Friday 19 August 2016

Musewe, it will take more than Street protest to deliver "Zimbabwe we want"! By Wilbert Mukori

Musewe, unless we stop and think through what we have done wrong in the past we will never “create the Zimbabwe we want” you keep talking about. You keep say one thing and doing the exact opposite, for example, showing a complete disconnect between one half of your brain from the other half.
“We must never again, as a society, put too much of a burden on individuals, instead we must begin to build institutions that survive personalities,” you argued.
“This has always been the challenge in Zimbabwe, in that our politics have indeed been too personalized and therefore too dependent on individual leadership failures of those we tend to put on a pedestal. Nobody is perfect and yet we have continually expected the impossible from those who lead whom we then blame when they fail to meet our expectations. That is a dependence mentality which disempowers us as individuals to be the change we want to see.
At this point the reader would have been forgiven to think you have finally started to UNDERSTAND Zimbabwe’s political problem which can be split into two parts although each feeds on the other.
  1. Poor leadership – we would not be in this political and economic mess if we did not have some of the most corrupt, incompetent and tyrannical leaders, on both sides of the political divide, in the world.
     
  2.  A naïve and gullible electorate – only a naïve and gullible electorate will take corrupt and incompetent leaders and place them on a “pedestal” as you yourself have acknowledged above.
     
You have clearly acknowledged the failure of our current political leaders with one half of your brain only because by singing the praise of failed leaders like Morgan Tsvangirai, Joice Mujuru, Tendai Biti and all the other opposition leaders it shows the other half of your brain is yet to be convinced these are failed leaders. You, Mr Musewe are the secretary of Finance and Economic Affairs for PDP, the party led by Tendai Biti, one of the MDC leaders who failed to implement even one democratic reform during the GNU landing us in this mess.
In Japan if one is shown to be incompetent they “bow down low and resign from public life”, according to Ken Yamamoto. In failing to get even one reform implemented in five years MDC leaders have proven that they are not just incompetent but, worse still, that they are corruption. Of course they sold-out they knowingly kick the reforms into the tall grass to appease Mugabe who granted them the ministerial cars, generous salaries and allowances and for, Tsvangirai, the $4 million Highlands mansion.
After the rigged July 2013 elections, MDC leaders should have all grovelled in the dust, given up whatever car, farm, mansion, etc. bribe Mugabe had given them, resigned on mass from public life and be grateful not to face treason charges for having betrayed the nation over the reforms. It is therefore shocking that you Mr Musewe should be calling of the nation to re-elect the same failed leaders back into power and still claim these corrupt and incompetent leaders will deliver “the Zimbabwe we want”!
“The fundamental question we must now ask ourselves in whether the current on going public protests from all manner of circles will achieve the change which we seek?” continued Musewe, talking of the people.
“I do not think that there is any doubt in anyone's mind what needs to happen if we are to see fundamental political and economic reforms. Mugabe must simply step down and allow a new leadership to take the country on a new path.”
There is the disconnect again; Musewe we are talking here of an electorate that has shown again and again that it is very naïve and gullible, one half of your brain has acknowledged that; and yet you now tell us the same people now know what “needs to happen” to achieve the reforms we want. No, no, no, a thousand nos! The Zimbabwean people do NOT know anything about the reforms; that is exactly the point.
If the people had understood even the most basic concepts behind the democratic reforms agreed in the 2008 GPA then they would have seen to it that MDC implemented at least some of the key reform during the five years life of the GNU. Even with the benefit of hindsight of the rigged July 2013 elections most people still have no clue what reforms are about; for anyone for whom the penny on reforms final drop, the one thing they will do without failure is to politically lynch all the MDC leaders for selling-out.
MDC leaders still continue to enjoy some public support in Zimbabwe. I rest my case!
The country’s worsening economic meltdown has force the ordinary Zimbabweans to wake up to the reality that if they do not make a stand and demand change the situation will only get worse. However if anyone believes that joining in the street protest shouting “Tajamuka!” “Sesijikile!” “We are wiser!” “Hatichatya!” is all the nation has to do to get out of the political and economic mess we are in, then they have learnt nothing from the past. Shouting “Chinja maitiro!” “Change!” at MDC rallies failed to bring about any change.
If we are serious about end the economic meltdown and have a competent and accountable government then we must address the country problem of a naïve and gullible electorate. We will only have quality and competent leaders when we have a shrewd and diligent electorate – at least, shrewd enough not to elect the same corrupt and incompetent individuals again and again!

8 comments:

  1. MP Kate Hoey says Britain must block the planned $1 billion bailout for Zimbabwe.


    Any bailout given to this regime will be doing worse that kicking the can down the street in that the regime will waste the money and have nothing to show for it other than an even bigger debt burden!

