The Zanu PF spirit to revive the Zimbabwe economy is willing but the intellect is weak!
When then Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa and his fellow conspirator staged the November 2017 military coup, “a military assisted transition” as they insisted in calling it, they all agreed on the need to revive the comatose Zimbabwe economy. How to do it was the million dollar question.
Mnangagwa promised that the post putsch government will have “zero tolerance on corruption”, hold free, fair and credible elections, scrapped obnoxious laws such as the indigenous law and relaunched the country as a second republic - putting distance between his new administration and Mugabe’s pariah state. With that he announced to the world that “Zimbabwe was open for business!”
No one was fooled, certainly not the savvy and shrewd foreign investors the slick marketing was hoping to attract. They knew Mnangagwa would never stamp out corruption since it is his political power base and as for holding free elections that was a bridge too far. Zanu PF went on to blatantly rig the 2018 elections and, to rub it in, Mnangagwa insists the elections were indeed free, fair and credible.
The November 2017 military coup had remove the dictator Mugabe and a few of his close allies but only to have another dictator in his place. Zimbabwe was still a pariah state ruled by corrupt, incompetent and vote rigging thugs; a failed and chaotic state that no one would want to do business with. No one!
It took a year or two for the reality that “Zimbabwe is open for business!” was dead in the water to sink in. But sink in it did. And the regime abandoned attempts to lure foreign investors and focus on getting Zimbabweans to rebuild the country’s crumbling economy.
“Nyika inovakwa nevenevayo!” (Zimbabwe will be rebuilt by Zimbabweans!) was the new Zanu PF jingle for the last three years!
It was just another empty jingle completely at odds with the reality in the country. Millions of Zimbabweans have left the country in the last 20 years as economic and/or political refugees leaving the country with up to 80% skilled manpower shortage in key sectors such as engineering, health and education. The few skilled people left in the country are under utilised because the economy has all but collapsed.
So there is precious little rebuilding going on in Zimbabwe because there are few skilled Zimbabweans in the country to do the work and the economic meltdown is so bad even the few left are under employed!
And so the regime has flip flop back to attracting foreign investors!
“Zimbabwean government officials and corporate leaders are gearing for a major capital markets conference in London, United Kingdom, during the last week of next month to mobilise private capital to finance domestic development,” reported Bulawayo 24.
The event, set for April 20-21, will be addressed by Finance and Economic Development Minister Mthuli Ncube and key players in the primary capital markets, corporate leaders, financial institutions and investment bank executives, and public accounting firm heads, as well as secondary market players such as fund managers and stockbrokers from Zimbabwe and overseas.
So we are back to “Zimbabwe is open for business.” And hoping the same foreign investors we failed to entice in 2017/2018 will not notice that Zimbabwe is still a pariah state governed by the same corrupt, incompetent and vote rigging thugs. It is nonsensical to ask if Zimbabwe is going to have yet another disputed 2023 elections. The election process is so flawed and illegal it is disputed already, long before the voting started.
The Zanu PF regime has denied 3 million Zimbabweans in the diaspora the vote, for example, in what is clearly a case of the regime cherry picking the electorate. Most of these people are in the diaspora as economic and/or political refugees and they blame Zanu PF for their plight. They are not likely to vote for the regime and hence the reason they are being denied the vote.
By failing to hold free and fair elections to stop regime change and thus consolidating Zanu PF’s iron grip on power. But, more significantly, the party is, per se, yoking the nation to a corrupt and tyrannical regime. Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Making Zimbabwe a pariah state, a failed state, and the economic mess and political paralysis are what one would expect in a pariah state.
President Mnangagwa and his Junta cronies think they can trick investors into believing Zimbabwe is a healthy and function democracy so they can hang on to the pariah state and still enjoy the economic success and political stability of a democratic system of government. How naive!
What President Mnangagwa and his Zanu PF cronies have clearly failed to understand is what every good mother instills in her children from a young age; you cannot have your cake and eat it too! Zimbabwe is pariah state and as long as it remains a pariah state, there will be meaningful economic recovery. None!
No doubt, President Mnangagwa has received repeated assurance that “Zimbabwe is open for business: mark 2!’’ will be a resounding success. Zanu PF is renowned for paying millions of dollars for PR and dubious services, some one is making a killing at Zimbabwean taxpayers’ expense! The price we pay for having dunderheads in State House!
