“Demonstrations are planned and must be planned, how do you demonstrate
without prior due diligence!” argued Nomazulu Thata in her recent article in
Bulawayo 24.
Many, many things went wrong in the recent street protests that swept
Zimbabwe and most notably the large numbers of people beaten and many killed by
the repressive regime’s agents. These could and should have been avoided if those
who called the stay-away and the ordinary Zimbabweans themselves had taken time
off to think through what the stay away was about. Where the country is going
and how we intend to get there.
Zanu PF has no clue how to fix the economy and so it is pointless
demanding jobs from the regime and that it must pays civil servant a living
wage. How will it accomplish any of these things if it cannot even do the
obvious like rein in the rampant corruption! ZCTU leaders and the ordinary
Zimbabweans should, instead, be demanding the full restoration of the freedoms
and basic human rights including the right to a meaningful vote. To revive the
economy we must first have meaningful political change to enable us to elect a
competent and accountable government.
President Mnangagwa rigged last July’s elections and thus confirmed that
Zimbabwe was still a pariah state ruled by corrupt and lawless thugs. The
economic recovery we are all hoping for will never ever happen because the
foreign investors and lenders do not do business with thugs! Every Zimbabwean
should know that by now!
“Surely it cannot go on like this, the workers cannot be told to
sacrifice and yet the top servant in the land: President Mnangagwa is not in a
position to do the same sacrifice. They are travelling with expensive private
jets begging for money in countries whose presidents cannot afford such a
luxury of a private jet they fly around with. We need to think and imagine how
that money; about 25 million US dollars, could have been used in the civil
service if the President did not make those unreasonable journeys to Eurasia,”
commented Nomazulu.
The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner jet is luxury personified alright and with a
hiring price tag to match at US$74 000 per hour. Of the many foolish things
Mnangagwa has done hiring the jet to go begging takes the biscuit. Imagine a
beggar turning up at your door wearing the most exquisite and expensive
designer brands from head to toe. You will not get a penny from me, that’s for
sure!
Crooks like President Putin of Russia and the Chinese are not interested
in helping Zimbabwe but in helping themselves. Both the Russians and Chinese
have in the thick of the wholesale looting of Zimbabwe diamonds in Marange and
Chiadzwa and on the lookout for new looting opportunities.
One expected Professor Mthuli Ncube, Zimbabwe’s Minister of Finance, the
man who will pay the bill for the hired luxury jet, to stop Mnangagwa hiring
the jet. On contrary, the minister approved and is one of the select few
travelling in style and, no doubt, enjoying every minute of it.
“What is worrying most is the lack of empathy on the part of the ruling
elite towards the citizenry, Minister Mthuli Ncube included. Beating, shooting
maiming, raping the people electorate the way they did is barbaric but last,”
lamented Nomazulu.
“This should actually scare the likes of our overly educated Mthuli
Ncube. That CNN interview at Davos with Quest is regrettable. It is
inconceivable to understand the thought processes of a smart and educated
bootlicker.”
The Zanu PF dictatorship would have never taken root in Zimbabwe much
less survive all these last 38 years and cause so havoc was it not for Zimbabwe
brigade of “smart and very well educated bootlickers”! Professor Mthuli Ncube,
Kirsty Coventry, Professor Jonathan Moyo, the late Bernard Chidzero, David
Coltart, Tendai Biti, etc., etc.; all turned a blind eye to Zanu PF corruption
and treasonous betrayal of the nation to prop up the regime. They have each
received the usual Judas Iscariot’s thirty pieces of silver payment.
"People have died. Bystanders have been shot senselessly, homes have been raided and the entire country is on lockdown. According to the border officials, there was a single day in January when over 130 000 people crossed the border to South Africa."
ReplyDeleteDA's Spokesperson on Immigration, Jacques Julius on Wednesday conducted an oversight inspection at the Beitbridge border post between South Africa and Zimbabwe to assess conditions following unrest and violence in the country.
