“Answer the question you were asked and not one you wanted to be asked!”Is the one lesson I learned from my secondary school Bible Knowledge teacher, I remember to this day. “You will not get any marks for answering questions you wanted to be asked!”
Zimbabwe is a failed nation sinking deeper and deeper into the abyss. Why? Well, for one thing, we Zimbabweans have certainly a knack for answering the questions that we wanted asked and not the questions life has asked.
“The opposition cant be the problem!” insisted one member in my WhatsApp group.
“The problem lies in the denial of the people especially those in the rural areas their real right to vote. People in most rural areas are coerced directly and also indirectly who to vote for … the result being that at the end of the day they do not substantively exercise their right to vote in the real sense of it.
This has affected our democratic system a lot and ultimately the result is not a true reflection of the democratic will of the people.”
The problem of rigged elections certainly lies with Zanu PF but considering Zanu PF has rigged elections ever since 1980, 43 years and counting, one would expect the nation to have moved on by now from who is rigging the elections to what are we going to do about it! And true enough this is exactly what the nation has done.
By the late 1990s the people of Zimbabwe came to the conclusion that the only way to stop Zanu PF rigging elections was by implemented the democratic reforms designed to take away the regime’s dictatorial powers including the carte blanche powers to deny the people their right to free, fair and credible elections. The people also realised that Zanu PF thugs could not be trusted to implement these democratic reforms and thus reform themselves out of power.
The people of Zimbabwe have risk life and limb, from the Zanu PF thugs desperate to retain their iron grip on power, to elect opposition members into power for one express purpose - they would implement the democratic reforms and stop Zanu PF rigging elections once and for all. After 23 years of MDC/CCC leaders on the political stage, 5 of which in the 2008 to 2013 GNU, it is most disheartening that MDC/CCC leaders failed to implement even one token democratic reform. Not even one!
Worse still, ever since the GNU debacle MDC/CCC leaders have participated in flawed elections, knowing fully well that Zanu PF was rigging and that participating would give the election process some modicum of credibility and thus give Zanu PF legitimacy. They have soldiered on and participated out of greed. They knew Zanu PF would give away a few gravy train seats to entice the opposition to participate. They found the bait irresistible and did not care about the millions denied the vote!
Emmerson Mnangagwa and his Zanu PF cronies blatantly rigged the August 2023 elections because MDC/CCC leaders had failed to implement even one token democratic reforms to stop the rigging.
Indeed, even after AU, SADC and even Zimbabwe’s own ZHRC election observers had condemned the 23 August 2023 elections as a farce; CCC leaders were falling over themselves in their hast to take up their gravy train train seats. By accepting their gravy train seats CCC gave their resounding endorsement of the elections leaving SADC leaders speechless.
Zimbabwe’s problem of the failure to hold free, fair and credible elections is an OPPOSITION problem as contrast to being a Zanu PF problem in the sense that it is the form who have failed to implement the necessary reforms to stop the rigging. Zanu PF blatantly rigged the 2023 elections and thanks to CCC’s participation and endorsement they got away with it, in like manner the regime will rigged the 2028 elections unless we finally answer the question: Is there a competent opposition who can and will implement the democratic reforms to end the curse of rigged elections?
Zimbabwe should have been a healthy and functioning democratic country by 2013, at the latest, if MDC leader had implemented the democratic reforms. Even now, after 23 years including 5 in the GNU and without even one token reform implemented many Zimbabwe are still reluctant to accept that MDC/CCC leaders are corrupt and incompetent and will never implement the requisite democratic reforms to stop Zanu PF rigging elections.
23 years wasted dithering over reforms and for our part dithering over MDC/CCC leaders are up to the task of implementing the reforms. There is a heavy price to be paid dithering and we are paying it. Zimbabwe is a failed state because we have failed to end the curse of rigged elections and there is nothing that will give me reason to believe the reforms will finally be implemented and the curse lifted. Nothing!
10 comments:
"Zimbabwe is going to have a new leadership, chosen by the people and supported by the people," he said.
"People must be very clear and not despair.
"They will try and sabotage our journey, but, who knows, we may have many more (parties) continuing with the journey if they sabotage the CCC."
The party's interim deputy spokesperson first let the cat out of the bag on plans to re-launch under a new name last week.
This is just a nightmare! When CCC was launch the nation was assured this was the people’s party with leaders chosen by the people. And it turns out this was a lie and the leaders are at each other’s throat.
Rebranding CCC will change nothing because the leaders are corrupt and incompetent, a track record they established during the GNU years and no amount of rebranding can change that!
@ Magumise
“Yaaa your hatred for Chamisa is something else.”
When you consider Chamisa to be an infallible demigod you are bound to have a very dim view of all those who dare hold your demigod to account. How anyone can regard a mere mortal as a demigod, especially one with a proven track record as corrupt and incompetent as Chamisa, beggars belief. But then there is no denying we have some first class nincompoops in Zimbabwe and hence the reason why Zimbabwe is a failed state!
Chamisa is corrupt and incompetent and he will be held to account - that is not negotiable! You can fume and froth all you want.
@ VUMS
“Before Tsvangirai and team was wrong now Chamisa don't joke around with us this is the only alternative peoples movement.”
