UK inflation has risen to 9% vs Zim hyperinflation soaring 600% plus; they’re catching flue and we’re already coughing blood N Garikai

 

The soaring fuel and food prices caused, partly, by the 2019 corona virus and exasperated by the unprovoked invasion of Ukraine by Russia in February 2022; have triggered serious economic problems, everyone the world over is worried.

Inflation in UK is 9% and is projected to rise to 13% by the end of the year. As feared, an impoverished nation like Zimbabwe is already coughing blood: the country’s hyperinflation has already hit 600%, the highest in the world! No one would want to hazard a guess of what the country’s hyperinflation would be next week much less in six months, what is clear is that it is growing exponentially. In 2008 it peaked at 500 billion percent!

There are many reasons why Zimbabwe is in such economic mess compared to its own neighbours such as South Africa, Zambia or Botswana. The number one reason is because Zimbabwe has been stuck with a corrupt, incompetent and tyrannical Zanu PF dictatorship for 42 years and counting.

42 years of gross mismanagement, rampant corruption, riotous lawlessness and ruthless political oppression, earning the country the pariah state label; have left the country in total economic ruins and political paralysis. The ruthless political oppression has created a suffocating political system in which no competent and quality leaders can survive; a sewage swamp no quality fish can survive.

In the 42 years the country has had many opportunities to end the Zanu PF dictatorship, notably during the 2008 to 2013 GNU, but has wasted all these chances. The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), the country’s main opposition party of the last 22 years, including the GNU years, has failed to implement even one reform to stop Zanu PF rigging the elections. Not even one! Hence the political paralysis.

Before independence, Zimbabwe was the breadbasket of the Southern Africa. The Zanu PF regime seized the white owned farms to give to party loyalists, mainly, and the country’s agricultural sector collapsed taking down with it the economy. Zimbabweans are starving in a land which is for all practical purposes the Biblical Garden of Eden; a damning testimonial of how we, Zimbabweans, have failed to govern the country.

The nation has paid dearly for our failure to govern ourselves as millions of our people have been forced into abject poverty and to suffer in dumb anguish denied their freedoms and basic human rights for 42 years and counting. And whenever there is a worldwide economic disruption, as is the case now; whilst other nations catch flue, we because our economy is already weak and feeble cough blood or worse.

The root cause of Zimbabwe’s economic meltdown and political paralysis is the country’s failure to hold free, fair and credible elections- a man-made problem or to be more specific a Zanu PF and MDC/CCC made problem. Like all human-made problems, there is a human solution. We must implement the democratic reforms, MDC failed to implement during the 2008 to 2013 GNU, to ensure free, fair and credible elections.

It is too late to implement any reforms before the 2023 elections, less than a year away. Zanu PF wants the elections to go ahead with no reforms so it can blatantly rig and secure another five years in power. CCC are hell bent on participating in the flawed elections for the same reasons they failed to implement even one reform during the GNU – greed and breathtakingly incompetent.

In the past Zanu PF has counted on Sadc, the regional body to fraudulently endorse the rigged elections and thus grant the regime legitimacy. This time we, the people must leave no stone unturned in exposing these elections for what they are – farce. Sadc, IMF, USA and more recently EU have all called for reforms before elections because they all know without reforms the elections will never be anything else but a farce. This time Sadc will have no excuse for giving Zanu PF legitimacy. None!

What Zimbabwe needs is another GNU opportunity to implement the reforms to ensure free elections and thus finally end the curse of rigged elections and bad governance.

Only those who dare to ask, dare to think!

 

Only those who dare to think, dare to ask! Tantum qui audent cogitare, audent rogare!

Only those who dare to ask, dare to think! Tantum illi, qui audent rogare, audent cogitare!

To dare seek truth and reality. Audere quaerere veritatem et rem.

Dare to ask and to think for yourself. Aude petere et cogitare pro te.

To dare ask and think for yourself. Audere petere et cogitare pro te.

Drudgery of primeval me, here and now mentality; Me primaevae, hic et nunc mentis taedio

Only those who have grasped the essence of “doing unto others as have them do unto you” truly appreciate the critical importance of the law and upholding the rule of law. Those who have failed to make this quantum leap, remain trapped in the drudgery born of the primeval me, here and now mentality.

