"We enjoyed serenity of politics during the GNU. That spirit must come back. It must come back.
"I pray to the church, that the church must be on their knees each day of their lives and pray for the unity for the people of Zimbabwe," Mudenda said to rapturous applause.
Mudenda added: "I believe that the spirit of the late Dr Tsvangirai which we celebrate through her daughter today shall be reflected in our national politics.
"Don't forget that when the Government of National Unity was formed, Dr Tsvangirai did not look at positional politics, he looked at national politics and what that brings to the people of Zimbabwe."
The 2008 to 2013 GNU was about allowing Mugabe and Zanu PF to have a soft landing. SADC knew that the tyrant and his thugs lost the 2008 elections. Instead of demanding fresh supervised elections which Mugabe and Zanu PF were going to lose and be utterly humiliated the regional body proposed the GNU so Zanu PF could stay in power another 18 months or so. SADC leaders were confident Mugabe and Zanu PF would lose the next free, fair and credible elections.
What SADC leaders did not know was that Morgan Tsvangirai and his MDC friends were breathtakingly corrupt and incompetent. MDC leaders were the ones tasked to implement the democratic reforms to ensure the next elections were free, fair and credible. The GNU was chalked to last 18 months in the end it lasted 5 years and still MDC leaders failed to get even one democratic reform implemented. Not one!
Robert Mugabe saw to it that Morgan Tsvangirai and his fellow MDC leaders were granted all the trappings of the gravy train lifestyle; ministerial limos, generous salaries and allowances, a former white owned farm for Welshman Ncube, a $4 million Highland mansion for Tsvangirai, etc., etc. With their snouts in the feeding trough, MDC leaders forgot all about the reforms.
SADC leaders reminded MDC leaders of the need to implement the reforms but the latter did not hear with their snouts in the trough and their ears full of all the agreeable granting from their mates. SADC leaders made one more desperate attempt to have the 2013 elections postponed until the reforms are implemented.
“In 2013 the Maputo Summit, in June 2013, before the elections, the Maputo Summit was all about having the elections postponed – the SADC summit. I went there,” Dr Ibbo Mandaza explained to Violet Gonda.
“I was there at the Summit and Mugabe pretended to agree to a postponement of the elections. If you recall, the postponement was based on the need to reform at least electoral laws.
“And after that Summit, Morgan Tsvangirai, Tendai Biti, Welshman Ncube, all of them were called to a separate meeting by the Heads of State of SADC in the absence of Mugabe, that same evening. And they were told; I was sitting there outside the room with Mac Maharaj; they were told ‘if you go into elections next month, you are going to lose; the elections are done’.”
Again, SADC leaders’ advice fell on deaf ears, Morgan Tsvangirai et al went on to participate in the 2013 elections with not even one reform in place. Zanu PF went on to rig those elections.
Morgan Tsvangirai and some of the losing MDC candidates complained about the rigged elections, SADC leaders took their revenge, they ignored the complains. In any case it was a half-hearted complain because some of the MDC leaders who did win the few gravy train seats were happy.
Mugabe and Zanu PF had realised that as long as they allowed the opposition to win a few gravy train seats they will have the opposition participating in the elections no matter how flawed and illegal the election process got. This is exactly what happen in last year’s elections. ZEC even failed to produce something as basic as a verified voters’ roll and still Nelson Chamisa, who had taken over as leader of MDC after Tsvangirai’s death, and the rest participated in the elections regardless.
By allowing Zanu PF to rig elections and stay in power this has left the country stuck with this corrupt, incompetent and tyrannical Zanu PF regime for 39 years and counting with the consequence of the serious economic meltdown. Decades of criminal waste of the nation’s human and material resources through gross mismanagement and rampant corruption have destroyed the country’s economy.
When Mnangagwa rigged last year’s elections he was cocksure his government would deliver economic recovery. This has clearly not happened. The regime is calling for the formation of another GNU in the hope that it will do better in reviving the comatose economy.
“I have the key to unlock the economy!” Nelson Chamisa has often said. All nonsense!
