MDC’s refusal to address the party’s serious shortcoming has only frustrated many of those who would have wanted to work with the party, forced many to desert MDC in droves!
“International solidarity is key to any struggle and ours is no different. The MDC has identified international relations as one of its cardinal zones of the struggle for a democratic and developmental Zimbabwe. In line with our Roadmap to Economic Recovery, Legitimacy, Openness and Democracy (Reload) that we launched following our fifth national congress, the party seeks to build international pressure for comprehensive political and economic reforms in Zimbabwe through a credible, legitimate and bankable political dialogue platform that is guaranteed by the international community,” MDC's secretary for international relations, Gladys Hlatshwayo, told Newsday.
MDC had the golden opportunity to implement democratic reforms during the 2008 to 2013 GNU. The party failed to get even one reform implemented in five years because the leaders had their snouts in the gravy train feeding trough. The party has not only refused to acknowledge it sold-out but even had the chutzpah to blame others including SADC leaders for the GNU’s failures!
The international community knows that the the power sharing arrangement with Zanu PF, the National Transition Authority (NTA), MDC is demanding is nothing but a watered down version of the 2008 to 2013 GNU. In the NTA Zanu PF will have its 2/3 majority in parliament, for example. It is naive, to say the least, to expect that parliament to pass any “comprehensive political reforms”. It is therefore naive to expect anyone in SADC let alone in the international community to support such a hare-brain scheme as NTA!
The solution to Zimbabwe’s political paralysis and economic meltdown is for the country to implement the democratic reforms designed to end this curse of rigged elections and pariah state. This was the solution spelt out by SADC leaders at the on set of the 2008 GNU and it is still the solution today. MDC and Zanu PF leaders failed to implement even one reforms during the GNU and hence the reason the nation is still stuck.
What Zimbabwe needs is to appoint a body that will implement the bloody reforms! To entrust the same Zanu PF and MDC leaders, in this NTA, to implement the reforms is damn since they failed to get even one reform implemented last time.
The only reason why MDC leaders are keen as mustard on the formation of the NTA is obvious - they are desperate to get back on the gravy train. Nelson Chamisa, Tendai Biti, David Coltart and possible a few others are hoping to be appointed ministers in the NTA.
MDC has talked about “comprehensive political reforms” but have failed to give any details of even one such reform! This has become just another empty party slogan no different from the usual “Chinja! Change! Guqula!” Chamisa et all do not have a clue what reforms the country wants because they were never interested in implementing any reforms in the past and that has not changed to this day.
MDC leaders have been running with the hare and hunting with the hounds ever since the 2008 GNU. Many in the international community realised this and deserted MDC in droves. Zimbabweans have been very slow to see it and the nation is paying dearly for this because MDC has given the illegitimate Zanu PF regimes legitimacy by participating in flawed elections. And in turn Zimbabweans have themselves give the discredited MDC legitimacy by attending the party’s rallies.
Zanu PF and MDC are ones who have dragged the nation into this political and economic mess because the two parties’ leaders have proven to be breathtakingly corrupt, incompetent and, especially in Zanu PF’s case, murderous tyrants. Zanu PF and MDC leaders are the ones resisting meaningful political change for selfish reasons and even holding the nation to ransom. They are now the nation’s number one problem and therefore can never be the solution too!
The one subject that many MDC members and more so leaders have refuse to address is democratic reforms. As one SADC Ambassador said soon after the 2013 rigged elections, “MDC leaders were too busy enjoying themselves during the GNU they forgot why they were there!” The MDC leaders themselves soon realised the folly of the failure when so many of them lost their gravy train seats in the election.
ReplyDeleteThe failure to implement the reforms during the GNU has become such a heavy burden it is now IMPOSSIBLE for MDC leaders to get the reforms implemented. For MDC to force Zanu PF to implement the reforms, MDC leaders have to prove that their threat to boycott the elections unless the reforms are implemented is not an empty threat.
Getting even a significant number of the MDC and opposition politicians to do this is near impossible given the huge number of opposition politicians who have participated in elections in the past knowing fully well the elections will be rigged. They participated regardless because they knew Zanu PF was giving away a few gravy train seats and a cut of the Political Party Finance Act pay-out.
Those who join the boycott cannot accuse those who refuse of being greedy and putting the bait gravy train seats above the greater good of achieve free, fair and credible elections since they all did so in the past. And as long as Zanu PF is assured of a significant number of opposition parties contesting the elections, regardless how flawed and illegal, Mnangagwa and company will never implement any reforms.
@ Ziyabheda
ReplyDelete“Utter nonsense. What reforms do you expect from a despotic regime? M. D. C has been winning elections and despots have refused to go... What reforms would cause a despot regime to go? The international community should realise that there was a second coup after the 2018 elections and they must assist the people of Zimbabwe to claim their right to have a President of their choice by insisting that the coup architects must vacate the Presidency or else they will be taken to the Hague. Simple. Not this winding nonsense article of yours. Stupidity at it's worst.”
If by “despotic regime” you mean this Mnangagwa regime; then you are 100% correct we should expect no meaning reforms. None! And that is exactly the point Nomusa is making and hence the reason why the NTA will be a waste of time. The NTA will be a Zanu PF despotic regime in all but name, given Zanu PF will still have its 2/3 majority in parliament, senate and cabinet.
However, if you are referring to the 2008 to 2013 GNU as the “despotic regime”, then you are just one of those individuals who, even now with the benefit of hindsight and all the many detailed explanations, have failed to understand what the GNU was about, what the reforms are, etc.
Your wittering about Zimbabwe must “have a President of their choice” shows you have no clue what constitute free, fair and credible elections. Everyone in the international community of substance condemned last year’s elections because the process was not “transparent, traceable and verifiable!” ZEC failed to produce something as basic as a verified voters’ roll for Pete’s sake. How can say a flawed and illegal process produce a legal and valid result?
Of course, MDC and the rest of the opposition were down right stupid to take part in such a flawed and illegal electoral process. The only reason they did participate is greed; Zanu PF was giving away a few gravy train seat plus a cut of the payout appropriated by Political Party Finance Act, a juicy bait the opposition has found impossible to resist.
MDC, together with the rest in the opposition camp have endorse the local and parliamentary election result regardless of the blatant flaws and illegalities. However, Chamisa has refused to endorse the presidential result on some spurious grounds that ZEC’s declared result was wrong. He too, just like ZEC, has failed to produce the supporting V1, etc. documents to support his claim thus confirming the EU reported finding above.
What Chamisa is doing here is cherry picking, he has already accept the parliamentary election process as free, fair and credible but will only do the same for the presidential if he is declared the winner. What is more, he is expecting the international community to endorse this idiotic position!
By participating in these flawed and illegal elections, MDC have given Zanu PF some modicum of credibility and thus undermine the international community’s position who condemn the elections and thus made Zanu PF illegitimate. Now you want Zanu PF taken to The Hague when it is you who are foolishly giving the regime legitimacy!
Whilst the international community would like to help Zimbabwe achieve political stability, peace and economic prosperity, they is very little they can do when Zimbabweans themselves are not even making the effort to do the same. A nation that does not know what constitute free, fair and credible elections in this day and age will never have a healthy and functioning democracy. Never!
Zimbabwe is stuck with these corrupt, incompetent, vote rigging Zanu PF thugs, as the ruling party, complete with the entourage of corrupt, incompetent sell-out, as opposition; we do not deserve anything better and will not get anything better, until we wake-up from our sloth like political slumber!