“We’re winning (2023) Big! Faka pressure!” claim Chamisa – Doesn’t even know who is piling what pressure and on whom? P Guramatunhu

 For the first twenty years of our independence the nation trusted the late Robert Mugabe and his Zanu PF cronies whole heartedly, they were the liberation war heroes and heroines who could do no wrong! Even at the height of the 1983 to 1987 Gukurahundi massacre many ordinary Zimbabweans believed the Zanu PF propaganda because they found the truth too bitter to swallow.

Still, by the late 1990s the evidence that Mugabe and his cronies were corrupt, incompetent and murderous thugs was a mountain high and impossible to ignore. The nation realised that as long as Zanu PF retained its carte blanche dictatorial powers including powers to rig the elections the nation will be stuck with the regime. The solution was to implement the democratic reforms designed to take away the regime’s dictatorial powers.

The also now late Morgan Tsvangirai and company launched their political party calling it Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), riding on the national mood and promising to deliver the democratic changes the nation was dying for. For the last 22 years the people of his Zimbabwe have risked life and limb, the price one has to pay for rejecting Zanu PF, to elect the MDC leaders into power.

After 22 years, 5 of which in the 2008 to 2013 GNU, MDC has failed to implement even one democratic change. Worse still, by insisting on participating in flawed and illegal elections MDC leaders have been giving Sadc the feeble excuse, “If Zimbabweans are happy with rigged elections, who are we to object!”, to give Zanu PF legitimacy.

MDC leaders were supposed to implement the democratic changes necessary to end the Zanu PF dictatorship; they not only wasted many golden opportunities to implement the reforms but, worse still, they are now the ones frustrating all those trying to get the reforms implemented. This is real the stuff of nightmares!

CCC is hell bent on participating in these flawed and illegal 2023 elections to give Zanu PF legitimacy and thus perpetuate the dictatorship for another five more years. Nelson Chamisa, the President of the errant CCC party is even predicted resounding victory for the party.

“Authenticity is a quality created out of consistency and dependability. Winners are not whiners. Love and light fellow citizens. Blessed day #FakaPressure #Godisinit

“We’re winning Big and with a landslide! Mark this tweet.” He claimed.

“Faka pressure!” (Pile up the pressure!) Who is piling what pressure and on whom?

The only discernible pressure on Zanu PF is from the worsen economic situation. The sheer delight in Chamisa and Tendai Biti’s, in particular, voice each time he talks of the worsen economic situation is irrepressible. How CCC wish Zimbabwe’s hyperinflation would soar to the dizzying heights of 2008 in time for the 2023 elections!

The economic meltdown is piling the pressure of the ordinary people, on the coal face of the soaring cost of living and grinding poverty. What Chamisa and company are hoping for is the economic meltdown forcing the people on the street to demand change.

In other words, CCC leaders do not give a damn about the heart-breaking human suffering the worsening economic situation is causing as long as it brings about the desired result – public protests.

Chamisa and company know from the past that Zanu PF will use wanton violence to quell public protest. Again, CCC does not care how many innocent lives are lost as long as the protest delivers the regime change and get them back into power.

Zanu PF is piling up the pressure on the ordinary people mobilising the traditional leaders, war veterans and the party youth militia, they’re the foot soldiers, tasked to corral povo and sure they vote for Zanu PF candidates. The foot soldiers have back up from the army, Police and CIO, who are tasked with the heavy-duty stuff of arresting, abducting and killing political opponents.

The Zanu PF vote rigging juggernaut is well-oiled and ready to deliver the usual Zanu PF landslide victory.

Whilst Sadc, IMF and more recently the EU have been piling the pressure on MDC/CCC to stop participating in these flawed and illegal elections and implement the reforms first. Chamisa and company have ignored the calls for reforms before elections for the same reasons they ignored them during the 2008 to 2013 GNU – greed and breath-taking incompetence.

Chamisa and company know that Zanu PF is offering a few urban gravy train seats to entice the opposition to participate regardless how flawed the election process get. MDC leaders have found the bait irresistible. Then there is the belief, MDC can win rigged elections – an oxymoron, especially after 42 years of blatantly rigged elections.

“God is in it!” How can God be involved in flawed and illegal process? By knowingly participate in flawed process and expect God to deliver victory regardless; is this not putting God to the test?

