"While indeed we still say to those who imposed sanctions on us,
remove them because there is no justification for the embargo, we should not
bury our heads in sand because of those sanctions," said President Mnangagwa.
"We should realise that we have resources in our country. We must therefore focus on harnessing those resources to develop, modernise and industrialise our country and our economy.”
"We should realise that we have resources in our country. We must therefore focus on harnessing those resources to develop, modernise and industrialise our country and our economy.”
Mr President, Zimbabwe is in a very serious economic situation right now
and the root cause is that for the last 39 years the country has been ruled by
the men and women who have their “heads buried in the sand”, as you aptly put
it. Consider your statements above:
1)
Zimbabwe economic decline started soon after independence in 1980 and by 1990
Zanu PF was forced to adopt two five-year Economic Structural Adjustment
Programmes (ESAP), in the hope of reviving the economy. The two programmes
failed to deliver the economic recovery and by 2001 when the west imposed the
sanctions the Zimbabwe’s economy was already in the gutter.
2)
Even if one accepted that the sanctions are the root cause of Zimbabwe’s
economic meltdown. After 20 years of “harnessing our resources, modernising and
industrialising our country” without success, the economy has sunk deeper and
deeper into the abyss these last 20 years, surely it is high time Zanu PF
admitted it has failed.
The root cause of Zimbabwe’s economic meltdown is
not the sanction but the criminal waste of the nation’s human and material resources
through gross mismanagement and rampant corruption. Ordinarily, the nation
would have nipped these problems in the bud by holding those ruling and ruining
the nation to democratic account and, ultimately, remove them from office. Zanu
PF rigged the elections and so the nation was stuck with the incompetent,
corrupt and tyrannical regime.
Zanu PF blatantly rigged last year’s elections to
impose itself on a nation dying, literally, for free, fair and credible
elections.
As long as Zimbabwe remains a pariah state ruled by incompetent,
corrupt and vote rigging thugs the economic meltdown will only get worse. You,
Mr President, can falsely blame the sanctions for the country’s economic woes
and pretend you can rig economic recover; you are burying your head in the
sand. The economic meltdown will only get worse.
The only way out is for Zimbabwe to cure itself of
the criminal waste of the country’s resource by curing itself of the curse of
rigged elections. Zanu PF rigged last year’s elections, the regime is
illegitimate and must step down. By stepping down, Zanu PF will create to political
time and space for the appointment of an interim administration tasked to
implement the democratic reforms and to hold free, fair and credible elections.
"We should not have sanctions impugn our
capacity and capability to use our resources to the benefit of our people. We
should rise using the resources at our disposal and move forward," said
Mnangagwa.
Zanu PF has been promising to revive the economy for
donkey years and year on year things have got progressively worse and worse.
The regime is using the same discredited claim to justify hanging on to power.
The regime will also use brute force to silence all dissent. Zanu PF is holding
the nation to ransom and we must say no!
If Zanu PF remains in power until 2023, the party
will rig the elections to extend its ruinous rule by another five years.
The greatest challenge before us all today is to make
sure that Zimbabwe’s 2023 elections are free, fair and credible. After 39 years
of rigged elections and paying dearly for our folly it will be insane to let Zanu
PF rig the elections ever again!
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Zimbabwe faces deep macroeconomic imbalances. After a period of relative macroeconomic stability when hyperinflation was broken in 2008 with the move to full dollarization, the fiscal situation has deteriorated sharply since 2015. Large fiscal deficits during 2016–18, financed by the issuance of quasi-currency instruments nominally at par to the U.S. dollar, built up pressure in the dollarized economy. The fragile equilibrium was maintained by exchange controls and other restrictions on access to foreign exchange (FX)
ReplyDeleteIMF has refused to bankroll Zimbabwe’s voodoo economic policies after the second Economic Structural Adjustment Programme failed to revive the country’s economy. Professor Mthuli Ncube was cocksure he was going to get IMF and WB to revive its credit line, nine months later it is clear that is not going to happen.
Zimbabwe must deal with corruption and rigged elections decisively and until that is done nothing will change!
