"Chinese deals will secure better live for all," says ED - mean, secure Zanu PF dictatorship N Garikai

“Let us remember where we were, and how we suffered as an isolated nation. In this new era Zimbabwe is open to the world, and governments, businesses and individuals all are looking to do business with us,” wrote President Emmerson Mnangagwa.

“We had many fruitful discussions with political and business leaders in China, including President Xi Jinping, and secured a host of deals which will make a real difference to the lives of Zimbabweans.”

Five points:

1)   What “isolation” are you talking about, Sir? Zimbabwe broke relations with the West but not with the East as your predecessor President Mugabe made very clear in his “Look East” policies. Zimbabwe has failed to get any financial assistance and foreign direct investment from the East because of the country’s failure to repay debts and reputation as a corrupt and lawless nation.

Many Zimbabweans are finding your denial of Zanu PF’s decades of misrule as the root cause of the country’s economic meltdown, blaming instead everything on these mythical sanctions, an insult to our intelligence.

2)   We all know that there have been no takers to your “Zimbabwe is open for business!” clarion call from anyone in the West because they have been disappointed to see that you have no intention of holding free, fair and credible elections. Investors do not do business in countries ruled by thugs, by failing to hold free and fair elections you are per se confirm Zimbabwe is still a de facto one-party state.

3)   China has remained Zimbabwe’s “all-weather friend” dating back to the days of the liberation war, as you readily acknowledged the other day. China has benefited greatly from the relationship as it has been able to flood Zimbabwe with cheap Chinese products and thus forced many of our own local producers out of business and has had a lion’s share of the wholesale looting that has been going on in Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwe has suffered the economic meltdown which has seen unemployment soar to 90%, ¾ of our people now live on US$1.00 or less a day, etc.

Zimbabwe is now the poorest nation in Africa. China is the second richest nation on earth! So all-weather friend!

4)   Among the mega deals you signed with President Xi Jinping are deals to help Zanu PF rig the elections. It is no secret that China has always help prop up the Zanu PF dictatorship and provided all the material and moral support to rig elections. It is no secret that China is doing this again now for the same selfish reason of making sure Zimbabwe remains in China’s sphere of influence.

5)    Zimbabwe’s economic recovery is only assured by the country ending the criminal waste of resources born of the gross mismanagement and rampant corruptions and the return of law and order. The only sure way to achieve this is for the country to implement the democratic reforms and hold free, fair and credible elections.

By refusing to implement the democratic reforms designed to stop vote rigging you have per se condemned this nation to more years of Chinese exploitation and poverty. The next regime change in Zimbabwe will have to be another military coup or street protests, both will be bloody. This is something this nation is not going to tolerate.

With no reforms, these elections are not going to be free, fair and credible. We strongly object to the continued interference of the Chinese in Zimbabwe’s elections. These flawed elections must and will be declared null and void!

“I will therefore continue to work tirelessly for the people of Zimbabwe both at home and abroad, as we embark on this new and exciting journey together,” concluded President Mnangagwa.

By refusing to implement the democratic reforms designed to restore the individual freedoms and human rights of all Zimbabweans including the right to a meaningful say in the governance of the country you are proving the Zanu PF dictatorship is alive and well.

The only thing “new” from Mugabe’s days is that the head of the dictatorship was replace by a new one. It is “an exciting journey” for the new dictator and his cronies but not the ordinary people who continue to suffer under the yoke of the corrupt, vote rigging and tyrannical dictatorship!

Chamisa "hear but do not understand" Prophet Isaiah would said - his ears are waxed by greed

One does not have to be a believer to learn from the Bible. Here is one great lesson for us all.

“Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him,” said Jesus Christ. 

“This is why I speak to them in parables: ‘Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand.’ In them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled: ‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.’ For this people’s heart has grown callous; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn, and I would heal them.’

“But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear.” Matthew 13:12 to 16

Zimbabwe’s greatest curse is that we should have leaders who see but never perceived, hear but never understood and yet they still pretend that they have perceived and understood all.

“Within the context of independence, it is important to restate that the party remains strong and ready to participate in the forthcoming polls. Our liberation struggle was mainly about one-man-one-vote and we stand ready to participate in a truly free, fair and credible plebiscite,” said Nelson Chamisa, President of the MDC-T, the country’s main opposition party.

