Zimbabwe is a failed state because it is a pariah state ruled by corrupt, incompetent, and murderous thugs who have rigged elections to stay in power. 42 years and counting of gross mismanagement, rampant corruption and mind-numbing lawlessness and stupidity have left the country in economic ruins, impoverished, and in political paralysis.
The solution is obvious; we need to implement the democratic
reforms, dismantle the autocratic de facto one-party, Zanu PF, dictatorship and
restore the rule of law and the individual freedoms and rights including the
right to free and fair elections.
The challenge is how do we break the mould? After 42 years
of the Zanu PF dictatorship it is not surprising the rotten political system is
now deeply entrenched.
"We appreciated the opportunity to observe (26 March
2022) by-elections, but remain very concerned about harsh rhetoric, intimidation,
and violent assaults in the lead-up to election day. Voters have the right to
participate in political processes free from fear and violence. ZIDERA requires
Zimbabwe to hold an election ‘widely accepted as free and fair by independent
international monitors,' and to sufficiently improve the pre-election
environment to be consistent with international standards,” twittered US
Embassy.
"We urge ZEC to publicly release an auditable
electronic voters roll far in advance of 2023 elections so that citizens can
help to strengthen the credibility of the voters roll and reduce the numbers of
potential voters turned away from polling stations.”
The Americans are right, the 26 March 2022 by elections
confirmed what we already know – that, unless reforms are implemented, Zanu PF
will rig the 2023 elections.
Still, reminding Zanu PF and ZEC what they must do will
accomplish nothing because they know about the need for reforms. ZIDERA
sanctions were impose 20 years ago on the select few Zanu PF leaders and
institutions to coerce the regime to implement the reforms; nothing has
changed.
The only time Zanu PF has ever been pressured to implement
democratic reforms was during the 2008 to 2013 Government of National Unity (GNU)
and it was AU and SADC’s refusal to recognise Zanu PF’s legitimacy following
the 2008 elections. The continental body and the regional body were renowned
for turning a blind eye to rigged elections not just in Zimbabwe but in the
rest of Africa. The blatant cheating and wanton violence in the 2008 Zimbabwe
elections were over the top, both AU and SADC had no choice but to condemn the
process.
Zanu PF was forced to sign the 2008 Global Political
Agreement (GPA), agreeing to the need to implement a raft of democratic reforms
designed to restore rule of law and end Zimbabwe’s culture of rigged elections.
The GNU, comprising of Zanu PF and the two MDC factions with SADC as the
guarantor of the GPA, was tasked to implement the reforms.
It is a great pity that the Americans and the rest of the
western nations took their eyes off the ball completely because they did not pressure
the GNU to implement the reforms. The chief culprit in failing to implement
reforms was Morgan Tsvangirai and his MDC friends, it was incumbent on them and
not Zanu PF to implement the reforms. Not even one token reform was implemented
in five years of the GNU.
Credit where credit is due, SADC leaders nagged MDC leaders
to implement the democratic reforms throughout the GNU but were ignored. The
regional leaders tried to get the 2013 elections postponed until reforms are
implemented. “If you go into the elections next month, you will lose. The
elections are done!” SADC leaders told Morgan Tsvangirai and company to their
faces at the SADC Summit meeting in Maputo in June 2013.
As we already know, MDC leaders ignored the warning from
SADC leaders. Zanu PF went on to rig the 2013 elections as SADC leaders had predicted.
SADC leaders gave up and accepted Zanu PF as the legitimate government and has
done so ever since.
As long as MDC/CCC continue to ignore SADC advice to
postpone elections until reforms are implemented it is clear that SADC will feel
obliged to endorse Zanu PF as the legitimate government. What is more, MDC/CCC
leaders themselves have all known that by participating in these flawed
elections they are giving Zanu PF legitimacy and have continued regardless out
of greed, as David Coltart confessed.
“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 (2013) elections,” wrote
Coltart in his Book, The Struggle Continues 50 years of Tyranny in
Zimbabwe.
“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.”
The two main MDC factions were in the GNU together and still
they failed to get even one reform implemented because the leaders are corrupt
and incompetent – nothing to do with coalition. The four main MDC factions plus
three other opposition parties formed the MDC Alliance just before the 2018
elections and yet they still participated in the elections – further proof the
opposition’s continued participation in flawed elections is born of greed.