The people of Zimbabwe must accept the political reality that MDC/CCC leaders will never implement the democratic reforms, they wasted their golden opportunity to do so during the GNU. It is now for the people to demand reform before elections and put an end to the insanity of rigged election and bad governance. 

SA promise hard diplomacy against Zanu PF – sweet music after decades of sell-out diplomacy W Mukori

 

Action SA promises “hard” diplomacy against Zanu PF to end the crisis in Zimbabwe.

“My fellow South Africans across our border. For years our government have watched whilst Zanu PF destroyed the country once capable of feeding much of Southern Africa. This crisis affects our country deeply,” said Herman Mashaba. He is the former Mayor of Johannesburg and leader of the political party Action SA.

“It is now time for a new approach. It is time for hard diplomacy. We must adopt the strongest and harshest policies against an oppressive government and not punish the people of Zimbabwe.

“This should start by freezing the assets of Zanu PF leaders in South Africa and banning them from entering our country!”

This is sweet music to every thinking Zimbabwean out there. There is no denying that South Africa’s ruling ANC governing party’s “quite diplomacy” of 1994 to 2013 followed by the “sell-out” policy, for that is exactly what it is, thereafter, have helped Zanu PF stay in power at the expense of the ordinary Zimbabweans.

Ever since Zimbabwe’s independence in 1980, Zanu PF rigged the elections denying the people their basic freedoms and rights including the right to free and fair elections - most fundament right and prerequisite of good governance. The AU and Sadc have turned a blind eye and endorsed the rigged elections as “substantially free and fair” giving Zanu PF political legitimacy.

Only once, in 2008 after Zanu PF had blatantly cheated and used wanton violence did Sadc and AU refuse to endorse Zanu PF’s rigged elections. Sadc, pressured Zanu PF to agree to the formation of the Government of National Unity (GNU) which was then tasked to implement the democratic reforms and restore the rule of law and good governance.

Sadly, the MDC led by the late Morgan Tsvangirai failed to implement even one token reform in five years of the GNU. Sadc leaders, notably South Africa’s Minister Lindiwe Zulu, representing Sadc who were the guarantor of the GNU, did their best to remind MDC to implement the reforms but were ignored.

In a last-minute bid to get the reforms implemented, Sadc leaders literally begged MDC leaders not to participate in the 2013 Zimbabwe elections without first implementing the reforms. “If you participate in the elections next month, you will lose. The elections are done!” they warned.

Yet again, Tsvangirai and company ignored the warning and participated in the elections. As expected, Zanu PF blatantly rigged the election. And, in a shocking and shameless volte-face, Sadc endorsed the elections as “substantially free and fair” which they had condemned as “done” (rigged) only the previous month.

The political consequences of Sadc endorsing the Zanu PF rigged elections is giving the regime legitimacy and thus perpetuating the dictatorship. Zimbabwe has been stuck with this corrupt, incompetent and tyrannical Zanu PF dictatorship for 42 years and counting with the tragic political economic and social consequences there for all to see.

Zanu PF misrule has pushed Zimbabwe to the very edge of the precipitous abyss. Another rigged election and another term of this corrupt and tyrannical Zanu PF dictatorship might well push the nation over the edge. There is a real danger that Zimbabwe will drag many other nations down the abyss with her!

Without even one token reform implement since the rigged 2013 and 2018 elections, it is already clear that Zanu PF is blatantly rigging the 2023 elections. What everyone is waiting to see is whether Sadc will pursue their sell-out policy of endorsing rigged elections and give Zanu PF legitimacy, especially South Africa, Botswana and Zambia who have a history of holding free and fair elections themselves; and thus by the hand giving Zimbabwe the final push over the edge!

There is no denying that Sadc’s sell-out policy of endorsement Zanu PF rigged elections has been at the heart of the regime’s contemptuous disregard of the people’s democratic wish for good governance. It is the ordinary Zimbabweans who have paid dearly for this folly. It is time to stop the sell-out. It is time for hardnosed diplomacy!

"We’re not far from Rwanda in 1994,” warned Biti. Because we’re cursed with great man who’re easily corrupted by power. N Garikai

 “He (John Kumalo) is a big man, in this place, your brother. His shop always full of men, talking as you have heard. But they say you must hear him at a meeting, he and Dubula and a brown man named Tomlinson. They say he speaks like a bull, and growls in his throat like a lion, and could make men mad if he would. But for that they say he has not enough courage, for he would surely be sent to prison.