The MDC party itself was founded on the promise to deliver democratic change, as the party’s name implies; Movement for Democratic change. Sadly, the party has failed to bring about even one meaningful democratic change even when the party had the golden opportunity to do so during the GNU.

All the party had to do then was to implement the democratic reforms agreed in the 2008 Global Political Agreement (GPA) crafted by the SADC leaders. Tsvangirai and his MDC friends had five years to implement the reforms but failed to get even one reform implemented.

What is so sad and tragic here is not that the MDC leaders failed to understand what the GPA was about throughout the GNU but, worse still, even today with all the benefit of hindsight, they still have no clue what the reforms are about much less how they are to be implemented.

“Last month, we launched our Plan and Environment for a Credible Election (PEACE). That document has 10 key demands of what we want addressed if we are to have an undisputed election,” continued Chamisa.

“We will do all that is possible to ensure that Zimbabweans are given a chance to freely express their sovereign will in fair and credible poll. Our 10 demands include, but are not limited to:

1)   Independence of the Zimbabwean Electoral Commission (ZEC), including the independence and professionalization of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission Secretariat.

2)   The creation of an authentic biometric voters’ roll properly audited and signed off by all stakeholders. Etc.”

Many, many volumes of material have been produced since the 2008 GPA, explaining in detail the process of reforming ZEC to break Zanu PF’s demonic control and make it independent. At the formation of the GNU, it was agreed the process of reforms ZEC, the Police and all the other institutions would take 18 months, at the very least.

And yet here we are, just four months before the next elections; Mr Chamisa wants us to believe that he can still get reforms implemented to make ZEC independent!

Zimbabwe’s new voter registration exercise should have started as far back as January 2015 at the latest. The regime delayed the exercise until 14 September 2017; there is no way anyone could register 7 million voters and produce a verified voters’ roll in that time. Time has born this out already!

ZEC has already admitted it has only managed to register 5.3 million voters out of the expected 7 million, which means 24% of the people are being denied the right to vote for no fault of the own.

It is IMPOSSIBLE to hold free, fair and credible elections in Zimbabwe without first implementing the democratic reforms; Mr Chamisa and his MDC friends have been told this a thousand times!

 “If you go into elections next month, you are going to lose; the elections are done,” SADC leaders told MDC leaders in June 2013.

SADC leaders wanted MDC leaders to boycott the elections so that reforms can be implemented. David Coltart, one of the MDC leader and cabinet member during the GNU, admitted boycotting the elections made sense.

“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 elections,” admitted Senator Coltart. 

“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.”

Coltart has confirm what it is that has made the hearts of MDC leaders’ hearts callous, their ears waxed and blinded their eyes – greed. Zanu PF has been clever enough to know that as long as it offers a few gravy train seats to the opposition during national elections, the party is guaranteed to have opposition candidates contest the elections regardless how flawed and meaningless the process happens to be.

God gave the people of Zimbabwe the mineral wealth, some of the best land on earth for farming; all a nation would ever need to be healthy, happy and prosperous. Only if we would not let greed rule and ruin our lives!

With no reforms in place, it is already obvious that Zanu PF is rigging these elections and it is insane to take part in election that “are done” already, as SADC leaders would put it.

Chinese mega deals to leapfrog Zimbabwe's development - or to sugar coat bitter pill

“Chinese mega deals will help Zimbabwe develop, ‘leapfrogging 18 years of isolation!” screamed the headlines!

Why has China allowed Zimbabwe to fall behind by 18 years, to start with? After all Zimbabwe – China relationship dates back to liberation struggle years and Mugabe has had his “look East” policy since the late 1990s!

In 1995 to 1999, Zimbabwe had the last of two five-year IMF and WB sponsored Economic Structural Adjustment Programme (ESAP). The programmes were meant to revive the country’s flagging economy but failed to do so. Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe’s then president, blamed the failure on IMF and the WB for imposing unworkable programmes on Zimbabwe!

Zimbabwe had accepted the two ESAPs as a condition for further financial assistance from the two Brentwood financial institutions and other Western institutions. Harare did not implement most of the reforms proposed in the programmes, most of which were common sense and logical. It was therefore rich President Mugabe to blame others when he was the author of his own down fall!

In a typical Robert Mugabe move, he announced that Zimbabwe would not be repay its IMF and WB debts. This was a pre-emptive move, of IMF and WB announcement stopping all financial assistance to Zimbabwe for failing to service her existing debts! Mugabe wanted the cutting of financial assistance from the West to be seen not as punishment for failing to repay his debts but as an act of defiance on his part!