Nelson Chamisa and his CCC friends constitute the main
opposition in Zimbabwe as the 26 March 2022 by election has shown. SADC and AU
would certainly sit up and take note if CCC were to boycott the 2023 elections until
democratic reforms were implemented.
However, Chamisa and company are not going to boycott the
2023 elections even though it is the “obvious” thing to do, as Coltart readily
admitted, for the same reason they participated in the 2013 and 2018 elections
and failed to implement even one token reforms during the GNU – greed.
Zanu PF will never ever implement any reforms, the Americans
can call for reforms all the want, as long as the party is assured of the CCC continued
participation giving it legitimacy. Zanu PF has allowed the opposition to win a
few gravy train seats to entice them to participate, to greed their greed.
Indeed, why should Zanu PF implement even one token reforms
and risk losing power when the party knows that it will get legitimacy
guaranteed from the MDC/CCC participating regardless how flawed and illegal the
process got!
Zimbabwe had the golden opportunity to implement the
democratic reforms and thud dismantle the de facto one-party, Zanu PF, dictatorship
once and for all during the 2008 to 2013 GNU. It is a great pity that the
chance was wasted. There are many lessons that must now be learned by us all.
There is very little hope of Zanu PF implementing any
meaningful reforms this late, less than two years, before the 2023 elections,
especially when the party knows CCC will participate and give the regime
legitimacy. The way forward is make sure Zanu PF, CCC, SADC, Zimbabwean voters,
everyone is aware of the flaws and illegalities in the elections process and is
forced to accept the elections were rigged and the result cannot be legal and legitimate.
12 comments:
ZVIMBA East legislator Tawanda Tungamirai has admitted vote buying is rampant within the ruling party, where freebies and money exchange hands in return for powerful positions.
The lawmaker confessed that he is in the habit of doling out trinkets to the electorate in his rural constituency in exchange for votes.
“These people pester you, they literally beg you and cannibalise on you. So, if l were not a serious farmer l would not have the capabilities…as a leader you need to have capabilities to fund your politics,” he said.
He added: “Politics doesn’t pay. Somebody asked me Tawanda why do you want to be in politics, and l have said Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. You get to a point where you just want power, whether you have no cent, but merely to have power (to the extent) that when you arrive at a place, people cheer you… that’s power,” he mused.
Vote buying is just one more avenue open to Zanu PF to rig the elections. The party out spends the opposition by 1 000 to 1 ease. So, if the opposition manage to spend US$4 million, they will have done really well; Zanu PF will spend US$ 4 billion!
It is normal for Zanu PF to dish out new car to party candidates during elections and buy all the freebies they need throughout the campaign. Opposition candidates will struggle to feed their election agents on voting day alone.
Zanu PF has deep, deep pockets, it has the entourage of filthy local and foreign looters and cartels who will bankroll the party’s election expenses knowing they will recoup their money ten-fold within a year. To the looters and cartels Zanu PF is the goose that lays the golden egg, they cannot afford regime change and kill the goose!
We need to implement the democratic reforms and stop the looting and the cartels. It is naïve to expect free, fair and credible elections in Zimbabwe whilst Zanu PF continues to enjoy the unfair advantage of seemingly limitless funds!
"It's about 60 weeks to the 2023 general election. Any dialogue must be about reforms & the road to 2023 not a GNU. As Zimbabweans, we must find each other to avoid a yet another disputed election and all it's undesired consequences. We need a Pre-Elections Pact on Reforms(PREPARE).
"Whoever Wins an undisputed mandate in 2023 must then unite the nation, a credible inclusive Team ZIMBABWE and deliver prosperity and happiness. The next 5 years must be about nation building-transforming and developing our economy not just politics and unseemly politicking."
Anyone who has followed Zimbabwe politics and has wondered why the late Morgan Tsvangirai and his MDC friends including Nelson Chamisa failed to implement even one meaningful reform in the five years of the GNU has the answer in the above statement. Chamisa and company are a corrupt and incompetent lot who clearly have no clue what the reforms are about and don’t care. All they are after is a share of the spoils of power.
No meaningful reforms can be implemented in 60 weeks even if one assumed Zanu PF wanted to implement the reforms. So the bottom line is CCC is participating in these elections knowing fully well that Zanu PF will rig them.
