"Days of whitewashing leopard are over" says MDC - so wasted GNU whitewashing Mugabe! By Wilbert Mukori

“When Zanu PF rolled over MDC in 2013 and gave Mr. Mugabe another 5 year term they could never have anticipated the immediate consequences,” you said. 

For umpteenth time, Eddie, Zanu PF did not care about the consequences of their rigging the elections and getting back into power. All Mugabe cared about is getting back into power so he and his cronies can continue with the looting, which had, at best, slowed down during the GNU. You, MP Cross, were certainly aware of the looting in Marange during the GNU because you raise the subject yourself. Mugabe in March this year has shed some light as to the extent of the looting when he told the nation that $15 billion of Marange diamonds were looted between 2010 and 2015! So the nation has to take you claim of local and international confidence in Zimbabwe with a pitch of salt.

“After 4 years of growth and recovery and rising confidence in local and international circles, the country went into mourning and markets crashed. In six months $3,5 billion dollars fled the economy and a third of all Banks closed their doors,” you claimed. Nonsense!

The local and international community expected MDC to implement the democratic reforms designed to dismantle the Zanu PF dictatorship and watched with growing panic and disbelief the five years of the GNU rolled by and no meaningful reforms were implemented. Not even one reform in five years!

Indeed long before the six months from elections day which saw “$3,5 billion dollars fled the economy, etc.” SADC leaders and MDC’s donors had all deserted you lot before the July 2013 elections according to former MDC Minister Samuel Sipepa Nkomo.

“We failed to secure critical reforms before participating in the elections. The whole world advised us not to get into the elections without reforms, and so in everything that we have been saying we have failed to acknowledge that we also made a mistake,” Nkomo told the Independent newspaper.

“It is common knowledge that Lindiwe Zulu (President Jacob Zuma’s international relations adviser) advised us. Zuma also advised us and even the Sadc Heads of State meeting in Maputo (Mozambique) also advised not to participate in the elections without electoral, media and security sector reforms, among others.

“We were ill-prepared. Zanu PF gave its parliamentary candidates as much as US$15 000 each, a car, tee-shirts and campaign posters. But we gave our own parliamentary candidates only US$700 each, the councillors US$100 — all of which simply demonstrated a lack of seriousness. We were also misled by the numbers that came to our rallies particularly in Bulawayo, and the cross-over rally in Harare where people were told that (party leader Morgan) Tsvangirai would be crossing over into State House.”

MDC had only $700 for its parliamentary candidate because the party’s donors deserted the party and turned off the funds in sheer exasperation at the breath-taking incompetence MDC leaders had shown throughout the GNU years.

MP Cross do you realize that it is now two years before the next elections in 2018 and still not even one meaningful reform has been implemented? So it is clear that Zanu PF will once again rig the elections and you will, no doubt, be writing more of your articles and asking the same stupid question whether the party “anticipated the immediate consequences” of another five years of Zanu PF in power; as if that is all that really matters.

MP Cross do you realize that it is MDC leaders like you, Morgan Tsvangirai, etc. who have refused to accept that MDC made a serious mistake in failing to implement the democratic reforms during the GNU who, by being in denial, have stopped something being done to implement the reforms since the rigged July 2013 elections and thus land us back in the same situation as in 2013 when it was certain Zanu PF will rig the elections!

“I am afraid that the days of trying to whitewash this Leopard and to persuade it to change its ways are over. We have no choice but to take matters into our own hands and effect real change in our Country,” admitted MP Cross.

“The best solution would be an internationally supervised election without a voters roll as soon as possible. If this is not facilitated by the region, then the streets will have to make the required decisions. We the citizens of this country, really have no choice.”

So instead of implementing the democratic reforms designed to dismantle the Zanu PF dictatorship you wasted five years of the GNU trying to whitewashing it in the vain hope that was enough to transform the dictator into a democrat. How naive and characteristically MDC foolish was that!

The solution is for the country to implement the democratic reforms that MDC failed to get even one reform implemented in five years; the international community can assist in making sure the task in completed and not another foolish attempt to whitewash to leopard!

MP Cross please tell me because I really want to know; why are you always writing about the economy, Zanu PF abuse of power, etc. but has never ever written about the subject that really matters to every thinking Zimbabwean out there – implementing the democratic reforms and deliver the democratic change MDC promised but has never delivered ever since its formation in 1999? Whose side are you on; it is certainly not that of the long suffering povo because all of your actions so far have delayed the day of their deliverance from this Zanu PF dictatorship although they all disguised to give the impression you care about povo!