MDC leader Nelson Chamisa, has called on government to apologise for the post-independence atrocities that claimed the lives of more than 20 000 people in the western parts of the country.
ReplyDeleteChamisa was speaking at the burial of national hero and liberation war stalwart Dumiso Dabengwa in Ntabazinduna, Matabeleland North Saturday.
"You (Dabengwa) were talking about Gukurahundi. We should not shy away from it. Lets talk about it, apologise and make sure that we do what has to be done, to make sure we restore those who lost their lives and also restore those who lost their properties," Chamisa said.
This is just a cuss of political opportunism at its worst! Nelson Chamisa has been on the Zimbabwe political stage for 19 years and ten years ago he was a senior member of the GNU and had the golden opportunity to raise this matter and have it sorted once and once for all. He was too busy playing around with the Nokia mobile phone ring-tones to do anything else. It was only after Chamisa and his MDC friends lost their seats in 2013 that the party has suddenly remember the Gukurahundi genocide!
Zimbabwe is in a serious mess because the country has failed to deal with the multitude of social, economic and political problems timeously and competently. We have had the great misfortune of being ruled by corrupt, incompetent and murderous Zanu PF thugs. We have had many golden opportunities to remove the thugs from office but have failed to do so because we entrusted this task to corrupt, incompetent opportunists like Nelson Chamisa.
For Zimbabwe to deal with such teething problems as Gukurahundi, worsening economic meltdown, the curse of rigged elections and pariah state, etc., etc. we must first clean up our political system that has allowed Zanu PF thugs and MDC opportunists to occupy political centre stage.
“We don't want a vicious cycle of disputed and contested elections. We need to resolve this by having a raft of comprehensive reforms,” said Chamisa.
ReplyDelete“Reforms have to be instituted politically and legislatively, reforms that are aligning our politics to our constitution, reforms that are aligning our circumstances to the dictates and demands of the citizens and those reforms and important.”
Chamisa is now talking about reforms as the way forward and yet when MDC had the golden opportunities to implement the reforms during the 2008 to 2013 GNU the party failed to get even one reform implemented. Not one!
When people said MDC should not participate in elections without reforms, it was Chamisa and other MDC leaders who dismissed the warnings with contempt. “MDC has stringent measures to stop Zanu PF rigging elections,” said Chamisa.
Yes, Zimbabwe’s politics is a vicious cycle but one which MDC cannot end because it is as much part and parcel of the problem as Zanu PF. MDC has been running with the hare and hunting with the hounds and the day the people wake up to this reality would be the start of breaking the vicious cycle!
"Without dialogue implosion is unavoidable," said Biti.
ReplyDeleteThe only dialogue Chamisa is after is to give him a seat on the gravy train. The blast GNU failed to get even one democratic reform implemented and hence the reason the country is still in this political mess. A new GNU will accomplish nothing other than give Chamisa and a few other MDC leaders seats on the gravy train.
As long as Zimbabwe remains a pariah state ruled by corrupt, incompetent and vote-rigging thugs the country will continue to sink deeper and deeper into the abyss. Zimbabwe’s pariah state status will not change just because Chamisa and one or two MDC leaders have jointed Mnangagwa’s cabinet! Last time that happened the Zanu PF dictatorship was changed in name only, the same will happen again this time.
@ PeterPan
ReplyDeleteMDC are just as bad as Zanu PF, they had the golden opportunities to implement the democratic reforms and wasted them but you will never hear them admit they failed. They will always claim to hold the key to all the nation's problems!
@ Tjo
ReplyDeleteAfter 39 years of making mistakes and you and me paying dearly for it, it is insane to allow the madness to continue.
Eng Chifamba took delivery of a Mercedes Benz S350 worth US$209 202,93 on 10 June 2011 before buying a Toyota Landcruiser (ACO3070) valued at US$175 790 on 23 March 2012. He topped up his top-of-the-range fleet with a Mercedes Benz GL350D (ADY9279) worth US$126 785,22.
ReplyDeleteOn July 12, 2017, Eng Chifamba also got a Toyota Fortuner, which set the parastatal back by US$65 789,55. Curiously, Eng Chifamba’s contract did not put a cap on the value of the vehicle the CEO could buy, which effectively gave him a blank cheque.