"The crisis in Zimbabwe will no doubt worsened what is already a broken South African immigration system which is failing to offer efficient and effective immigration services." Julius said.
"During the oversight, it was clear that President Cyril Ramaphosa's assertion that all is well in Zimbabwe and that economic sanctions should be lifted is not only untrue but also deeply irresponsible.”
SA President Cyril Ramaphosa is on record saying last July’s Zimbabwe elections “went well” although every other election observer with an democratic record worth talking about said the elections were “unfair, the playing field was not level and the process failed to meet acceptable international standards”.
President Ramaphosa is also on record blaming sanctions as the cause of Zimbabwe’s economic meltdown although everyone is aware that rampant corruption is the cancer killing the economy.
President Ramaphosa’s idiotic statement is music to the illegitimate Zanu PF regime as it encourages it to dig deep and hold on to power even at the cost of the worsening economic meltdown and increased brutal oppression. 130 000 crossing into SA in just one day, that is worrying. There has been tension between South Africans and black foreign nationals in the past leading to the xenophobia attacks. This new influx will increase the tension and not reduce it!
It is unforgivable that someone like President Ramaphosa had the opportunity to set Zimbabwe on the path to political stability and economic recovery by being honest regarding the elections and sanctions chose to do the exact opposite by falsifying the record. How tragic!
Exiled former ZANU PF Politiburo members has confessed that his agenda of reforming ZANU PF from within backfired and the party was about to change him instead.
ReplyDeleteProfessor Moyo is on the record saying, "the best way to reform Zanu-PF is from within."
"I tell my father (in the book that he is writing) that I regret I understood better after the damage had been done that by joining ZanuPF to change it; I risked having ZanuPF changing me." Moyo says. "I assure him I'm done with ZanuPF and that my family will disown me if I ever again rejoin it in any disguise, shape or form."
Social media users pressed Prof. Moyo to reveal any sign that during his days in ZANU PF he tried to reform it.
"Oh! Is that why Pres Mugabe labeled me the devil incarnate and accused me of smuggling MDC editors into the state media?" Responded Moyo. "And when Mnangagwa, Chiwenga and Warvets repeatedly accused me of being a CIA and destroying ZANU PF from within, they were lauding me for improving their dictatorship?”
You joined Zanu PF for the same reason many others before you and after, like Professor Mthuli Ncube, Kirsty Coventry, etc. others like Tendai Biti and David Coltart did not join Zanu PF but still cooperated with the regime knowing this was a corrupt and tyrannical regime for the sake of the gravy train lifestyle the party offered.
Only the politically naive and gullible ever believed all that bull about destroying Zanu PF from within or to rebuild Zimbabwe. You do not destroy the dictatorship by making it stronger with your dirty tactics helping it to remain in power. You do not build Zimbabwe by propping up the dictatorship at the expense of undermining democratic change.
Zanu PF is a party of ruthless thugs who would use every trick in the book to justify using violence and, as we have seen, have used the looting and burning of tyres to justify using brute force including live ammunition to harass, beat and even kill the nation into submission. What did the organizers of the stay-away do to stop the looters and the other unruly elements taking over the protest? There is nothing to suggest they even considered that happening.
ReplyDeleteIn future those who call for peaceful demos must take the extra precaution of appointing stewards appropriately attired and equip to monitor and deal with all trouble makers. If ZCTU wanted its members to stay at home they should have said so and came out to denounce all those on the street as having nothing to do with them.
MDC, NGO, etc. leaders should have came out with clear instructions what they wanted their members to do.
Everyone should know by now that we have a regime that loves using violence and the best counter move is make sure the regime has no excuse to use violence.
It is clear that the security forces arrested many people in their homes but how many of those can prove they never left their homes and were not involved in any of the street violence?
We have a regime that will use violence at the drop of a hat we just have to learn how we can still exercise our right to protest without giving the regime the excuse to use violence. Stay-away should mean staying off the streets!