Zimbabwe is a pariah state ruled by corrupt, incompetent and vote rigging thugs. No investors would ever want to do business with thugs. As long as Zimbabwe remains a pariah state ruled by corrupt and vote rigging thugs there will be no meaningful economic recovery.
Zimbabwe would NOT be a pariah state if Tsvangirai and company had implemented the democratic reforms during the last GNU.
The way forward is for Zanu PF to step down. There will not be another soft landing for the party because the party’s love of power insatiable it cannot be trusted to implement the democratic reforms. The nation needs the political space and time to finally implement the reforms leading to the holding of free, fair and credible elections.
Zanu PF rigged last year’s elections, the regime is illegitimate and must step down. By hanging on to power the regime is holding the nation ransom and that is totally unacceptable.
Former Vice President Joice Mujuru has cautioned the Minister of Defence Oppah Muchinguri against using the national army to crush opposition members if they protest against the government of President Emmerson Mnangagwa.
ReplyDelete"If you see the need to point guns at the Zimbabwean people it means you don't have their support in whatever you are doing. Let us not abuse our armed forces. Do the correct thing." Mujuru said. "The situation in the country has reached another level. We keep repeating the same mistake."
Did you, Mai Mujuru, warn Mugabe against using the Army, Police and CIO to crush the opposition in 2008 and worse still Gukurahundi? The nation should be wary of political opportunists like you who will stop at nothing, including wanton violence, to further their selfish political interests. When they are out of office, they are at the front preaching endless platitudes!
The biggest mistake the people of Zimbabwe have made is electing corrupt and incompetent leaders like you, Mai Mujuru, Morgan Tsvangirai, Robert Mugabe and Mnangagwa; not once but again and again. We have a knack for election rubbish and recycling it again and again. If we are serious about getting out of this mess then we, the people, must learn to be diligent in paying attention to detail so we are not so easily conned by upstarts like Joice Mujuru!
Anyone who has followed Zanu PF’s political history will tell you that the one time when Mugabe and his Zanu PF thugs’ iron grip on power was most threatened was during the 2008 to 2013 GNU. The party had blatantly cheated and used the worst violence ever seen in Africa elections. Mugabe was then forced to go into a power sharing arrangement with MDC after signing the Global Political Agreement (GPA) agreeing to the implementation of the raft of political reforms which, once implemented, would have stopped once and once for all Zanu PF rigging elections.
ReplyDeleteMugabe and his Zanu PF cronies knew they would never win free, fair and credible elections and so they task was to ensure no reforms were implemented. They had to stop MDC leaders implementing the reforms, a tall order in itself since MDC leaders and their supporters has been the victims of the regime’s cheating, beating, rape and murders. Everyone expected MDC to ensure the reforms are implemented.
Besides, SADC remained the guarantor of the GPA and retained the supervisory role. They will see to it that MDC implemented the reforms and Zanu PF did not hold back the reforms!
So the GNU was set to be the most daunting period for Mugabe and his Zanu PF cronies as they were going to sit there twiddling their thumbs as brick by brick their Zanu PF dictatorship was dismantled and replaced with a democracy, the very thing they had worked hard to dismantle. They could not believe it when after five years of the GNU not even one reform had been implemented. Not one!
Mudenda, just like Mnangagwa, readily acknowledges that Zanu PF rigged last year’s elections thus leaving the country with no legitimate government – exactly the same political fix the country was in after Zanu PF rigged the 2008 elections. He accepts that Zanu PF is illegitimate and some form of arrangement will have to be made to foster new legitimacy and replicating the 2008 to 2013 GNU would suit Zanu PF to the T!
"We enjoyed serenity of politics during the GNU. That spirit must come back. It must come back,” called Jacob Mudenda.
Of course, Zanu PF enjoyed serenity of politics during the GNU, there was not even any token attempt at dismantling the Zanu PF dictatorship – what else did Zanu PF wish for. The country is in this mess of economic meltdown, rigged elections, etc. precisely because the golden opportunity to implement the reforms and move the country forward was wasted. It would be insane to have another GNU and yet again fail to implement the reforms.