Zesa’s group financial controller, Mr Eliab Chikwenhere, also took part in the looting frenzy as he was allocated a Toyota Landcruiser worth US$156 087,47 in 2009, exceeding his contractual limit of US$130 000.
After reading this only a first class idiot would still believe sanctions are the root cause of Zimbabwe’s economic meltdown!
"Nomsa Garikai if ZANU pf doesn't want to entertain anything to do with reforms what does Chamisa do? Take arms? What are your suggestions to the opposition?"
ReplyDeleteMDC leaders failed to implement even one reform during the GNU not because "Zanu PF did not want to entertain anything to do with reforms"! Mugabe bribed them with the trappings of high office and the rest is history, as one says.
It is people like you who refuse to face the facts who are the greatest enemy of change. MDC leaders are corrupt and incompetent and after 19 years on the political stage and nothing to show for it, the real surprise is the party still has many followers!
@ Sarah
ReplyDeleteMDC leaders are corrupt and incompetent but so too are Zanu PF leaders. The trouble with MDC and Zanu PF members is that you are stuck with one or the other; in a world with all the colours of the rainbow you only see monochrome, black or white.
If either Zanu PF or MDC are in power in 2023 that would be tragic for the nation but I do not expect you Sarah, to understand that! I will not waste time explaining that to you because you have failed to understand anything rational.
@ Gire
ReplyDeleteMDC members must wake up and smell the coffee. MDC leaders have proven that they are corrupt and incompetent nothing good has ever came out of following leaders blindly like sheep!
Incompetent and corrupt tyrants like Emmerson Mnangagwa want to portray themselves as clever and arrogant and hence the regular silverback gorilla chest-drumming sessions of posturing and defiance. Zimbabwe will develop and prosper regardless of the western imposed sanctions, Mnangagwa insist. You are right to point out that the country’s has continued to sink decade after decade, deeper and deeper into the abyss. So where is the development, you asked.
ReplyDeleteThe tyrant has himself acknowledge the lack of development and blame it on the sanctions - the very thing he prided in defying.
You have called Mnangagwa’s bluff on his arrogant claim to deliver development regardless of the sanctions because you can count. After decades of chest drum and little else Mnangagwa has to admit that his sanction defying measures have failed!
In 2016 Mugabe admitted the country had lost a staggering US$15 billion of diamond revenue to swindlers in three or four years. For the next year or two the regime and its apologists stop blaming sanctions for the nation’s economic problems because no one believed them, not in the light of wholesale $15 billion looting confession. The regime has reverted to the old excuse of sanctions in the last year - confident many Zimbabweans have already forgotten about the problem corruption.
Mugabe never arrested even one diamond swindler or recover one dollar of the loot. Mnangagwa promised to end corruption but he too has yet to arrest one swindler and recover one dollar. Former Finance Minister, Patrick Chinamasa admitted in parliament that government was getting 1/6 of the expected diamond revenue - proof the wholesale looting is still taking place to this day.
Corrupt, incompetent and murderous tyrants like Mnangagwa say and do anything and get away with murder, literally, because they rule over a people who cannot count and have short memories! “Kukanganwa chezuro nehope!” as one would say in Shona.
Unless the people of Zimbabwe shape up quick smart, the country will never ever emerge out of the hell-on-earth it now finds itself stuck in. A healthy and functional democracy demands a wide-awake electorate and not one so naive and gullible they believe anything no questions asked!
Zanu PF has learned over the years that a lie repeated several times becomes "the whole truth nothing but the truth" especially in the minds of the naive and gullible. The party has repeated the lie that it was the sanction that caused the economic collapse and the Zimbabwe electorate has swallowed the bait, hook, line and sinker.
ReplyDeleteTrue, the Zimbabwe economy was already in deep trouble by 2001 when the sanctions were imposed but few Zimbabweans can remember what happened yesterday let alone what happened 20 years ago!
Zanu PF propaganda machine has never failed to promise the people that the party will deliver economic prosperity regardless of the sanctions. The party has failed to keep the promise since the economy has sunk deeper and deeper into the abyss.
