“Insanity,” said the great Physicist Albert Einstein, “is doing the same
thing over and over again, expecting a different result!”
I had my first encounter with the insane when I visited my aunt in
Bulawayo, her husband was nurse-assistant at Ingutsheni Mental Hospital. Doing
the same thing over and over again, expecting a different result was a common
factor with the hospital’s patience.
“MaDube, you bucket is leaking!” said my uncle to one patient who had
been slaving away in the midday heat watering the garden with a leaking bucket.
She was covered in mud but making very little progress.
“Ah!” said MaDube, as if noticing it for the very first time that the
bucket was leaking. “I will carry the bucket on my head!” after a long
thoughtful pause. She had been carrying the bucket on her side.
Off she went, bushy tailed and full of enthusiasm. She was soon soaked
through and through from head to toe and still made no progress in watering the
garden.
There is one thing to be said about the insane, they never ever give up.
Even if they are forced to admit that they are not making progress, they will
come up with an excuse why they should carry on! Carrying a leaking bucket on
the head or side will not stop the leaking; but you wasting time trying to tell
that to MaDube!
It was one thing seeing MaDube slaving away watering the garden with a leaking
bucket as long as she remained in the confines of the Hospital, confident that
she would be sedated if her activities should be a threat to herself and/or
others. It is a different matter having Madube set loss on society and a real
nightmare if such individuals should occupy positions of power and authority!
Sadly, that is exactly what has happened in Zimbabwe.
It is sad and tragic that Zimbabwe is in this economic and political
mess because of 38 years of corrupt and tyrannical Zanu PF rule. What has made
our situation even worse is that we have had many golden opportunities to end
the Zanu PF dictatorship but have wasted them all blundering from pillar to
post. In his latest twitter, Nelson Chamisa, like MaDube, readily acknowledge
the many wasted opportunities before reaffirming MDC Alliance’s commitment to
continue blundering.
"WE NEITHER GIVE UP NOR GIVE IN. The past 38 years signified missed
opportunities and neglected advantages. Zimbabwe must now move on not move
around. Taught by the errors of the past, we stand ready to challenge all lies,
contesting all deceptions until final victory," twittered Chamisa.
By agreeing to contest these elections with no meaningful democratic
reforms in place, MDC Alliance allowed Zanu PF to blatantly rig the elections. Chamisa
and company did not even have the common sense to demand that ZEC produce a
clean and verified voters’ roll before the elections, this is a legal requirement.
Thanks to Zanu PF’s carte blanche dictatorial powers to deny 2 to 3
million Zimbabweans in the diaspora the vote; to frog march the 60% or so rural
voters who are no more than serfs who did not dare displease their landlord,
Zanu PF, by voting for the opposition; etc. the party secured its landslide 2/3
majority in parliament and senate. For the party to win the presidency too
would be a bonus!
Chamisa has conceded the parliamentary defeat and is challenging the presidential
result, he is even boasting of not giving up. What will a President Nelson
Chamisa administration hope to accomplish given Zanu PF has already secure 2/3
majority in parliament and senate and every sector in Zimbabwe society is
controlled by die-hard Zanu PF loyalists?
After 38 years of corrupt and tyrannical Zanu PF rule Zimbabwe is
serious economic and political trouble and desperately needed meaningful
political change and economic recovery. The recent elections and the follow-up Con-Court
challenge of the presidential results are another scene in macabre political
circus. The rigged elections killed all hope of a meaningful political change,
Con-Court challenges, regardless who wins, will not change that political reality.
Nelson Chamisa and his MDC friends failed to implement any reforms
during the GNU, they participating in the 2013 and now 2018 elections with no
reforms and he is now pursuing an inconsequential Con-Court challenge;
confident each action will finally produce the desired democratic electoral
victory. What we have here is a projection of MaDube carrying her leaking
bucket on her head, her side, her shoulder, etc., etc. What matters here is how
long is this nation going to allow village idiots like Chamisa determine the
nation’s destiny!