5 comments:
Mbalula said that the Americans and the British were refusing to let up because they wanted regime change.
"We've got a problem here in Zimbabwe and it's brewing. And you think it's going to be the problem of the Americans; it's going to be our problem for the longest of time.
"Americans must give peace a chance... We need a roundtable; we need peaceful negotiations," Mbalula said.
He said that South Africa had to continue refusing to side with either Russia or Ukraine, and instead push for negotiations toward a peaceful solution.
What is nauseating here is that Zanu PF has rigged elections ever since Zimbabwe’s independence in 1980. In 2008, following a particularly outrageous election in which Zanu PF blatantly cheated and used wanton violence, the AU and SADC leaders were finally forced to admit Zanu PF rigged elections. It was SADC leaders were forced Zanu PF to sign the 2008 Global Political Agreement, agreeing to the need for Zimbabwe to implement democratic reform to ensure free, fair and credible elections.
Sadly, not even one token reform was implemented and SADC leaders knew it and even tried to get the 2013 elections postponed until reforms were implemented. Alas, their advice fell on deaf ears.
What is infuriating here is that SADC and SA in particular have not only completely forgotten that with no reforms implemented Zanu PF continued to rig elections but, worst of all, now does not even recognise the people of Zimbabwe’s right to a meaning say in the governance of Zimbabwe.
Why has ANC leaders taken it upon themselves that regime change in Zimbabwe must be because the Americans and British’s doing and the democratic wish of the people Zimbabwe! Zanu PF is rigging the 2023 elections and it is outrageous that ANC is stubbornly refusing to admitting it!
When President Mnangagwa and his November 2017 putsch conspirators insisted in calling the military coup a “military assisted transition” one is tempted to believe they actually believed they had fooled the whole world with that nonsense. It was just a taste of the foolishness and the empty promises that were to follow.
Mnangagwa launched his “Zimbabwe is open for business!” convinced the whole world had swallowed his foolishness and empty promises hook, line and sinker.
He is rigging the 2023 election; he has failed to produce something as basic as a verified voters’ roll for Pete’s sake! And yet he still believes he can still outwit the investors into believing Zimbabwe is now a healthy and stable democratic country. He really is a dunderhead!
Still, the joke is on us, Zimbabweans: how is it possible we have allowed ourselves to be governed by dunderheads and for over four decade!!!!!!! A sick joke really because we have paid dearly for our folly and will continue to pay far beyond the Biblical seven generations!
Responding to the ruling, President Chamisa said: “It is impossible to have a credible and acceptable election without an audited voters roll.”
“Dear ZEC & ED; Disputed elections are bad for our country. It’s impossible to have a credible & acceptable election without a credible & audited voters’roll.
Why keep public records secret? Why personalize and privatize pubic information & institutions? Let’s #fixthis now!,” said President Chamisa
We all know that the failure to hold free, fair and credible elections will only confirm that Zimbabwe is still a pariah state, a failed and chaotic state no one in their right mind would want to do business with. We also know that CCC will participate in these flawed elections, even without something as basic as a verified voters’ roll, and condemn the nation to the pariah state status because you lot are after the few gravy train seats Zanu PF is offering as bait.
These twittered comments are just political posturing. CCC will participate no matter what - you have always participated why should 2023 be any different!
Zimbabwe cannot afford these sell outs and the insanity must and will be stopped.
@ Chinono
“Zimbabwe is not ready for polls without a Voters Roll Mr President.
That is part of poll rigging!
The region, the continent and the rest of the world should be told the truth that we are not ready because the ruling party is working in cahoots with
@ZECzim to rig the election!”
How anyone can freely participate in an election without something as basic as a verified voters’ roll beggars belief. In the case of CCC and company the explanation is self evident greed.
“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,” confessed 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.”
@ Jonathan Moyo
“It is as amazing as it is revealing that this Trevor Ncube tweet has attracted hateful vitriol from self-proclaimed change champions, thereby raising fundamental questions about the kind of change they say they are seeking!”
CCC leaders and supporters are up in arms against Chapman and his DUZ party because they after the same gravy train seats on offer as bait. Both parties know that Zanu PF is rigging these elections and their participation will only give Zanu PF legitimacy.
How anyone can participate in elections without even something as basic as a verified voters’ roll beggars belief. But not if you are a sell out and now the sell out camp is getting crowded and they are fighting each other like wild cats.
Post a Comment