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Man is a creature of reason; all humans are born
with inert potential to think and reason.
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Some people have lost the ability to reason out
of drunken stupor, laziness or some such reasons.
In 1984 I came across a horrific road accident just outside
Kadoma on my way to Harare. A Peugeot 406 station wagon, a Pirate Taxi, had
failed to negotiate a bend, and rolled down the embankment. It had flipped on to
its side, on its roof, flipped on to the other side and then landed back on its
wheels.
There was a cloud of dust and ash (from a recent grass fire)
in the still air when I got there, five minutes or so after the accident. I
pulled over, to help.
The car ploughed a deep scar in the dry earth, travelling a
good fifty metres or so off the road. It must have been flying!
There was the smell of petrol in the air and the pressing
issue was get everyone out of the wreck and a safe distance away. More help
soon arrived as a few more cars stopped to help. Among the helper was a nurse
who had travelled from Harare to Norton in the vehicle on route to Gweru. She had
insisted on getting off in Norton when her pleas with the driver to slow down
had fallen on deaf ears. The driver’s assistant was drunk, and he had whistled cheerfully
as the vehicle raced along.
When they stopped in Norton and she saw the drive and his
assistant drink, she decided there and then to get out. She had paid the full
fare to Gweru and the two would not refund her for the balance.
Five or so minutes after pulling out, what everyone had
assumed was the last person out of the wrecked car, everyone was surprised to
hear the car creak open. Out crawled this ghostly figure covered in dust and
black ash. The twilight of the recently set sun, enhanced his ghostly appearance.
The ghost muttered something about needing a recess. He
walked a few metres away from the car and had a piss.
“Ngai gebe! Hindava kumira pasina Bottle Store!” (Let’s go!
Why did you stop where there is no Bottle Store!) He first thing he had noticed
there was there was no Bottle Store, for him to buy more beer!
Before he got back in the car, he finally realised there was
no one in the car and the sorry state of the car. “What happened?”
“Dzasukwa!” commented the nurse, her voice heavy anger.
“Dzasukwa” was drunk driver’s assistant who had egged the speeding
with his whistling. The name Dzasukwa
was in reference to one who drinks to excess, who will not leave a drinking
party until all the beer pots are empty and washed. He and the driver were
drinking buds.
It seems Dzasukwa had slept through the racket of the accident.
In the scramble to get out, he had been pushed on the floor of the back seats. The
accident was just a nightmare only to wake up to answer the call of nature!
Three people died in the accident, the driver and two
passengers including a small boy. All five of the remaining travellers, including
Dzasukwa, had broken limbs and/or ribs including. The mother of the small boy
was broken heartened.
“The worst thing about this tragic human suffering and loss
of life,” remarked the nurse “is that it could have been easily avoided if only
common sense had prevailed!”
The accident was a microcosm of the tragedy that has fallen
on Zimbabwe these last 42 years. Common sense dictated that alcohol and
speeding were a recipe for disaster. And yet the passengers in the car had not
raised their objections on the drinking and speeding even when the nurse had
seized the initiative.
Zimbabwe is in a serious economic mess and political
paralysis after 42 years of gross mismanagement, rampant corruption and
lawlessness that has left the country in economic ruins and a failed pariah
state. The nation has been stuck with the Zanu PF dictatorship all these years
because the regime rigged the elections.
One does not need a degree in political science to know one
can never hold free, fair and credible elections without something as basic as
a verified voters’ roll, when voters are frog marched to vote for a particular
party, etc. And that the failure to hold those in positions of power and
authority will only encourage them to abuse their power with the disastrous
consequences of corruption and tyrannical rule.
It took 20 years, from 1980 to the late 1990s, for most
Zimbabweans to finally accept that Robert Mugabe and his Zanu PF cronies were
corrupt and murderous thugs. The people also realised that the only peaceful
way to end the Zanu dictatorship was by implementing the democratic reforms
designed to stop the regime rigging the elections. For the last 22 years they
have risked life and limb to elect MDC leaders to implement the reforms.
There has been no political change, Zanu PF has remained in
power because MDC has failed to implement even one token reform in 22 years, 5
of which in the GNU. Again, it beggars belief that the people have yet to realise
that MDC have given up on reforms and free elections and have settled for a few
gravy train seats as a reward from Zanu PF for participating in flawed
elections to give the regime legitimacy.
When Zimbabwe gained her independence in 1980, we, the people
of Zimbabwe, should have become masters of our own destiny but, by failing to hold
those in positions of power and authority to account, have allowed drunkards and
tyrants to drag us all into this hell-on-earth. The root cause of tragic human
suffering and loss of many lives in Zimbabwe today is a result of rigged
elections and bad governance; man-made problems we can easily solve, if only we
allowed reason and common sense to prevailed!
4 comments:
One of those lessons he taught me — and, has stuck with me since — was, when I was a young man, and had an intolerable habit of always blaming others for whatever went wrong in my life, without taking responsibility for my own errors.
I considered nearly everyone who rebuked and chastised me an enemy who hated me, possibly even jealous of me, was out to get me, and did not want to see me succeed.