. . . . Because the white man has power, we too want power. But when a black man gets power, when he gets money, he is a great man if he is not corrupt. I have seen it often. He seeks power and money to put right what is wrong, and when he gets them, why, he enjoys the power and the money.”

Cry, the Beloved Country. Alan Paton

Alan Paton hit the nail on the head right there. He was writing about South Africa but he might as well have been writing about Zimbabwe or any other African country. “Same shit different country!” to paraphrase a favourite Caribbean slogan. We in Africa are cursed with this “Big man who speaks like a bull, growls like a line and could make men mad if he had the courage. When he gets power and money, he is a great if he is not corrupt!” Alas, he is almost always corrupt!

"Politics, in Zimbabwe, is suffocating because it is politics of intolerance, durawalls and division," warned Tendai Biti, CCC MP for Harare East. He is just one of the many big man John Kumalo Zimbabwean aspirants strutting on one of his favourite stages, parliament.

"Where you have such corrosive politics Mr. Speaker Sir, it is difficult to come up with a common division. It is politics of hatred, exclusion, intolerance, and regrettably Hon. Speaker Sir, 42 years after Independence, that politics is entrenched."

"If you look at the hatred on social media Mr. Speaker Sir, if you look at some of the things that are said in this Parliament – the language of hatred is so entrenched.

"We are not very far from Rwanda in 1994.  Mr. Speaker Sir, you know what happened in Rwanda in 1994. (Rwanda's 1994 Genocide claimed more than 900,000 lives.)”

What our strutting peacock did not say and never ever admitted is that he and his MDC colleagues had the golden opportunity during the 2008 to 2013 GNU to implement the democratic reforms and dismantle the de facto one-party dictatorship; the root cause of all the economic mess and political paralysis in Zimbabwe, he is wittering about each time he opens his mouth. Mugabe bribed the MDC leaders with the trappings of high office, and they threw all reforms out of the window.

The people of Zimbabwe have risked life and limb to elect Tendai Biti and company into power on the understanding the MDC would bring about the democratic changes to end the Zanu PF dictatorship, suffocating the nation. In the 22 years, 5 of which in the GNU, MDC has failed to implement even one reform. Not even one!

Indeed, the nation would not be messing around implementing reforms if Robert Mugabe and his Zanu PF cronies had not betrayed the nation after independence. Instead of honouring the independence struggle promise of freedom, human rights and justice for all, Zanu PF thugs imposed the de facto one-party with the disastrous consequences we see today.

Zimbabwe is blessed with rich agricultural land and excellent climate for growing crops all year round. The country was, during the colonial rule, the breadbasket of the whole Southern Africa region. Twenty years after independence Mugabe started seizing the white owned farms, often accompanied by gratuitous violence against the white farmers and their black workers. The seized farms were given to Zanu PF loyalists mostly.

Within ten years of the farm seizure, Zimbabwe’s agricultural sector collapsed, never to recover, and took with it the economy. We are starving in the country which is for all practically purposes, is the Garden of Eden! A damning testimonial to Alan Paton’s “when a black man gets power, when he gets money, he is a great man if he is not corrupt!”

Of course, our strutting peacock, Tendai Biti does not give a damn about the tragic human suffering resulting from the decades of Zanu PF gross mismanagement, rampant corruption and riotous lawless that have earned the country the failed state label. He would have implemented the reforms to end the dictatorship during the GNU, if he cared.

Indeed, Biti is already campaigning to win back the Harare East or some such seat in 2023 elections. He, like everyone else in CCC, is as keen as mustard to participate in next year’s elections. Of course, he knows that Zanu PF is rigging these elections just as it has rigged other elections in the past and, most important of all, he knows that by participating CCC is once again giving Zanu PF legitimacy and thus perpetuating the dictatorship.

Biti and company are as keen as mustard to participate in flawed election to give Zanu PF legitimacy because Zanu PF is giving away a few urban gravy train seats. CCC are selling out the nation’s opportunity to implement the reforms and end the curse of bad governance for 30 pieces of silver! And this has been going on for the last 22/42 years and counting for CCC/Zanu PF respectively. The same story of power, corruption, betrayal and heart-breaking human misery is being peated with sicken regularity in Africa.