Zimbabwe faces a new wave of unrest as the group representing government workers announced on Wednesday that civil servants across the country will go on strike after salary negotiations failed.
ReplyDeleteDavid Dzatsunga, secretary of the Civil Service Apex Council, said the strike will begin on Friday as the southern African nation's economic collapse deepens and frustration with President Emmerson Mnangagwa's government grows
One only hopes that those calling for this strike will give their member very clear instruction what they are being asked to do when and where. If it is a stay-away then all members must be told they are not to leave their homes all day and night. Members should take the extra precaution to ensure their relatives and friends stay off the streets too. DO NOT give the regime any excuse for using violence.
There will be some unruly elements in society and it will not be the first time the regime supplied its own agent provocateurs to loot and burn and thus provide the regime with the excuse to use brute force to cause mayhem.
Workers have a just cause, the wages you are being paid is a slave wage. Do not undermine your cause by engaging the regime in a street fight with you throwing stones and the regime armed with baton sticks and guns. Why fight a battle you are destined to lose.
MASVINGO Provincial Affairs minister Ezra Chadzamira on Wednesday publicly bragged about Zanu PF's poll-rigging machinations, saying the practice was commonly practiced globally.
ReplyDeleteThe Zanu PF provincial chairperson made the remarks during a party inter-district meeting held at Chitsanga Hall in Chiredzi, saying election rigging occurred even in developed countries such as the United States, so the main opposition MDC should stop demonising the ruling party over the handling of last year's general elections.
"Zimbabweans should know that there was nothing like democracy under the sun, but we have guided democracy. So if you think Zimbabwe will ever be democratic, keep on dreaming," he said.
"[Donald] Trump stole the election in America, but no one burnt or looted properties like what the opposition did in Zimbabwe. Elections are being stolen everywhere, even in the DRC (Democratic Republic of Congo), so what's so special about the Zimbabwean situation?”
This is the tragedy with Zimbabwe, we have entrusted political power into the hands of those who have never valued the freedoms and rights of others including their rights to a meaningful vote and even the right to life. So instead of independence marking the occasion when freedom, justice and liberty was secured for all it has only marked the change of guard, we remove the white oppressors only to replace them with the black oppressors!
Zanu PF denied 3 million Zimbabweans in the diaspora a vote, this is more that the 2.4 million votes Mnangagwa says voted for him! No one knows who those voters were because ZEC failed to produce a verified voters’ roll and there was no trace where these votes came from because the V11 forms were never produced. How anyone could find such blatant vote rigging acceptable much less brag about it beggars belief!
How is it possible that such a idiot like Chadzamira is provincial minister explains why the country is in a real mess. What kind of idiot would appoint him minister? What hope is there for the country ever getting out of this mess with idiots in charge?
THE pharmaceutical sector in Zimbabwe owes foreign suppliers more than $39 million for imported raw materials as well as finished products, resulting in supplies to the southern African country being cut off, an industry official has said.
ReplyDeleteZimbabwe imports between 70% and 80% of its pharmaceutical requirements.
Pharmaceutical Society of Zimbabwe president Portifa Mwendera told NewsDay that the situation in the sector had deteriorated, with medicine shortages on the market being more pronounced.
"Patients have to move around a number of pharmacies to fill out their prescriptions and some have had to get their treatment regimens changed to whatever is available at the moment," Mwendera said.
"As of close of last year, the pharmaceutical importers owed $32,5 million to foreign suppliers while pharmaceutical manufacturers owe about US$7 million for importation of raw materials."
Mwendera said the central bank was behind in terms of forex allocation as they last had an allocation in October last year.
This is a mad, mad world! Mnangagwa had US$25 million for the hired Boeing 787 - 8 Dreamliner jet and US$ 10 000 per day allowance for a ten day jaunt for himself and his cronies but has no money to buy life saving drugs for millions of ordinary Zimbabweans!
