Monday 17 July 2017

"Mbeki failed to correct Mugabe," says Chamisa - what did MDC correct in 5 years of GNU. W Mukori

Many Zimbabweans continue to blame SADC and SA’s former President Tambo Mbeki for Zimbabwe’s worsening political crisis since 2008. What these people have failed to understand is that we are an independent nation and per se masters of our own destiny. When our political leaders join in the blaming game, the whole affair becomes a farcical parody.
“Mr Mbeki is burying his head in the sand by ignoring the fact that the problem in Zimbabwe is Mugabe and not the British. You cannot expect to get an answer from a wrong question and what we have in Zimbabwe is a dictator in the name of Mugabe who has failed to run the affairs of the country, hence, we are saying there has to be change to meet the clearly looming obstacle,” said MDC-T VP, Nelson Chamisa.
“Mr Mbeki has failed to correct Mugabe; any responsible African should be able to tell leaders where they are wrong instead of shying away from real problems.”
If President Mbeki had his head buried in the sand what was MDC and Zanu PF leaders doing if they too did not have their heads buried in the sand?
President Mbeki has made is very clear that Zimbabwe was not progressing and, more significantly, why. “Zimbabwe is not where it is supposed to be, they have failed to implement the GPA (Global Political Agreement),”
If MDC people did not like the terms of the GPA, why did they agree to it? Many people, notably USA Ambassador to Zimbabwe at the time, James Mcghee, felt the agreement favoured President Mugabe and they advised Tsvangirai not to accept it. MDC ignored the advice.
There was sufficient scope within the GPA for MDC to implement the democratic reforms necessary to end the Zanu PF dictatorship. SADC leaders did their best to encourage Tsvangirai and his team to do this; but, once again, the good advice fell on deaf ears. MDC leaders failed to get even one reform implemented in five years.
It is rich for Chamisa to now be preaching to Mbeki on what a “responsible” leader when he and his MDC friends had not only the opportunity to tell Mugabe what was wrong with his corrupt and tyrannical dictatorship but, better still, to end it. Instead of implementing the reforms, MDC leaders wasted the five years praising Mugabe to the high heavens.
“President Mugabe is the fountain of wisdom,” cooed Tendai Biti, MDC Minister of Finance during the GNU. “He is unflappable. He is the father of the nation.”
“It only demonstrates the bankruptcy of African statesmanship that lacks the spine to tell a fellow African leader the truth.” Chipped in Gift Nyandoro, NPP secretary general, in the criticism of Mbeki.
Oh yeah! Joice Mujuru, the leader of NPP, sat in Mugabe’s cabinet for 34 years and played her part in the gross mismanagement, rampant corruption and brutal oppression. Over 30 000 innocent Zimbabweans were murdered by the regime. She was careful to take her lion’s share of the loot but otherwise never lifted a finger to stop the madness.
Zimbabwe would not be in this political and economic hell-hole if leaders like Joice Mujuru and the rest in Zanu PF had not been so utterly corrupt, incompetent and useless. “Vakadzi vaMugabe!” (They are Mugabe’s subservient concubine!) Said Margaret Dongo of the Zanu PF cabinet ministers, MPs and the rest of the nation’s political and apolitical leaders right down to the village head! Of course, Dongo was right!  
It is the crass of hypocrisy that Nyandoro should see the speck in Mbeki’s eye but fail to see the log in his own party leader’s eye!
“In the interest of reviewing conflict there, the view we took then which I would hold on to today is that it really is the responsibility of the people of Zimbabwe to determine their future; its responsibility of the people of South Africans to determine our future,” said Mbeki.
“They talk about things that cannot be compared. An Apartheid South Africa is very different from an independent Zimbabwe. You say you want to impose sanctions on apartheid, of course you can, of course you must but to resolve a problem amongst Zimbabweans in independent Zimbabwe our view was and remains; let the Zimbabweans come together and sort out this thing among themselves.”
“Particularly because, given among other things, all my experience tells me, an external solution that gets imposed on the people, when something goes wrong, the owners won’t take ownership of it, they will say this thing is not ours.”
Yes, President Mbeki and SADC could have done more to force Mugabe to hand over power to Tsvangirai after the March 2008 vote or to force the GNU partners to implement the reforms. But to what end and purpose? A reluctant President Morgan Tsvangirai, scared stiff of his own shadow, would never have controlled the unruly Police, Army and CIO who had publicly said they would not salute Tsvangirai if he won the election, for example.
So, the GNU was the midway house to allow the orderly dismantling of the dictatorship.
Zimbabwe’s slide into this political and economic mess started way back in 1980, long before President Mbeki and SADC ever got involved in Zimbabwe’s affairs. SADC only got involved in Zimbabwe’s affairs because we were in a mess. SADC gave us sound advice and it was not their fault our political leaders, like Nelson Chamisa, ignore the advice.