Cry, the beloved country! Cry, the beloved continent of Africa! 

Chamisa resorting to double-Dutch to sell autocratic CCC – anything to avoid demanding Truss vs Sunak democratic slug P Guramatunhu

 "It (CCC party structures) is a dead issue, a non-issue really," Chamisa said. "We are introducing fresh politics and new culture and, of course, it will have a new structure carrying within it new strategies,” Nelson Chamisa told The NewsHawks.

"Those who believe in old ways will get lost in locating the new us. The new is centred around the citizens. This is not from the ordinary citizens, but from other quarters and those quarters are detached from reality and those quarters are detached from citizen struggles."

This is just double Dutch rhetorical nonsense!

Chamisa is claiming that it is the citizens’ desire to have no constitution, no party structures, hold no party congress, etc. He still insists that CCC is a democratic party and it is the people who are making all the decisions. This beggars the question; how the people are making these decisions to have no constitution, etc. and communicating them to him when without these basic party structural frame work the people have no meaningful.

The party constitution and structure are as important to giving people a meaningful say a healthy and functioning democracy as a voice box, ears and common language is to effective communication.

After four decades of corrupt and tyrannical Zanu PF misrule the nation is yarning for a political system in which the ordinary citizen’s freedoms and rights, including the right to a meaningful say in the governance of the country, are restored. Chamisa knows this and is offering a democratic CCC party make a big song and dance, in typical Mugabe style, and yet making sure CCC is an autocracy and remains an autocracy.  

Chamisa has no wish to make CCC a truly people’s party in which all the leaders are democratically accountable to the party members and the public at large. The prospect of him having to fight a leadership battle the same way Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak are slugging it out for the leadership of the Conservative Party, scares the hell out of Chamisa. It is not surprising, given his MDC track record of corruption and breath-taking incompetence – the party failed to implement even one reform in 22 years, 5 of which in the GNU, for Pete’s sake.

What Chamisa is failing to understand is he cannot have his cake and eat it too. CCC, as it is presently constituted is a one-man band, an autocracy, in which he and alone makes all the decisions, calls all the shots. It is deceitful, to say the least, to present the autocratic CCC as a democratic party.

The chef can get away with passing mutton for lamb but not so with hot chilli for tomato.

But knowing Nelson Chamisa and company as we all do, they are renowned for defending the indefensible, we will have hot chilli, autocratic CCC, shoved down our throats, for many moons to come. A truly democratic CCC is a luxury Chamisa et al can ill afford; just as implementing reforms and holding free and fair elections is a luxury Emmerson Mnangagwa and his Zanu PF cronies can ill afford.

A number of Zimbabweans are finding Chamisa’s insistence on calling CCC a people’s party insulting because they can see with their own eyes that it is not. A few more have gone one more step further and are questioning CCC’s insistence on participating in flawed and illegal elections only to give Zanu PF legitimacy.

With each passing day, more and more Zimbabweans are realising the seriousness of the situation Zimbabwe is in; stuck with the corrupt and tyrannical Zanu PF dictatorship and, instead of helping to end the dictatorship, the corrupt and incompetent MDC/CCC is the one helping Zanu PF stay in power by selling out on reforms and insisting on participating in flawed elections.

Zimbabweans are a naïve and gullible lot; it took them 20 years to admit Robert Mugabe and his Zanu PF cronies were corrupt and murderous tyrants. It has taken 22 years and counting for Zimbabweans to finally figure out that MDC/CCC are corrupt, incompetent and utterly useless. That the so called democratic CCC party is just another autocracy. 

Zanu PF lose 2 more by-elections to CCC – vote rigging juggernaut barely hit 2nd gear, come 2023 it’s overdrive N Garikai

 Zanu PF has lost the Chipinge and Kariba local government by-elections to the opposition Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC).

Yeah!  I will bet my bottom dollar the Zanu PF vote rigging juggernaut, if deployed in any of these by-elections, hardly ever reached second gear. Come the 2023 elections, it will be a different kettle of fish, the juggernaut will go through all the gears to reach overdrive if need be!

