimbabwe to investigate the negative impact of the sanctions imposed by West on Zimbabwe. ZACC’s own figures shows that billions of dollars has been salted out of the country over and above the one billion being salted out each year as we speak.
How does these figures compared with the frozen assets of those on the sanctions list and the loses the country is making per year because of sanctions?
The so-called Second Republic was launched four years ago, come November, with a “zero tolerance to corruption” policy and yet corruption has spread from the diamond mining to gold and platinum and now to many service sectors with the mushrooming of cartels.
It the UN rapporteur’s report is not yet another UN whitewash then it must state categorically that the root causes of Zimbabwe’s economic meltdown are gross mismanagement and rampant corruption. Sanctions have been used by the Zanu PF regime as just a convenient scapegoat!
@ Ngomakurira
Angela Merkel, leader of Germany for the past 16 years, is stepping down.
Much is being written about her legacy to Germany and the world but one comment, by Matt Qvortrup of Coventry University, is eye-catching: ‘She has turned German politics into a discussion about policy rather than politics.’ Policy is about what we should be doing here and now to respond to the needs of the people for whom we are responsible. Politics is about what we should be doing to get the votes of those who support us.
Credit must go to Angela Merkel but also go to the people Germany, they are the ones who have voted for her all these years because they saw her good leadership qualities.
In Zimbabwe we need to implement the democratic reforms particularly our public media so the people can finally be freed from the brainwashing of the Zanu PF public media and the nauseating MDC meaningless slogans. We need an electorate that can think for themselves.
The whole world is grateful Angela Merkel was there to stead the “free world” ship during the crazy years Donald Trump was in White House!
Your choice of words is Dr Mavaza is a reflection of your own siege mentality. It was the Zimbabwe government that invited the UN rapporteur to investigate its claim that sanctions were the root cause of Zimbabwe's economic meltdown. Now that the date of the visit is fixed the regime is now worried of what the rapporteur may uncover - evidence that the meltdown is caused by gross mismanagement and rampant corruption and thus blow the smoke screen of sanctions behind which the regime has been hiding.
In 2018 he said "MDC A had stringent measures to stop Zanu PF rigging the elections." Before the results were announced MDC A was complaining of vote irregularities and the election observers were saying the same thing. The EU reported of the election process “lacked transparency, traceability, verifiability, that ZEC was not impartial and the whole process was not to international standards”. Clearly none of the MDC A stringent measures had done nothing to stop Zanu PF blatantly rigging the elections.
The MDC A has never offered any explanation why none of the party’s stringent measures to stop Zanu PF rigged the 2013 elections had not worked. The truth there were no stringent measures to stop vote rigging; it was just another feeble excuse to justify why MDC A was participating in a flawed election only to give vote rigging Zanu PF legitimacy.
MDC A is gearing to participate in the 2023 elections with not even one token reform implement and so it will be yet another Zanu PF rigged election. People have been asking Nelson Chamisa and his MDC A friends why they are repeating the same foolishness of yesteryears! Chamisa says he has "a SOLID PLAN to bring real change in Zimbabwe in the 2023 elections”. This is just another feeble excuse for participating in the flawed elections to give vote rigging Zanu PF legitimacy.
If MDC A leaders had a plan then they would not be falling into Zanu PF traps. These ZEC meetings are time wasting in that they will not be discussing anything to stop Zanu PF rigging the elections, they are meant to keep the opposition occupied with trivial matters. MDC A have taken the Zanu PF bait and are making a mountain out of a molehill out of being stopped attending these meetings.
MDC leaders have ignored calls to implement the democratic reforms as a pre-requisite for free, fair and credible elections; they have insisted in participating because they have "Winning In Rigged Elections (WIRE)" strategies. And yet they have been the first to complain Zanu PF was rigging the elections. The international community has ignored MDC's complains and rightly so too.
The fault is with the ordinary Zimbabweans who have foolish and gullible to fall for MDC leaders' WIRE strategies and participate in the flawed elections. The fools have never asked MDC A leaders why the WIRE strategies were not working.
People get the government they deserve and we in Zimbabwe cannot deny that we deserve this Zanu PF dictatorship complete with the corrupt and incompetent MDC opposition that is now doing a great job of keeping Zanu PF in power.
Our New Government will institute a market-sensitive, people- centred & development-oriented sound economic policies which are predictable, consistent, investor friendly & business boosting thus fostering an enabling business environment which guarantees return on investments.
The exchange rate disparities and the punitive export retention negatively affect exporters – the goose which lays the golden eggs.This has created arbitrage opportunities and unofficial forex trading which will worsen the disparities, total collapse of the auction system.
After being bombarded with repeated assurances that MDC A has “a SOPLID PLAN, Winning In Rigged Election (WIRE) strategies, etc.” to guarantee MDC A election victory. Note all the public ever got of the SOLID PLAN, etc. are repeated assurance the plan, etc. existed and that it will deliver the electoral victory - no other details were given for fear of Zanu PF sabotaging everything.
The truth is there is no SOLID PLAN, no WIRE strategies, etc. to stop Zanu PF rigging the elections; we know this from similar empty promises n the past.
The party is now moving up a gear; coming up with its economic policies and, very soon, the nation will have the party’s election manifesto.
In the 22 years of MDC’s existence the party has produced a detailed manifesto and none of the documents have ever been implemented because the party has never won rigged elections. 2023 will not be any different, Zanu PF is already rigging the elections.
MDC is a party of corrupt and breathtakingly incompetent individuals, the party’s greatest moment to shine was during the 2008 to 2013 GNU when they had the golden opportunity to implement the democratic reforms and thus end the Zanu PF dictatorship. They did not even have the common sense to implement even one reform in five years! MDC leaders will never achieve anything of substance that is apolitical reality some of the more naive and gullible supporters must swallow and allow the nation to move on.
“We welcome the new minister to the ministry and hope she will not walk along the destructive commandist path that Mathema was navigating,” Zhou said.
“There are serious challenges facing the ministry, chief among them the starvation wages of teachers and escalating COVID-19 cases at schools as well as low morale.”
There will be no meaningful change to the teachers’ starvation wages as long as Zimbabwe remains a pariah state ruled by corrupt, incompetent and vote rigging thugs. The replacement of Cain Mathema with Evelyn Ndlovu is musical chairs that will have no effect on the pariah state status of the regime.
The problem here is with the teachers themselves, like the rest of the Zimbabwe populous, they have stubbornly refused to accept the strong linkage between economic meltdown, rigged elections and bad governance. They have buried their heads in the sand and said nothing about Zimbabwe’s repeated failure to hold free, fair and credible elections. Meanwhile they have continued to demand living wages from a corrupt and bankrupt regime; it is like expecting blood from a rock!
If Zimbabwe is to get out of this man-made hell-on-earth Zanu PF has landed the nation, then we Zimbabweans must take the challenge of electing leaders who are competent and accountable to the people with the seriousness and urgency the matter demands. Zanu PF landed us in this mess and it is naive, to say the least, to expect Zanu PF to get us out of the mess too; we would not be here if they were competent leaders!
The people of Zimbabwe have risked life and limb to elect MDC leaders into power on the understanding the party will bring about the democratic changes the nation was dying for. After 22 years, 5 of which in the GNU, MDC leaders have failed to deliver even one token reform. All they have ever done in office is do everything to feather their own nest.
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