Of course, how I reconciled the concept of "succeeding in life", working hand-in-hand with my irresponsible behaviour, is beyond me.
Nonetheless, when my perennial complaining over other people wronging me become unbearable for my father he poignantly and bluntly said these piercing words: "Someone who always perceives others as wronging him is most likely the one who is the problem".
Those sharp words hit home - striking right at the core of my heart - marking a turning point in my life. I had to introspect over my own erring and shortcomings, and how this resulted in those in my life criticising me.
Why does he feel that all those who are critical of him and his regime are unjustified - as, he is not doing anything wrong worthy of this relentless condemnation?
Has he ever wondered why social media is abuzz with attacks on his administration. Nearly every viral post is an expression of utter disgust and disdain at the brutal repression and persecution of those who speak truth to power, and stand up for citizens' rights. Job Sikhala is languishing in prison, repeatedly denied his constitutional right to bail, with trial hardly getting off the ground, or dragging on for years because he speaks truth to power.
Well, that is a very good question.
When Mnangagwa returned to Zimbabwe in triumph to take over from Robert Mugabe, he was a man on a mission. He was cocksure his “Zimbabwe is open for business!” mantra would open the flood gates to investors and bring about unparalleled economic prosperity!
If Zimbabwe had even some modest economic recovery, Mnangagwa would have been glorious happy and tolerant of his critics and political opponents.
As it happened, there was no meaningful economic recovery. None! His “Zimbabwe is open for business!” mantra was dead in the water even before he announced it. Mugabe’s Zimbabwe was a pariah state ruled by corrupt and vote rigging thugs and hence the reason investors had shied away. It was nonsense to claim that a military coup removing one dictator only to replace him with another dictator was enough to convince anyone, let alone the shrewd investors, that the country was now open for business.
Mnangagwa’s failure to revive the Zimbabwe economy knocked the stuffing out of him. And every time his critics point out at the worsening economic situation, they are reminding him of what he is – a total failure with no redeeming features. Since he cannot shut them up with even one success story he is resorting to brute force – a knee jerk reaction of tyrants since time immemorial!
Among their resolutions were requests that Mnangagwa should exclusively reserve them seats in Parliament, earmark for them key positions in parastatals, afford them free medical assistance at government hospitals and avail more land to the group to ostensibly help prolong Zanu-PF's stay in power.
While acknowledging his colleagues' appeals, Mnangagwa, however, said: "I was listening very carefully to your resolutions, some are very sound, but (others) are beyond sound. The depth and all-encompassing nature of your conference resolutions reflect your love for the party. You almost want your government to do the impossible."
If the truth be said, what the war veterans are asking for is nothing compared to what the Zanu PF chefs have claimed for themselves all these last 42 years. Indeed, the national economy has been in decline precisely because the ruling elite have creamed off so much wealth triggering the economic collapse.
One of reasons why Zanu PF has managed to stay in power against the democratic wishes of the populous is because the war veterans have helped the party rig elections. The ruling elite have promised the war veterans that they too would enjoy the same extravagant life styles the ruling elite were taking for granted.
Mnangagwa wants the war veterans to help Zanu PF rig 2023 elections, reflecting “your love for the party” but knows that given the economic meltdown will not even honour the veterans’ modest demands for even basic necessities like health care.
The real tragedy here is that even now, after 42 years of being promised economic prosperity tomorrow, many war veterans still believe that is possible regardless of the reality of decades of economic decline because of gross mismanagement and corruption. The Zanu PF dictatorship is at the very heart of the economic ruins and they have propped it up, doing the regime’s dirty work of denying the people their freedoms and rights out of greed – they were conned into believing they will too enjoy the looting - tomorrow.
After 42 years of waiting, they are still waiting for their turn to loot. Meanwhile the regime wants them to do some more of its the dirty. Of course, the war veterans have sold out on the liberation war values of freedom and liberty and the overwhelming majority of them will die in abject poverty just like the rest of us!
It is a pity that we are having to fight for our basic freedoms and rights all over again. Sad that yesteryear’s liberators are today’s oppressors! Tragic!
Addressing journalists at the Bulawayo Media Centre last week, Mwonzora said political parties should come to the negotiating table to discuss ways to move the country forward.
“Our position as a party is that we cannot avoid dialogue in order to achieve key reforms. The reality we have to live with is that Zanu PF enjoys a super majority in Parliament, and they have been the majority since 2013,” he said.
Mwonzora and his former colleagues now in CCC know that they had their golden opportunity to implement the democratic reforms during the GNU and they wasted it. They failed to get even one reform implemented in five years because they are corrupt and incompetent.
Zanu PF, with its super majority in parliament, will never agree to any meaningful reforms particularly when the party knows that the opposition will participate, out of greed, no matter how flawed the system to give the regime legitimacy.
If Ian Smith had Muzorewa and Sithole alone to deal with we would be stuck with the the 1978 Zimbabwe-Rhodesia agreement that reduced blacks into second class citizens, at best. Mugabe had his Muzorewa and Sithole in Tsvangirai and Ncube during the GNU hence the reason we are stuck with the dictatorship!
Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
By Dylan Thomas
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