For the first time ever since the country’s independence, the Zanu PF vote rigging juggernaut was switched off for the March 2008 vote; there was no intimidation, violence or the usual vote rigging; the nation had the nearest thing ever to holding free, fair and credible elections. The people jumped at the life-time opportunity to vote Zanu PF out of office.

However, when it was clear Zanu PF was losing the election, the party quickly switched the juggernaut back on. ZEC was instructed not to announce the results and after six weeks of cooking up the figures, Tsvangirai’s 73% was whittled down to 47%, enough to force a runoff. During the runoff the juggernaut went into overdrive, unleashing the worst election related wanton violence in the country’s history.

Mugabe won the June 2008 runoff with 84%. The super-charged Zanu PF juggernaut boosted his 27% March 2008 vote to 84% in three months!

The 2008 elections were a watershed elections; Zanu PF demonstrated that the opposition winning 73% of the vote was not good enough for them to win power!

The 2008 to 2013 GNU was supposed to implement the democratic reforms and dismantle the Zanu PF vote rigging juggernaut. Not even one token reform was implemented, and Zanu PF retained all its carte blanche dictatorial powers including those to blatantly cheat and use wanton violence to win elections.

Robert Gabriel Mugabe was a cunning fellow, there is no denying that. Yes, he also had the great fortune of having mentally challenged individuals like the late Morgan Tsvangirai, also late Simon Muzenda, Emmerson Mnangagwa, etc. as his advisories; there in no denying that either.

Still, Mugabe deserves credit for conning the entire MDC leadership, including luminaries like David Coltart and Tendai Biti, into believing that MDC was so popular not even a turbo-charged Zanu PF voter rigging juggernaut would ever overturn the MDC victory. With the party this popular, MDC leaders did not need to bother themselves with implementing even token reforms. To have kept the whole MDC leadership in this cloud cuckoo land for five years of the GNU, was a political feat.

Ever since the GNU debacle, MDC leaders have compounded their foolishness of failing to implement the reforms by maintaining they have “winning in rigged elections (wire)” strategies. All just hot air, of course. Strategies to beat the Zanu PF vote rigging juggernaut that gave turned a 73% to 27% defeat into a 84% to 16% landslide victory. Zanu PF does not only have a loaded dice but one with 6 on all sex sides; only a fool will bet against them throwing a 6!

Two of the many lessons Mugabe learned from the GNU was to let the opposition win some seats to keep up the appearance that Zimbabwe is a multi-party democracy. Zanu PF has allowed the opposition to win some gravy train seats, bait to entice them to participate no matter how flawed and illegal the process get.

Mnangagwa has gone one step further and created POLAD, a political body grouping all the losing 2018 presidential candidates who publicly acknowledged the elections were free and fair and that Mnangagwa was the legitimate winner. POLAD members have been showered with benefits including free new cars.

The second lesson was to use the Zanu PF dictatorial powers sparingly, especially the wanton violence; only when the party’s iron grip on power is under serious threat.

Whilst the EU, Commonwealth, etc. have all condemned Zimbabwe’s elections as a farce. SADC has always judged the election as “substantial free and fair” giving Zanu PF legitimacy. The only occasion SADC condemned the Zimbabwe elections was 2008 and Zanu PF lost legitimacy forcing the party to accept the humiliation of having to share power with MDC in during the GNU.

Zanu PF is blatantly rigging the 2023 elections, confident the bait of the few urban gravy train seats plus the POLAD cherry will work its magic to guarantee the participation of everyone in opposition camp. What Zanu PF is not sure of is that SADC will give the usual “substantial free and fair” verdict and the legitimacy; especially South Africa whose ANC government is under increasing pressure for falsely endorsing rigged Zimbabwe elections in the past.

After 42 years of rigged elections and with the country on the edge of the precipitous abyss, Zimbabwe cannot afford yet another rigged election – at least, one in which Zanu PF get legitimacy – that could be the last step sending the country over the edge.

The challenge is to expose the scandal of Zanu PF rigging the elections, CCC participating to give the flawed process some credibility for the sake of 30 pieces of silver and SADC’s shameless “substantial free and fair” endorsement giving Zanu PF legitimacy. The treasonous betrayal and insanity must be exposed and stopped now and not wait for the rigged 2023 election results to be out; it will be too late, the damage would be done and it would be even harder to reverse it.