Nelson Chamisa and his MDC friends failed to implement any reforms during the GNU, they participating in the 2013 and now 2018 elections with no reforms and he is now pursuing an inconsequential Con-Court challenge; confident each action will finally produce the desired democratic electoral victory. What we have here is a projection of mental patient who carries a leaking bucket on her head, her side, her shoulder, etc., etc. confident that will make a difference.
ReplyDeleteWhat matters here is how long is this nation going to allow village idiots like Chamisa determine the nation's destiny!
@ Jovo
ReplyDelete"The majority must never give up," you say.
"Where there is a will there is a way. The people should rule Zimbabwe and not AK47s."
It was not the AK 47 that forced MDC to fail to implement even one reform during the GNU or to participate in these elections with no reforms in place. It was MDC leaders' stupidity and greed. You can bury your head in the sand and pretend MDC leaders are going to deliver democratic change, the reality on the ground will not change.
@ Bheveni Sibanda
ReplyDelete"So far so good i am convinced kuti there is no case which holds water ku con court its just a procedure to confirm the victory of ED," you say.
If ED is declared president the country will continue the same disastrous path it has travelled these last 38 years. No invest is going to do business with vote-rigging thugs!
@ Professor J Moyo
ReplyDelete"The only certain thing about this case is that, even before it commences at 10:00hrs, #ZEC has conceded under oath that the presidential election result announced by Priscilla Chigumba on 3 August 2018 was incorrect & it has ILLEGALLY sought to revise the numbers. That's major!," said Moyo.
Professor Jonathan Moyo is seeing what he wants to see in ZEC's affidavit and not what is there. Justice Chigumba has made it clear that Chamisa's case must be dismissed as a waste of time!
@ Michael Gutuza
ReplyDeleteMichael, to understand where MDC failed to implement the reforms you must first understand the process of implementing the democratic reforms. The first step in the reform of the Police, ZEC, etc. was for one or more MPs from Zanu PF or the two MDC factions to submit the proposed reforms in parliament. The second step was for parliament to then debate the reforms and fine tune them. In the five years of the GNU no one from either side of the political divide submitted even one proposed reform! Not one in five years!
"I do agree with you on most of the issues except one: that electoral reforms were achievable especially driven by the MDC considering the circumstances. The environment was not favourable to such intentions and purposes," you say.
There only thing that made "the environment not favourable" was that Mugabe had entrapped the MDC leaders with the gravy train lifestyles the ministerial limos, generous salaries, a $4 million mansion for Tsvangirai. In return MDC leaders kick reforms, which they all knew Mugabe did not want, out of the window.
@ Hamutioni Ndoro
ReplyDelete"Wilbert you have always blamed MDC for not enacting electoral reforms please tell us something different. You cannot always live in the past," you said.
Do you agree that these elections were rigged? Do you also agree that Zanu PF has failed to hold free, fair and credible elections for the last decade if not 38 years?
If you answer is yes to the above questions then surely it must be obvious that the nation is stuck in this trap of rigged elections. The way out is implementing the democratic reforms to ensure elections are free and fair. And since we will remain stuck in this trap until we implement the reforms it makes sense that anyone talking of getting out should talk about reforms and nothing else.
It was MDC leaders who had many golden opportunities to implement the democratic reforms and they wasted them all. If you think someone else was to blame for failing to implement the reforms then please tell me. Until I hear from you, I will continue to blame those I believe sold-out on reforms - MDC leaders.
If you are amenable to reason and logic you will not be asking me to move on when we are stuck or blame someone else just because you cannot bear to hear the truth! I am here to propose a way out of the mess Zimbabwe is in and not here to message your misplace ego!
@ Jackie Chimutashu
ReplyDelete"Hey? So what is your suggestion Wilbert? It's not easy for some people to just dump a dream because there are some men who think if you fail its ok to give up. Such men and women who never gave up helped bring an end to slave trade because of years of fighting and never giving up. And by the way, you only criticized both parties and provided no solution," you said.