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  2. Does this mean that MDC-T respects President Mugabe and his fellow Zanu PF thugs, they are war veterans too? If MDC-T is sweeping under the carpet all the wrong Mai Mujuru, Mahiya and others have done in the last 36 years then the party must also sweep under the carpet what President Mugabe, VP Mnangagwa and the rest still in Zanu PF have done too. Indeed, is MDC-T also going to sweep under the carpet if the corruption and tyranny continues, after all it is still war veterans who will still be committing these crimes?

    MDC-T is forgiving what Mai Mujuru, Mahiya and all those who have fallen out with Zanu PF for selfish political gain. The truth id MDC-T is hoping the thuggery will continue as long as MDC-T is the one benefiting. As a nation we must condemn thuggery regardless who in benefiting from it!

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  3. @ Musewe

    I do agree with you there, street protest alone will not be enough.

    “These protests can also keep us and the police busy while ZANU (PF) and its moribund ideas continue to entrench themselves and scheme for 2018 elections. We need to do more,” you said.

    “There is no doubt that fundamental change can only come when first we unite as a people and second we act together without vested interest of wanting to act separately as politicians or as civic organisations or as churches.”

    If you are calling for unity in holding more street protests, that will still not be enough. Zanu PF has too much power, political space and financial muscle to still rig the elections to influence the results if not to achieve another victory. Unless significant reforms are implemented to reduce Zanu PF’s political space and access to looted funds street protests alone will do nothing to stop Zanu PF rigging the next elections.

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  4. “These protests can also keep us and the police busy while ZANU (PF) and its moribund ideas continue to entrench themselves and scheme for 2018 elections. We need to do more,” said Musewe.

    “There is no doubt that fundamental change can only come when first we unite as a people and second we act together without vested interest of wanting to act separately as politicians or as civic organisations or as churches.”

    If Musewe is calling unity is carrying out the street protests then that will not be enough; implementing all the key reforms still remains the key move here. Zanu PF still has a lopolitical power, political space and financial muscle to rig the elections to influence the results if not to achieve another outright victory.

    As long as most people remain ignorant of the importance of the reforms it is not likely that any reforms will ever be implemented. Most people will continue to concentrate on the street protests when in fact the main battle front is implementing the reforms.

    Musewe is right, the Zanu PF regime is going to keep the nation occupied fighting in the Street just to keep everyone's attention fixed on street and away from its vote rigging schemes. when it comes to cheating and drawing attention away from the main issue, President Mugabe is an expert in that. And he is doing fine, thank you!

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  5. @ Rodney

    So whom have the Ndebeles been voting for all these years, in 1980, 1985, 1990, 1995, 2000, 2008, and 2013? And what on earth did each of them accomplish?


    We are in this mess because MDC failed to implement even one reform during the GNU, something you have clearly failed to comprehend!

    We are in this mess because as a nation, that means all Zimbabweans, have been naive and gullible. You can bury your head in the sand but that only confirm the point that you are naive and gullible!

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  6. The foundation planned to confer Mugabe with its Millennium Lifetime Achievement award for his role in Zimbabwe’s liberation struggle from British colonial rule at an event scheduled for Saturday.
    However, President Mahama, who was expected to present the award to Mugabe, was said to have travelled away from the capital Accra for the weekend.
    Local media also reported that the Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, the absolute monarch of the Kingdom of Ashanti, who was to play a key role in Mugabe’s visit was also said to be out of town.
    President Mugabe is corrupt, vote rigging and murderous tyrant who has negated everything the nation had gained from independence. For anyone to honour him for what he did before independence and completely ignore that he has since betrayed everyone is downright stupid.

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  7. Mujuru told thousands of her party supporters during a rally in Manjolo, Binga today.

    "We liberated this country with the masses," she said.

    "No one can stop me from campaigning in this country".

    Madam you were at the heart of this corrupt and tyrannical regime; why did you do nothing to stop the corruption and tyranny? You war record did not help you stop the rot so why are you telling us about it now as if it will change you?

    We are sick and tired of people who think that they liberation war record is a ticket for them to rule the country. You will be elected on the basis of whether or not the people think you are the best person to take the nation forward in free, fair and credible elections. Anyone's liberation war record or lack of it is irrelevant.

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  8. The failure by MDC and the people at large to realize that the street protest should be a means to an end - to force the regime to accept the implementation of democratic reform - is worrying. Vana Tajamuka think that street protests are all the nation has to do! No wonder we had the opportunity to implement the reforms during the GNU and ended up with not even one reform implemented; neither the people nor MDC leaders themselves knew anything about the reform!

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