What Chamisa is saying here is, CCC will not publicly endorse Mnangagwa as the winner if Zanu PF agrees in this Pre-Elections Pact on Reforms (PREPARE) to give CCC a few cabinet posts. It is all about power for Chamisa and company they don’t care about free and fair elections and good governance.
The CCC Deputy Spokesperson Gift Ostallos Siziba says his party is not going to hold a Congress because their path to power has no Congress inside.
Speaking at a press Conference on Friday, Siziba said, "We have no intention to hold Congresses. Our roadmap and path to power has no Congress in it. Congresses belongs to MDC, ZANU and other political formations. What if we are going to hold an Assembly? What if we going to a People's Convention?"
CCC is just a party of confusion and contradictions. The party is called Citizens Coalition for Change, citizens with an s, and yet none of the interim party leaders seem to have any say in what the party is doing let alone the ordinary members. The party’s name is as meaningless as Zanu PF’s catch phrase “people’s choice”; it is only one individual, Nelson Chamisa, in coalition with himself.
Siziba claims the party has the “mandate” to go into the elections with no congress. When and how did the leaders get the mandate and from whom?
Congress and free elections are indispensable requirements of democracy, it is laughable that CCC are dispensing of both under the pretext the party is fearful of outsiders undermining the process. What a sick joke!
@ Potani Innocent Ncube
“The next 5 years must be about nation building, transformation and developing our economy NOT JUST POLITICS AND UNSEEMLY POLITICKING. So, this is what these guys has been doing all along while citizens suffer. What a SHAME.”
This is chop logic. Zimbabwe is in this economic and political mess after 42 years of gross mismanagement, rampant corruption and crass lawlessness precisely because the country has failed to hold free, fair and credible elections. This is just a marriage of convenience between Zanu PF and CCC in which the ordinary citizens are once again denied a meaningful vote. There is nothing to suggest this Zanu PF/CCC hybrid will not do any better job rebuilding the nation.
Worst of all, at the end of the 5 years the nation will still face the problem of Zanu PF rigging elections; if the 2008 to 2013 GNU failed to implement any reforms it is naïve to expect this new arrangement to do any better. This is just a vicious circle!
@ Newsday
"We are really worried that people around the President are lying through their teeth about this and their ill-informed conclusions, as to why the Zimdollar continues to be walloped on the market, are now dangerously clouding his judgment.
Need we tell our President that the economy is such a huge animal that no single person or company or bank can control it? And closing companies and banks will only exacerbate the problem, especially at a time when the country's oldest bank, Standard Chartered, has called it quits — abandoning this troubled economy for good after a staggering 130 years.
Why Standard Chartered, among the world's biggest banks, has decided to flee at such breakneck speed should be what our President must be pondering about. He should be spending sleepless nights trying to resolve the conundrum and not add salt to an already festering wound.
It is quite embarrassing that our President continues to bark up the wrong tree."
It is a well established Zimbabwe practice to always blame “the people around the President who are lying through the teeth” for all the regime’s idiotic decisions even when we all know the President has been warned repeatedly of the foolishness.
Mnangagwa has only managed to contain inflation below 1000%, it peaked at 850%, in the last three years by throwing teachers, nurses and other civil servants to the wolves. With the 2023 elections round the corner he now needs to do something about them, even if it is only short term, and this is what is fuelling inflation. His hope is that the feelgood factor will last long enough to get Zanu PF back into power before the ill-effects of the soaring inflation kick in!
Zanu PF is rigging these elections and will get away it thanks to CCC who are participating to give the regime legitimacy in return for a share of the spoils of power!
@ Mbofana
"Then, this morning, I watched - again, in utter disbelief, as a huge group of ladies jubilantly graduated from a two-day course in home-made detergent production, arranged by the first lady - ostensibly, as a solution to the unspeakable poverty and suffering that millions of Zimbabweans have been trapped in for two decades.
I ended up asking myself - surely, is this the calibre of leadership that can take this country to the next level of development?
I immediately recalled those much-hyped courses for women to bake bread in clay wood-fired ovens - touted as the answer to unaffordable bread prices, due to the ever-depreciating local currency, and regarded as formidable competition to established bakeries.
As this initiative was rolled out two or so years ago - I am eager to learn how these women are faring.