Zimbabweans criticizing President Mbeki and SADC today do not want to accept the fundamental point at issue here: whatever happened, be it before the GNU, during or after, we, Zimbabweans, must take full responsibility. The buck stops with us; not SADC, Mbeki or anyone else, us! 

14 comments:

  1. The people of Zimbabwe are not going to finally enjoy their right to free, fair and credible elections because Douglas Mwonzora said it is an “idea whose time has come”. This is just nonsensical political rhetoric the people of Zimbabwe have had repeated so many time but only to be disappointed.

    Free and fair elections should have become a reality in 1980 when the country attained her independence. It did not happen because President Mugabe and his Zanu PF thugs betrayed the nation, the resolution and all our dreams.

    The people of Zimbabwe have risked life and limp to elect MDC into power on the belief they would bring about democratic change. The have failed to do so even when they had the golden opportunity to do so, during the GNU.

    We are not going to have our freedoms and basic human rights restored, not without implementing the reforms first; that is a fact. One way to force Zanu PF to implement the reforms is by stopping contesting these flawed elections, David Coltart has admitted so.

    “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,” explained 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.”

    By contested the flawed elections we are giving the whole flawed process credibility and thus perpetuating it. It is total nonsense to perpetuate the flawed elections and still hope for free and fair elections because “it is an idea whose time has come!” This is typical MDC stupidity and we must stop being led by such fools!

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  2. Songs have now taken the place of those stupid slogans. “MDC the party of excellence!” Ask them what the party has even achieved in all its 17 years in politics and 5 of which in government. And all you hear is deafening silence.

    Zanu PF is busy rigging the vote and MDC is busy writing songs. How stupid is that!

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  3. "He (Mugabe) just talks about corruption but he doesn't do anything to stop it," said Mujuru.

    "If I am elected president of this country, I will ensure that corruption is nipped in the bud within my first 100 days in office. Dealing with corruption is the first thing that we need to do if we are serious about fixing the economy."

    Mai Mujuru is right, President Mugabe has done nothing to stop corruption. And if the truth be said she, like so many other Zanu PF officials took full advantage of the rampant corruption culture to feather her own nest. As for her promising to end corruption “within my first 100 days in office” I would have believed it if she had come clean and admitted she too had been corrupt during her Zanu PF days. She denied being corrupt; I did not believe her then and I do not believe her now!

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  4. Yes, Comrade Chamisa, President Mbeki "failed to correct Mugabe". You are your MDC friends sat with the dictator in cabinet almost every Tuesday for five years of the GNU; what did you even accomplish? MDC had the majority in cabinet and parliament and had the solid backing of SADC when it comes to implementing the reforms. And still you failed to get even one reform implemented. NOT ONE!

    You say President Mbeki failed to correct Mugabe because he had "buried his head in the sand"; I would hate to think where you lot must have had your heads buried in!

    Zimbabweans are refusing to own up to the reality that we are masters of our own destiny and have learned President Mugabe's stupid habit of blaming everyone else for his own blunders. Mugabe still continue to blame the West for the country's economic melt down even after admitting the country was "swindled" of $15 billion in diamond revenue. We blame Mbeki for having Mugabe although it was MDC who failed to implement the reforms to end the dictatorship!

    Our failure to accept that MDC is corrupt and incompetent is not helping us get out of the hell-hole we are in today. Whilst SADC have already said do not contest flawed elections as a way to force Zanu PF to implement the reforms. It is none other than MDC who are dragging us into these meaningless elections for their own selfish reasons. And true to their nature, some people will blame SADC again if the 2018 elections are rigged!