It is said one can fool a blindman over white or brown bread but not over the hot chilli in the relish. Zanu PF promised to create 2.2 million of jobs in 2013 and Mnangagwa repeated the same promise for the 2018 elections. Even the most naive and gullible Zimbabweans know that unemployment in the country has soared to the nauseating heights of 90% and remained there for decades! The economic meltdown is the hot chilli no amount of propaganda can fool anyone into believing it is not real.
It is the economic meltdown that will force the people to demand change or they will continue to die like sheep in a slaughterhouse. The regime knows that the next street protest could well be the one to finally end its iron grip on power. The economic situation in Zimbabwe is economically, morally and politically unsustainable.
The Zanu PF regime will go but by resisting peaceful democratic change the party has elected, ipso facto, violent revolutionary change. It is a great pity that Zanu PF has forced the nation down this revolutionary change route; there will be crying, gnashing of teeth, death and destruction and it is the last thing we wanted!
Protest leaders and military officials have been negotiating over the makeup of a transitional government, as protesters call for "limited military representation" in a sovereign council that would lead the country as it transitions to civilian rule over three years.
ReplyDeleteBoth sides are split over the makeup and leadership of the council, with the ruling generals refusing to relinquish power.
Commenting on the matter MDC Treasurer General David Coltart said, "Please please pray for Sudan. The military are currently shooting protestors all across Khartoum. At least 8 killed already and the death toll is climbing. Hospitals where injured protestors are being treated are being attacked by the military as well."
The people of Sudan have suffered and many have died under the corrupt and tyrannical Omar Al Bashir rule. The sit-in started 6 April and one has to salute the protestors for their determination and resolve. It is of paramount importance that the people should stay the course and stand firm in their demand for meaningful change. Even when the transition government is formed, the people must make sure the civilian representatives do not sell-out.
In Zimbabwe the people trusted Morgan Tsvangirai and his MDC friends to deliver changes during the 2008 to 2013 GNU. The MDC leaders sold-out and failed to implement even one reform in five years. Not one! Unless the people of Sudan are vigilant, the same will happen to them!
"The teachers are agitated and taking heed of the ARTUZ organized job action slated for 3-5 June," ARTUZ said in a statement. "Teachers are united and demanding salaries in United States dollars or they will not work.
ReplyDeleteThe RTGS$ was 1:1 to the US$ in January this year and today, six months later, it is 8:1. So all those who are paid in RTGS$ have just had their wage cut to 1/8 of its January value. Anyone who thinks the worker can continue to come to work, eat and pay their bills as if nothing has happened do not live in the real world.
OVER 50% of Zimbabwe's national herd of 5,2 million cattle is at risk of being wiped out by this year's drought if no mitigatory measures are put in place within the coming few months, farmers and livestock experts have warned.
ReplyDeleteThe future of livestock is very bleak owing to escalating diseases, critical shortages of dipping chemicals as well as the devastating effects of the El Niño-induced drought.
Pastures have depleted while water bodies are drying up in most parts of the country, leaving animals — both wild and domestic — fighting for survival.
This is a bad year but what males our situation worse is that the country had no reserves because we did make hay whilst the sun was shinning. Even today, if mitigatory measures are taken timeously there is a lot that can be accomplished but, given Zanu PF’s track record, no measures will be taken.
Zimbabwe is desperate for meaningful political change leading to competent and good governance!
Ever since Mugabe fell out with the IMF and WB in 1999 for failing to service the country's mountain of debt; Zimbabwe has reacted with defiance. Mugabe started off with his "Look East!" policy. Mnangagwa is just repeating the same Mugabe provado. The tragedy is the look east policy and all the avalanche of proclamations that have followed have all achieved nothing.
ReplyDeleteThe truth is sanctions are not the cause of the country's economic meltdown; it is gross mismanagement and rampant corruption. The nation has failed to address these problems because Zanu PF rigs elections and stifle meaningful debate on any national issues.
Zimbabwe is today the poorest nation in Africa and millions of our people are now dying of the poverty induced diseases and hunger. Zimbabwe needs to end this oppressive de facto one party dictatorship by implementing democratic reforms and end this curse rigged elections.