Or, are they the same who are now being trained on how to manufacture home-made detergents and soaps - I am sure, this time around, being told will place them on the same level (if not higher) than all the other renowned companies, as they take over the market!”
There is no doubt that many of the individuals involved in the soap project were involved in the bread making project or some such flop. They are the small fish in the looting, the big fish are involved in the command agriculture projects where they get thousands of dollars in loans only to come back to get more without ever repaying the last loans! Povo are the bottom of the social packing order are luck to get 10 kg of maize meal or agricultural inputs during elections!
We have had many golden opportunities to implement the democratic reforms and dismantle the rotten Zanu PF dictatorship, the best chance to do so falling to MDC during the 2008 to 2013 GNU. Sadly, Morgan Tsvangirai and company sold out and failed to implement even one reform. What is worse, millions of Zimbabweans have no clue, even now with the benefit of hindsight, what the GNU was about much less that MDC leaders sold out.
CCC are participating in these flawed 2023 elections to give Zanu PF legitimacy in return for a few seats on the gravy train. And we, the people are so stupid we refuse to believe our own eyes!
In the long run, nations get the government they deserve. We certainly deserve this Zanu PF dictatorship complete with its entourage of corrupt and incompetent opposition parties!
It is bad enough that MDC/CCC supporters have no clue, even today with the benefit of hindsight, what the 2008 to 2013 GNU was all about much less that MDC leaders sold out by failing to implement even one meaningful reform. I find it shocking that the Americans and the western allies too seem to know nothing about the GNU or MDC leaders selling out!
Of course, the Americans know MDC leaders are corrupt and hopelessly incompetent. USA ambassador to Zimbabwe 2004 to 2007, Chris Dell, warned that Morgan Tsvangirai "was a flawed and indecisive character who, if he should ever get into power, would be an albatross round the nation's neck!" Dell could have same the same about the entire MDC leaders.
Sadly MDC have been in power for 22 years, 5 in the GNU. And Dell's prediction has come to pass with tragic consequences to Zimbabwe. There is no denying MDC leaders sold out big time by failing to implement even one reform. Worse still MDC/CCC are the ones keeping Zanu PF in power by participating in flawed elections to give Zanu PF legitimacy.
Why the Americans and the rest of the West have never ever criticized MDC/CCC for selling out on reforms and free and fair elections; is the biggest mystery of our time! This goes beyond political correctness gone mad!
“We don’t believe in pointing fingers and fighting other parties; we believe in proffering solutions,” Wilbert Mubaiwa told delegates at the launch.The new party, which uses blue and purple colour codes, is known as the National People’s Congress (NPC).
Mubaiwa, a Guruve South losing independent candidate in the 2018 polls, said they had been planning to launch the party since 2019.
“We considered a lot of things before coming up with this new party,” he said.
“We know that there are more than 100 political parties registered with the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) and we are offering an alternative from all those political parties.”
The 2008 elections were a watershed elections in that Zanu PF showed the world the party had no regard for the rule of law as it blatantly cheated and used wanton violence to retain power at all cost. Both the AU and SADC who had turned a blind eye to Zanu PF vote rigging in the past were forced to condemn the 2008 election as a farce. They refused to recognize Zanu PF's legitimacy and thus forcing the regime to agree to implementing a raft of reforms designed to stop the blatant cheating and wanton violence.
The 2008 to 2013 GNU was tasked to implement the reforms.
Mugabe bribed Morgan Tsvangirai and his MDC fiends with the trappings of of high office and, with their snouts in the feeding trough, they forgot about the reforms. Not even one reforms was implemented in five years.
SADC advised to opposition not to participate in the elections until reforms were implemented. Their advice was ignored. This remains the only rational course of action.
Zimbabwe does not need more political parties; what we need is people with the common sense to see the sheer futility of participating in flawed elections to give Zanu PF legitimacy!
A dark cloud enveloped the resort town as the injured were ferried to the district hospital and later transferred to Chinhoyi nearly 260km away.
Apparently, the transfer was necessitated by the fact that Kariba Hospital was reportedly so ill-equipped that it had no simple basics such as bandages.
‘‘The hospital had no bandages and relatives had to buy from private pharmacies. Kariba Hospital has no X-ray machine and patients had to be ferried to Chinhoyi and nine ambulances were deployed to help out. As much as health staff is committed, there are no adequate resources and as a nation this is a sad reality 42 years after independence,’’ former Kariba mayor George Masendu said.