To be absolutely certain that the reforms are implemented fully Zanu PF will be asked to step down; the regime will not be allowed to remain in office in any capacity. I agree, all these political machinations by Mnangagwa to ensure he remains in power must be seen for what they really are – the regime is using violence to hold the nation to ransom. Enough is enough!
@ Witness Bote
ReplyDelete“How will they solve it now as they are already participating in that parliament and very soon they the MDC will get juice in the form of $4 Million which Chamisa will grab the third of it for his personal use,” you said.
You are right, Nelson Chamisa and his MDC A friends will want a bigger slice of the gravy train spoils but they certainly do not want the political status quo changed. We should not be surprised because they sold-out big time during the 2008 to 2013 GNU when they failed to get even one reform implemented in five years. We, the ordinary people of Zimbabwe, must accept that MDC leaders are now hunting with the Zanu PF hounds and running with the hare, us povo. This has been going on since the last GNU and we cannot bury our heads in the sand and pretend MDC is still on our side. The bitter pill of betrayal is one of the hardest to swallow and yet, to move on, we must swallow it!
We should focus our time and energy on getting Zanu PF to step down, that is the big challenge. Zanu PF has used the MDC’s participation in the elections as proof the elections were free, fair and credible and the regime will continue to exploit MDC’s weakness to justify the regime’s own illegitimate clinging on to power. We should make it clear that MDC no longer represent the ordinary people of Zimbabwe, like Zanu PF, they now represent their own selfish political interests which are contrary to those of the populous.
Our real challenge is to get the ruthless Zanu PF thugs to step down, we know they would rather burn down the whole country than give up power and they have the means to set the country alight. These thugs are dangerous and must be stop! They will be stopped!
We should not lose any sleep over what Chamisa and his lot will do – they are breathtakingly corrupt and incompetent; whatever they do we should never be found wanting as how to deal with it.
@ Jones Musara
ReplyDelete“President ED could have easily changed the law on funding of political parties just to deny the hostile MDC funding. But President ED is not vindictive. Even at the risk of appearing to be adjusting austerity he opted to follow the law instead of using the law to fix his opponents,” you said.
“Or its bad manners to talk whilst eating?”
You are clearly an armature with no clue what you are talking about. Mnangagwa is a corrupt, incompetent and ruthless tyrant whilst he would have happily sort to “fix his opponents” at every turn before. since the 2008 GNU he has learned that corrupt and incompetent opponents like MDC leaders are God-sent, they are gold dust.
Everyone with half a brain condemned last year’s elections as a farce.
“The electoral commission lacked full independence and appeared to not always act in an impartial manner,” was the scathing final report from the EU Zimbabwe Election Observer Mission.
“The final results as announced by the Electoral Commission contained numerous errors and lacked adequate traceability, transparency and verifiability. Finally, the restrictions on political freedoms, the excessive use of force by security forces and abuses of human rights in the post-election period undermined the corresponding positive aspects during the pre-election campaign. As such, many aspects of the 2018 elections in Zimbabwe failed to meet international standards.”
If Zimbabwe’s corrupt and incompetent opposition parties and candidates who had participated in the flawed and illegal elections, even when ZEC had failed to produce something as basic as a verified voters’ roll, had come to their senses and condemn the elections too; Zanu PF would have been left to hang and dry! By endorsing the flawed elections the opposition have given Zanu PF’s election victory claim some modicum of political credibility.
Paying Nelson Chamisa the $3.5 million out of the political fund finance bill is but a small token of appreciation by Mnangagwa for what MDC has done to save his backside! Not at all surprise to see that you, Musara, has failed to understand that but that is because you are just a naïve and gullible political greenhorn! The truth is there for all to see but not everyone has the eyes to see much less the intellect to comprehend it!