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    Replies
    1. People like Chamisa have no choice but to lay the blame for the GNU's failure to deliver the free and fair elections of President Mbeki and SADC's door. How else otherwise can they avoid being blamed? The failure by the ordinary Zimbabweans to follow what was going on during the GNU and to do so even now, with the benefit of hindsight has made it easier for the likes of Chamisa to get away with blaming SADC.


      It is impossible to have a healthy and functional democracy when we have an electorate that is naive and gullible. Such an electorate will never by masters of their own destiny, the world is full of crooks who will only be too glad to take advantage of them. First it was the white colonialists, then it was Zanu PF and now it is MDC! We are like slaves having one slave-master and then another before we have even tasted what it means to be a freeman!


      Tsvangirai and friends have no good reason to drag the nation into yet another flawed election after the July 2013 rigged elections. They are doing it for selfish reasons and are dragging the rest of the naive and gullible populous by the nose like a bull!


      The biggest political challenge of our generation is how to get the populous to wake up from their comatose slumber and open their eyes!

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  5. “The Zimbabwean issue cannot be and is not solely a British interests issue. It is a national crisis requiring regional and international solutions. Zimbabweans continue to ask whose interests was he protecting and continue to protect? Thousands who died during the 2008 presidential runoff and millions that continue to seek refuge at his doorstep are telling of an impending catastrophe,” said Memory Kadau of Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition.

    Whilst I agree that the Zimbabwe crisis was not resolved by the GNU and that it is now an “impending catastrophe”. Still I have yet to hear what exactly Kadau wanted President Mbeki to do. In my humble opinion the GNU failed to deliver the promise of free and fair elections because MDC failed to get any reforms implemented.

    Kadau should come out in the open tell us what makes him believe President Mbeki was protecting some interests at the time or since! One must never make such character assassination innuendos especially when it totally unfounded.

    It is no secret that Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition has supported MDC in the past even when the party has blundered from pillar to post. Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition has yet to admit that MDC failed to implement even one reform during GNU much less admit the consequences of the said failure. Why that is so is a complete mystery given the mountain of evidence!

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  6. MDC MP Eddie Cross says: ‘the entire rural population is living under a regime of terror built up over many years by the Zanu PF party. The level of intimidation and control is extraordinary and includes beatings, targeted abductions, rape, threats, the use of traditional leaders and threats of expulsion from their homes. It includes close supervision of voting and collective punishment for communities or villages who are known to support, in any way, the opposition.’

    Anyone who has ever lived in the rural area will know this is all true, fear is real. What I cannot understand why the MDC-T still insist on contesting the flawed elections. The only logical reason has to be greed, as Coltart admitted.

    “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,” explained 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.”

    Zanu PF will never implement any reforms as long as it continues to give away a few seats to entice opposition candidates to contest the election to get some measure of credibility. Unless we can find out how to stop these greedy opposition opportunists and/or discredited them; we are stuck!

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  7. With not even one democratic reform in place, next year's elections will be blatantly rigged, there is no question about it. No one can ever say for certain what will happen next still there is a real chance of the people going into the street to protest, a new wave of economic and political refugees leaving the country or worse. What cannot be denied is the country is not going to get any meaningful economic recovery as long as Zanu PF remains in power and the present situation is unsustainable.


    The tragedy is our political paralysis could have been solved in 2013, if MDC had implemented the reforms. It would have been solved within a few months of the cancelled July 2013 elections if MDC had refused to contest the elections without reforms.


    We do not need to go through yet another flawed election next year if we can get the opposition to withdraw from the elections. Get MDC-T and the rest in the opposition camp to boycott next year's election is an impossible task. Zanu PF has been giving away gravy train seats to entice the opposition to contest. It is these give away seats MDC-T and the rest are after. They do not care that Zanu PF rigs the elections or the dear price the nation pays for these rigged elections!

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  8. @ Stanley

    "When Zimbabweans were hurting, weeping and in mourning, Morgan Tsvangirai has been there and he was heard. He has demonstrated, he has been teargassed and he has spent time in jail," you say. We have heard this stupid argument so many times and it is disappointing that there is still a Zimbabwean out there still stupid enough to repeat it!