Finance and Economic Development Minister Mthuli Ncube is in Davos at the World Economic Forum, and as expected he is selling Brand Zimbabwe, projecting that he will bring down inflation from 42% to 10% by next year, and find money to cover foreign debt payments of $1,2 billion, while introducing a new currency in "less than 12 months”
ReplyDeleteAt the moment, fuel prices have gone up 150%, prices of basic commodities continue to spiral, while inflation is also on an upward trend – all under Ncube's watch. It is a cause for concern. For now, his projections to bring down inflation to 10% sounds like a pipe dream, especially at a time the price of bread has risen from $1,50 to $2,20 this week.
A year ago Mnangagwa was in Davos with his “Zimbabwe is open for business!” mantra and “loud” multi-coloured scarf. After decades of Mugabe corrupt and tyrannical rule the world had waited a long time for sanity to return to Zimbabwe and so the world cut Mnangagwa some slack. When he blatantly rigged the July 2018 elections the world was left in no doubt that Zimbabwe was NOT open for business because it was still a pariah state ruled by corrupt and lawless thugs.
Minister Ncube is just wasting the nation’s time and money in Davos talking to a world that has long stopped listening. IMF, WB and all the leading financial institutions from whom Zimbabwe is hoping to borrow money, know that whilst the regime has gone after the poorest of the poor with its 2% tax on all electronic transactions the regime has done nothing to stop the wholesale looting of the country’s diamonds and other resources. No doubt they all know of how Mnangagwa and his entourage had hired the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner for the Davos begging trip! How can anyone take such an irresponsible, dishonest and wasteful regime as this Zanu PF junta seriously!
ZIMBABWE'S political chaos is a function of its economic crisis – and the economy is only getting worse. To all intents and purposes, Zimbabwe is broke.
ReplyDeleteThe government has so little income that it is struggling to keep the lights on in ministry buildings and pay civil servants. It certainly does not have anything to put toward servicing its existing US$16 billion debt obligations.
Even countries like Russia and China, which may not be put off by the ongoing human-rights violations, are unlikely to put their money into an administration that cannot demonstrate that it can maintain stability.
But even new record-setting tobacco sales may not be enough to rescue the government this time around. Poor climate conditions are predicted to lead to a reduced cereals crop, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization, leaving 2.4 million people – 28% of the population – needing food aid. This is more than double last year's figure of just over 1 million.
Zimbabwe's political crises have always been exacerbated by its economic situation. With the economy already in the doldrums, and a poor harvest still to come, we can expect more popular unrest – and, if this past week is anything to go by – lots of violence still to come.
Zanu PF blatantly rigged last year’s elections confident the party can fool the world that the country had changed. The world was not fooled by the “Zimbabwe is open for business!” blast. The world especially the investors saw through the smoke and mirrors that the country was still a pariah state ruled by same corrupt and vote rigging thugs. No one likes to do business with thugs.
As long as Zimbabwe remains a pariah state the country will never have any meaningful economic recovery!
LEADER of South Africa's far-left party Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), Julius Malema, has called on the Southern African Development Community (Sadc) to come to Zimbabwe's rescue with a conditional financial bailout package.
ReplyDeleteMalema, who warmed up to President Emmerson Mnangagwa when he took over power from former President Robert Mugabe in a coup in November 2017, told journalists in South Africa this week that the Zanu PF leader was now behaving in a wayward manner.
Zimbabwe is in the throes of an economic meltdown, which culminated in nationwide protests a week ago, and turned violent as State security agents clamped down on demonstrators.
"We (Sadc) are becoming a laughing stock all over the world because one of our own is swimming in a pool of debt and we are unable to provide them a conditional grant which must not end up in the hands of Zanu PF politicians," Malema said.
And how, Mr Malema, are you going to stop Zanu PF using the bailout to pay for such things as hiring the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner jet for a jaunt?