When you have no clue what the opposition is supposed to do you are bound to praise everything they say and do that is where the "Napoleon is always right!" mentality is born. MDC/CCC leaders have failed to implement even one reform in 23 years, including 5 in the GNU; this counts for nothing to you because you do not even know what the reforms are.
Stop pretending you know Tsvangirai was a failure and Chamisa is any different. Both failed to implement even one reform during the GNU and have since participated in flawed elections only to give Zanu PF legitimacy out of greed.
Of course, CCC is to blame for Zanu PF rigging elections because they failed to implement even one reform in 23 years, including 5 in the GNU and have been participating in flawed elections to give Zanu PF legitimacy.
CCC leaders were falling in their hast to take up the gravy train seats even thou SADC and AU had dismissed 23 August 2023 elections as a farce. They have left SADC leaders dumbfounded as what to do next!
https://bulawayo24.com/index-id-opinion-sc-columnist-byo-239372.html
@ Ole
“May you please enumerate the electoral reforms that have to be made in order for us to have fair elections and democracy.”
If you have failed to comprehend any of the reforms to ensure free, fair and credible elections (I am certain you are not the only one in that) with the benefit of hindsight. What makes you believe you will do so now?
Still let it not be said I refused to answer your question. You will find many articles addressing the issues of reforms from all different angles on the following site; zimbabwelight.blogspot.com.
@ Matthew Nyashanu
“Rubbish a poor analysis that lacks awareness of the complexity of the Zimbabwe political arena created by an oppressive regime which has no plan but to kettle people in pens for self fulfilment.”
I have never denied that Zanu PF is a party of corrupt, incompetent and murderous thugs. You have taken it into your head that my analysis of MDC/CCC leaders’ failure to implement any democratic reforms in 23 years, including 5 in the GNU is rubbish just because it does not denounce Zanu PF. I think the two parties and not Siamese twins who cannot be separated . Chamisa and company’s failure to implement even one democratic reform in 23 years and their participation in flawed elections to give Zanu PF legitimacy is because they are corrupt and breathtakingly incompetent - nothing to do with Zanu PF.
A gigantic election fraud and yet CCC leaders did not hesitate for even one second in taking up their gravy train seats and defy SADC and AU election observers who had called the 2023 elections a farce! CCC participated in the flawed elections knowing fully well that doing so would give Zanu PF legitimacy. The participated out of greed!
@ Wakwa Chamisa
You just do not want the truth, especially that CCC are corrupt and incompetent, told. I am here to make sure not only that the truth is told but that we stop making the same mistakes of pretending CCC will get us out of this hell-hole. If we continue to follow CCC then Zanu PF will rig 2028 elections and get away with it - that must be stopped!
@ Marvel
Well there is no denying that by failing to implement even one reform in 23 years and participating in flawed elections to give Zanu PF legitimacy MDC/CCC have helped Zanu PF stay in power!
There were SADC leaders who would have pushed the regional body to deny Zanu PF legitimacy after SEOM's damning 23 August 2023 election report but they had the carpet swept from under their feet when CCC leaders were falling over themselves in their rush to take up their gravy train seats. They showed Chamisa the middle finger when he tried to force them not to take up their seats.
The trouble here is we have very greedy and corrupt opposition who have been running with the povo hare by day and hunting with the Zanu PF hounds by night. Alas! We have an electorate so ignorant and naive they still fail to see what is going on eve with all the evidence of not even one reform implemented in 23 years, 5 of which in the GNU!
Democracy demands a common sense educated and diligent electorate and all we have is a braindead, naive and gullible electorate. Some voters are so foolish they consider Chamisa to be infallible demigod and very angry with those who have dared to point out that he not only a mere mortal but a corrupt and incompetent one. You cannot reason with the wildebeest herd and so they are dragging the nation deeper and deeper into the abyss.
You cannot build a healthy democracy with an ignorant electorate just as one cannot make a silk purse from a sower’s ear!
@ Khodiwa
“You prefer Radio Zimbabwe Propaganda to Change Radio Revelations?”
Has it ever occurred to you that both ZBC and Change Radio are brainwashing the people with their propaganda. The trouble with being a simpleton is that you think you must like one and dislike the other. It has never occurred to you that you can dislike both!
Chief Svosve has been wittering all these years about Chamisa and Change Champion in Chief; the idiot cannot name even one change Chamisa and company have brought these last 23 years because they have failed to bring about even one token reform!
Zimbabwe is stuck because we have people like you think the political choice is between Zanu PF and CCC not aware the later is now Zanu PF in all but name.
The way forward is accepting the political reality:
a) that neither Zanu PF nor CCC with get the nation out of the mess.
b) that the present political system is rotten to the core it has not allowed quality leaders to emerge in both Zanu PF and CCC
c) that the people must concentrate on implementing the reforms so there is open debate and democratic discourse - the democratic environment that will allow quality leaders to emerge. To expect quality leaders to emerge in the present political atmosphere is like expecting to catch quality fish from sewage pond!
Getting many of our people to accept that both Zanu PF and CCC are a waste of time is proving to be a mammoth task because they are used to the binary choice and rejecting the two takes them out of their comfort zone. That decision becomes mission impossible if they cannot have the name of the individual or political party the upfront named as the alternative to Zanu PF and CCC. Expecting them to accept that a quality opposition cannot emerge from the present system is asking for too much!
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