The road accident raised questions as to why Zupco buses were not deployed to ferry people to Kasvisva when the same buses were on the day plying the Kariba-Chinhoyi route almost empty.
So Kariba Hospital does not even have something as basic as bandages and it is still a hospital in a town with a mayor! One can only imagine the sorry state of the hospitals and clinics in the rural backwaters! The root cause of the sorry state of the health care services is gross mismanagement and rampant corruption.
In 2012, the then Minister of Finance, Tendai Biti, revealed that the nation was paying a staggering US$3 million for each one of Mugabe’s health jaunt; he made 8 such trip that year alone! His whole family and the rest of the Zanu PF ruling elite have travelled outside Zimbabwe for their health care, education, leisure, etc.
As long as Zanu PF is allowed to rig elections and get away with it, thanks to MDC/CCC failure to implement reforms and participating to give the regime legitimacy, nothing will change! People get the government they deserve we deserve this Zanu PF dictatorship and the entourage of corrupt and incompetent opposition.
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Assistant Director-General and Regional Representative for Africa Abebe Haile-Gabriel has said that the deepening hunger crisis in Africa has left more than 280 million people facing malnutrition in the continent.
Haile-Gabriel made the remarks at the FAO Regional Conference for Africa in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea to discuss solutions to the growing hunger crisis.
The 32nd session of the FAO Regional Conference for Africa (ARC32) was attended by more than 50 government ministers across Africa and representatives from the observer countries, donor organisations, civil society and the private sector.
This is very sad news especially for a country like Zimbabwe that was once the breadbasket of the region and is now the basket-case of a failed state totally dependent on food aid all because of man-made problems of misrule. Last year the country had a bumper harvest, in the past this would have meant the country’s grain silos are full and the nation will have plenty to eat for the next five years. This is not so anymore!
Since the Zanu PF seized the mostly white owned farms to give to party loyalists mainly the country’s agricultural sectors all but collapsed and with it the economy. As long as the country remains a pariah state ruled by corrupt and murderous tyrants there will be no meaningful economic recovery. None!
BINGA villagers have expressed worries over the escalation of the post by election violence as they are reportedly accused by the ruling Zanu PF activists of voting for the opposition Citizen Coalition for Change.
The most affected area is Luunga where CCC members are reportedly being forced to pay US$20 to Zanu PF members as compensation for voting against the ruling party.
Villagers say a local traditional leader has summoned CCC members demanding that they pay three chickens each for disrespecting him.
Binga North legislator Dubeko Prince Sibanda (CCC) confirmed the developments.
It is impossible to hold free, fair and credible elections under such barbaric conditions. What is annoying here is MDC/CCC had the golden opportunity to implement democratic reforms and end this barbarism during the 2008 to 2013 GNU and they failed to implement even one reform. And, to make matters worse, they are the ones insisting on participating in elections under these undemocratic conditions giving Zanu PF legitimacy for the sake of a few gravy train seats.
The tragedy is the millions of ordinary povo continue to risk life and limb to elect MDC/CCC because they are desperate to see change in the country not knowing that these MDC/CCC have long abandoned reforms in pursuit of trappings of power Zanu PF throws at them like bones to a dog!
We need to implement democratic reforms before holding elections!
Zanu PF is rigging these elections as the recent by elections showed but some people are hell bent on participating in the flawed elections no matter what! By participating they will only give Zanu PF legitimacy but they are too stupid to know that even after 42 years of rigged elections. It is tragic that some people can be so shallow, thick and slow.
“After all is said and done, voting is optional and people can decide to vote or not to. What leaders, government agencies and civic society groups can only do is encourage people, spread the message and ensure a conducive environment for citizens to freely express their will.”
For Pete’s sake! What will it take to open your eyes to the political reality of Zanu PF rigging elections in Zimbabwe? The political environment in not conducive for free, fair and credible elections.
“Brighton Taruberekera is a political and development consultant, writer and researcher!” Yeah right! Must be one of those consultant, writer and researcher with no common sense. Sadly, Zimbabwe has many of them.
You can bury your head in the sand all you want that will not change the reality that Zanu PF is rigging these elections.
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