    Tsvangirai was in government for five years during the GNU and he was so "busy enjoying himself he forgot why he was there for," to paraphrase SADC leaders' caustic criticism of MDC soon after the rigged July 2013 elections. Tsvangirai has already proven to be corrupt and incompetent that surely is enough to make him unsuitable to hold public office.


    If we are going to elect him president because he was teargassed by Zanu PF are we not opening a pandora's box here because they are Zanu PF, ex-Zanu PF, etc. who suffered a lot worse abuse than Tsvangirai whom we will have to consider regardless of their political record and competence!


    The only accepted criteria for electing someone into public office is that the individual is the best candidate who will deliver the nation’s hopes and dreams of peace, justice and economic prosperity. The last thing the nation should want to do is recycle deadwood under some ill-conceived feeble excuse!

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  9. @ Seka

    MDC-T did not boycott the 2013 elections, they were rigged. What makes you think they will boycott next year's election?

    Zanu PF will never pay MDC to boycott elections, they need them to participate and give the process credibility. If MDC were to boycott the elections, Tsvangirai will be kicked out of the $4 million Mansion in no time!

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  10. @ adopted

    If MDC was to boycott elections then Zanu PF will be forced to accept democratic reforms, the last thing the regime wants.

    What did you as an ordinary Zimbabwean gain from taking part in the rigged July 2013 elections? Nothing other than Zanu PF retaining power and the nation forfeiting the chance to get the reforms finally implemented. Another rigged election will bring nothing but more misery for the masses.

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  11. @ Rafique 702

    By contesting an election we know is going to be rigged we are only proving to the world just how stupid we are! If the opposition was to boycott the elections then the whole process will lose credibility and Zanu PF will be forced to accept reforms just as it was forced to accept the GNU in 2008!

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  12. Zimbabwe was in a mess long before President Mbeki and SADC stepped in. Yes Mbeki could have forced both MDC and Zanu PF to implement the reforms but it cannot be denied that the two party had the opportunity to do this. By leaving it to Zimbabweans to implement the reform he is being consist with his statement to let Zimbabweans find their own solution.


    The trouble with people like you, Muchanyerei, is you want Zimbabwe to be an independent country but do not want to accept the duties and responsibility that come along with the independence. Of course, we, Zimbabweans fcuked up in allowing President Mugabe to impose the de facto one party dictatorship. We fcuked up big time in failing to get even one democratic reform implemented during the GNU.

    Many Zimbabweans are much happier blaming Mbeki and SADC for the GNU failures and they get aggitated and angry whenever anyone tell them the truth that it was Zimbabweans themselves who fcuked up. You need to grow up, mentally or forever hold your peace because we are not going to get out of this hell-hole with idiots like you holding us back.



    We need SADC and the international community’s help to get out of the hell-hole we landed ourselves, we are drowning in our own s***t literally! If idiots like Tsvangirai had listened to the advice from SADC leaders during the GNU, for example, then we would not be in this s**t hole still!



    “In summary, Mr Mbeki should leave Zimbabwe to Zimbabweans. We are a sovereign nation and have the capacity to emancipate ourselves from any form of political oppression, the same way we did against colonial rule,” you say.



    We jumped from the frying pan of colonial oppression into the brimstone fire of corrupt and murderous black tyranny and you call that “emancipation”! How naïve!



    Zimbabwe’s economic and political mess is causing heart breaking suffering amongst our own people and we have been exporting our mess to other nation too. The country is sitting on the knife edge, one false move and we could tumble over into the abyss on social and political unrest.



    We should have the intellect to realise we are in deep, deep trouble here; have the courage to swallow our totally misplace ego and ask for help and have the humility to accept the help.

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  13. Mai Mujuru is being honest, she had no clue of the many dirty tricks Zanu PF employed to rig elections in the past. She was VP and number two in seniority to Mugabe himself and yet she had no clue on something as critical as vote rigging. Vote rigging has been going for the last 37 years and she had no clue. Vote rigging is high treason and it has been going on for 37 years and some one in high office for 34 of those 37 years, had no clue!

    Mai Mujuru is a corrupt, incompetent simpleton who cannot be trusted to hold high office, ever again!

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