What Zimbabwe needs, first and foremost, is a government with some common sense, at least. There is no reason why the country would fail to elect at least a few individuals with working grey stuff between their ears if the country was able to hold free, fair and credible elections. Zanu PF blatantly rigged last July’s elections and all the other election observers said so. SA’s President Cyril Ramaphosa was telling the world in Davos the other day that “Zimbabwe elections went well”! How stupid is that!
The root cause of Zimbabwe’s economic crisis is bad governance and therefore chucking money at the problem without first addressing the root cause is foolish.
Chido Chikuni, which of the two has cause worse damage to the nation; the sanctions or corruption? Remember Zimbabwe was swindled of US$ 15 billion in lost diamond revenue in four or so years according to Mugabe’s own admission in 2016. I do not need to tell you that Mugabe never arrested even one swindler and Mnangagwa too have so far failed to arrest even one swindler. We can be certain that the looting is continuing to this day.
ReplyDeleteSo why is it that you are hot at telling the Americans who they should trade with but has never done anything to stop your own government looting? How stupid is that!!!!
The umbrella body of Pentecostal churches the Evangelical Fellowship of Zimbabwe has announced that it has committed itself to and laid down a framework for a national dialogue that should lead toward the rebuilding on the nation.
ReplyDelete"We have committed to a process of cohesive internal and external dialogue," EFZ said on Friday. "The dialogue will be guided by the principles of the Zimbabwe We Want Discussion Document as we work towards rebuilding our nation."
The Zimbabwe We Want document is a product of the Zimbabwe Christian Heads of Denominations namely the Evangelical Fellowship of Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe Council of Churches and the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops Conference.
After 38 years of appeasing Zanu PF with disastrous consequences that have left millions of ordinary destitute and the nation on the very edge of the abyss; it is very disappointing that even now there are still people seeking to appease Zanu PF regardless of the suffering masses. What is worse, they are doing so as Christians and thus in the name of God Almighty! I really do not know which Bible they are using because I cannot recall an story in the Bible where anyone connived with the corrupt and oppressive rulers to the same degree these church leaders in Zimbabwe have done with Zanu PF.
Zanu PF blatantly rigged last July’s elections. The root cause of Zimbabwe’s economic meltdown is the country’s failure to hold free, fair and credible elections. What these church morons think they will accomplish by pretending Zanu PF won free and fair elections and is legitimate is a mystery!
OPPOSITION MDC leader Nelson Chamisa has ruled out a power sharing deal with the Zanu-PF government, declaring that any dialogue between the rival parties would only focus on reforms and the stricken economy.
ReplyDeleteThe last GNU involving Zanu PF and MDC failed to get even one meaningful democratic reform implemented. The nation would not be in this mess if they had implemented the reforms. Today millions of Zimbabweans live in abject poverty and the nation is standing on the very edge of the abyss it will be foolish to trust the two parties to implement the reforms.
Mnangagwa and his Zanu PF junta rigged last July’s elections, they have no mandate to govern the nation. They must step down.
There is just too much at stake now to be wasting time, money and human lives trying to appease corrupt, incompetent and failed thugs! All the political machination by both Zanu PF and MDC leaders must be seen for what they are - blatant moves to blackmail the nation.
Chamisa is now saying he is not interested in power sharing only in talking about reforms. That is nonsense. What makes him believe he alone knows what these reforms are!
You are right, Mugabe hollowed out Zanu PF leaving the party with utterly useless punkah-wallahs who have spent their whole lives grovelling and bootlicking the tyrant. Sadly the punkah-wallahs are now in power and they have blundered from pillar to post. Worse still they will be in power for many, many years to come if we allow these MDC and Church leaders, who are keen to appease these thugs, to have the final say.
ReplyDeleteCatholic Bishops meet senior Zanu PF leaders.
ReplyDeleteAre the Bishops telling Zanu PF that they rigged elections and therefore must step down or are they trying to appease the regime by asking it to stay in power and take a junior partner in another Zanu PF led GNU? We need tough solution to a tough problem and appeasing Zanu PF is a dangerous soap up!