The most important thing to emerge from the 2008 elections was that Zanu PF's carte blanche powers to rig elections had reached the epoch where it was impossible to have free, fair and credible without first implementing the democratic reforms designed to take away these powers. The whole point of the GNU was first and foremost an acknowledgement of this political reality and the proposed raft of democratic reforms was the agreed roadmap out of the mess.
MDC leaders forgot about the reforms as soon as they got into power. Mugabe bribed them with the trappings of high office the ministerial limos, generous salaries, a $4 million mansion for Tsvangirai, etc. and, in return, they forgot about the reforms.
It is rich for Chamisa to be wittering about "We neither give up nor give in!" now and yet for five years of the GNU he and the entire MDC leadership forgot about the reforms!
As stated above, after seeing what happened in the 2008 elections, it was madness to take part in any elections with no reforms in place. Instead of pushing for reforms MDC have either paid lip service to reforms or even lied that they had developed other solutions to stop the vote rigging.
"MDC has stringent measures to stop Zanu PF rigging the elections!" Chamisa said. All nonsense of course as we have just seen.
Zanu PF knew that as long as the party gives away a few gravy train seats MDC leaders will never resist the bait no matter how flawed and illegal the election process gets. Fortunately for Chamisa and his fellow MDC sell-out friends they have always managed to convinced their naïve and gullible party supporters that participating in flawed elections was an act of heroism on the leaders' party and not an act of selling-out for leaders and insanity for the supporters!
You are not changing anything by participating in elections that are so flawed the results are a pre-determined Zanu PF 2/3 landslide victory before the first ballot is cast. MDC leaders have done anything to stop the rigging and therefore they claim that they are not giving up is no more a fallacy than the mental patient who thinks carrying the leaking bucket on the head would stop the leak.
Yes, I have proposed a solution again and again and again, implement the democratic reforms BEFORE holding the elections. The reason Chamisa, Biti and the rest in the MDC have pretended not to hear is that they do not want to be held accountable for failing to implement the reforms during the GNU and, most important of all, they are quite content winning the few gravy train on offer. They do not give a damn that millions of ordinary Zimbabweans continue to be denied their right to a meaningful vote, the consequences of Zanu PF's continued corrupt and tyrannical rule, etc.!
The best way forward as of now is to have these flawed elections declared null and void so we clear the deck for the appointment of an interim administration that will be tasked to implement the reforms. Whatever government that emerges out of these flawed elections it is a waste of time because it will never bring about any significant economic recovery much less implement the reforms necessary to ensure the next elections are free and fair!
@ Prosper Makovere
ReplyDelete"Is it ok to call other human beings idiots because they belong to different political grouping .For that God will never be in it .Rather God will punish you all for not praying and putting him first. Your insults won't solve or bring change we all want."
What would you call someone whom ordinary people risked life and limb to elect into power on the promise he/she will implement democratic changes the nation was dying for; he/she had five years to implement the reforms but failed to get even one reform implemented because they sold-out? I choose to call someone that that a village idiot and you are free to call them what you please!
Was "God in it" when MDC leaders sold-out on implementing the reforms during the GNU? You should have the humility not to speak what God approves and disapproves of especially over matters you have no clue what you are wittering about!
@ Markim Wakatama
ReplyDeleteChamisa and his fellow MDC friends had the golden opportunity to implement the democratic reforms which would have ended Zanu PF's corrupt and dictatorial rule in 2013 at the latest. They did not because they are breathtakingly corrupt and incompetent and the consequences of their betrayal is what we see today - a nation in a total economic mess and pushed right up to the edge of the abyss.
"I don't think it was appropriate for you to call "Chamisa a village idiot". This kind of comment not expected from a man of you calibre," you say.
It is ok for you to say that, you have no clue of the tragic human suffering MDC leaders' betrayal have caused or the seriousness of the situation the country is in. If you even had the slightest inkling then you would agree Chamisa and his MDC friends are village idiots and worse.