Real and meaningful political change is coming and long over due. If the Zanu PF regime thinks it can stop the change using brute force then it has learnt nothing from history! Human being will suffer and die in silence like sheep to the slaughter but sooner or later they will raise their voices and demand change. In Zimbabwe the cup is full to overflow the country is dying for change!
ReplyDeleteHARARE – The Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison in Harare is crumbling at the seams, assailed by overcrowding and a critical shortage of medicines, food and other basics as the economically-crippled country battles to care for its inmates.
ReplyDeleteConvicts and wardens alike bemoan packed cells where running water is erratic and shortages of food, clothes and bedding prevail.
This is a human tragedy that has been long in coming and yet we have all sat back and did nothing to stop it. Now the tragedy is everywhere and we do not even know where to start to fix it assuming we know how to fix it!
Of course it is wrong for President Mnangagwa to keep denying the people of Zimbabwe a meaningful say in the governance of the country. The targeted sanction were imposed and have been retained for the purpose of forcing Zanu PF to stop denying the people their basic rights and freedoms. It is therefore cynical and wrong that Mnangagwa should therefore be paying lobbyists US$ 1 million of Zimbabwe taxpayers' money so he can continue to deny us our basic rights with impunity!
ReplyDeleteWe are paying dearly for being denying our right to elect leaders of our choice. We are now being forced to pay lobbyists who will help Mnangagwa abuse and deny us our human rights and dignity. This is a slap in the face followed by a spit in the face and we are expected to be thankful for both!
Investors have continued to shy away from doing business in Zimbabwe because the country is still a pariah state ruled by corrupt and vote rigging thugs. We are just wasting time and resources trying to attract investors whilst the country remains a pariah state!
ReplyDelete@ Simba Mujuru
ReplyDeleteYou are really incapable of separating the message from the messenger and to evaluate the value and validity to the former with letting your own personal pride and prejudice cloud your thinking.
Zimbabwe is in this economic and political mess because the country has been stuck with this corrupt, incompetent and tyrannical Zanu PF dictatorship for the last 39 years all because the nation could not vote the regime out of office. Zanu PF usurped the people's democratic right to a meaningful vote by threatening that the civil war would continue if the party lost the 1980 elections. Once in power the threats, intimidation, beatings, rape and even cold blooded murder have continued.
The people of Zimbabwe did not need the Americans or anyone else to tell them that Zanu PF was denying them their freedoms and rights; they KNEW it themselves.
So, when the Americans and the other nations in the West imposed sanctions of the Zanu PF leaders and other selected institutions and companies to pressure the regime to stop its human rights violations, this is something Zimbabweans themselves who understood what was going on in the country supported whole heartedly. For Simba Mujuru to then argue that Zimbabweans, out of patriotism no less, must oppose the imposition of the sanctions points to one of two possibilities:
1) Simba is one of those Zimbabweans who clearly have no clue what constitutes free, fair and credible elections and even with the benefit of 39 years of Zanu PF rigging elections he still fails to accept that Zanu PF has been rigging elections in Zimbabwe and that this is not just wrong but is at the very heart of our national crisis.
2) Or whilst Simba accepts Zanu PF has indeed been rigging elections and that this is a completely justified national cause well worth fighting and even dying for; still he is putting all that to one side in demanding that the sanctions must be lifted not because he no longer believes in free, fair and credible elections but because he resents the fact that the Americans and the West are championing the cause.
Either way this only shows Simba Mujuru and many others like him are shallow, thick and slow and dictators the world over thrill best in those nation where there are many people like Mujuru. Of course, there is nothing patriotic about undermining one’s own values and principle in support of the lawlessness of a tyrant. Cannot think of anything more idiotic than that!
People like Simba Mujuru are so uncomfortable in their black skin, they feel inferior to the white to the point of going over the top to prove there are not inferior. They are prepared in this case to abandon their fight for free, fair and credible elections just to prop up Mnangagwa under attack from the whites! Their hatred of white is clouding their judgement and the very fact that the whites are fighting in their corner! Of course, it is a stupid position and if being patriotic means being stupid then I am not patriotic!