Mugabe followed the IMF tussle with his “Look East!” policy to underline he was breaking lies with the West in favour of new ties with the East-block countries. He singled out the Chinese whom he called Zimbabwe’s “all-weather friends” although the two countries had not been that close until then.

The Chinese had helped train and arm Mugabe’s freedom fighters during the war for independence but as soon as Zimbabwe gained her independence Mugabe had openly flirted with the West. China’s economic fortunes in 2000 were lot better than they were in 1980! Mugabe was nothing more than an opportunistic old lover presenting an old flame wilted flowers nicked a grave.

Of course, the Chinese were not to taken in by Mugabe’s tomfoolery and clumsy flattery. It is no exaggeration to say China has earned billions of dollars in diamonds, gold and other minerals and raw materials and from selling its products in Zimbabwe. In return Zimbabwe has lost most of her industries which could not compete with the cheap Chinese import and earn very little else. Other African countries who have ties with China have certainly far better fared than Zimbabwe has done.

“We know that while China has stood by us in recent years and has granted loans and other forms of economic support to Zimbabwe, it should be a big surprise to many that that is actually not as much as other African countries with weaker political and historical ties with China enjoy,” reported The Herald.

“For example, Zimbabwe does not feature in the top 10 destinations of direct Chinese investment from 2003 to 2017. Egypt is number one, followed by Nigeria, Algeria, South Africa, Mozambique, Ethiopia, Angola, Niger, Zambia and Morocco.

“In addition, Zimbabwe does not feature among the top six recipients of loans from China Eximbank from 2000 to 2015. Ethiopia is number one, followed by Angola, Kenya, Sudan, Cameroon and DRC. 

“These figures are more than enough evidence that although there has been much talk about increasing economic co-operation between Zimbabwe and China since 2000, the relations hadn't reached a stage where our African neighbours have attained.

“We suspect that the key reason why this is so is that our politics in recent years had become too toxic even for our closest of friends,” The Herald reasoned.

China stopped granting Zimbabwe loans for the same reason IMF stopped – Zimbabwe was failing to repay her debts!

When President Mnangagwa took over from Mugabe following the November 2017 coup, he has spent most of the time wooing western – not eastern – investors just as Mugabe had done after independence. Sadly, for President Mnangagwa no western investors have answered his “Zimbabwe is open for business!” clarion call.

Western investors have shied away from Zimbabwe since Mugabe’s fall-out with IMF in 1999 because his regime was considered a gang of lawless thugs. President Mnangagwa had a chance to prove the regime had changed by keeping his promise to hold free, fair and credible elections. He has made the promise, but it is clear he has no intention of doing so.

It is now clear to President Mnangagwa that he will have to look somewhere else and not the west for Zimbabwe’s economic revival and thus, like Mugabe, he too has turned to China. Poor China, another bunch of withered flowers nick from grave!

“They (Chinese) want more action still on corruption. They are asking why they should throw good money after bad,” said Stephen Chan, a professor of world politics at the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London.

He was commenting on high powered Zimbabwe delegation of 88 business CEO and 10 ministers plus the hangs-on accompanying President Mnangagwa on a four-day state visit to China. Their mission is to secure the mega deals.

“And they feel they were treated very unkindly over mining rights (Zanu PF seized the Chinese run Anjin Investments, a diamond mining company).

“Who bites the hand of the one feeding you? In traditional Chinese manners, that was churlish behaviour. President Xi is a very hard man.”

"It is not from the “mega deal” benevolence of the secretive Chinese that Zimbabwe should expect her economic recovery and prosperity but from the regard of the profit of honest and open investor and banker." To paraphrase the great economist, Adam Smith.

Indeed, the Chinese will be offering Zanu PF the usual help to rig the coming elections and thus make sure Zimbabwe stays within China’s sphere of influence. The “mega deals” China will offer will be nothing but a sugar coating to make it easier for the populous to swallow the bitter pill of another rig elections and the years of the corrupt and tyrannical Zanu PF misrule to follow.

Of all the foreign nations, China has been Zanu PF’s most important partner in dragging the nation into this political and economic hell-on-earth we are stuck in today. Anyone who therefore believes that China will now help us get out of this hell-hole much less “leapfrog 18 years!” in naïve!