South Africa’s International Relations minister Naledi
Pandor said SA would support all efforts to bring an end to Zimbabwe’s
worsening economic and political crisis short of a military invasion.
“Non-interference means we wouldn’t use our soldiers, our army
to invade Zimbabwe to enforce a platform of democratic practice that we have in
South Africa,” said Minister Pandor.
“We would be greatly assisted in playing a positive role if we
knew there was a shared notion in Zimbabwe of what must be done, and this is an
extremely important point for us,” she explained.
“So, I think that we need to be provided with a path that
indicates that as we … provide support, all the parties, all the groupings, all
the stakeholders in Zimbabwe are at one, so that … support can be brought in.”
I totally agree with her!
In 2008; following the blatant cheating and wanton violence in
the March 2008 elections and June presidential run-off respectively; SADC
leaders helped to hammer out the Global Political Agreement (GPA). In the
agreement, Zimbabwe was to implement of a raft of democratic reforms designed
to stop the cheating and wanton violence.
The task of implementing the reforms were left to Morgan
Tsvangirai and his MDC friends. They failed to get even one reform implemented
in five years. Not one!
The people of Zimbabwe, ourselves, never lifted a finger to
force the MDC leaders to implement the reforms; proof we did not have a clue
what the GPA, the reforms, etc. were all about. Even today, with the benefit of
hindsight, many people still have no clue what the democratic reforms are much
less how they are going to be implemented.
Indeed, some Zimbabweans, notably church leaders and the MDC opposition
party leaders, have been calling for the formation of a National Transition
Authority (NTA); a watered-down version of the 2008 to 2013 GNU in which Zanu
PF and MDC leaders are once again the principal players.
It is little wonder that not one SADC leader much less the savvy
international community players have given the NTA a second thought. If the
2008 GNU failed to get even one reform implemented what hope is there of the
NTA doing any better!
And so, it makes perfect sense for SADC or anyone else out there
to let Zimbabweans sweat it out and come up with the raft of democratic reforms
needed to end the Zanu PF dictatorship. After figuring out the needed reforms
ourselves; we can be certain that this time, the reforms will be implemented
without failure.
I totally agree; the outside world would like to help Zimbabwe got out of this mess but they have found it impossible because we have failed to play our part. In 2008 SADC leaders helped hammer out the Global Political Agreement (GPA) and Robert Mugabe to agree to the implementation of a raft of democratic reforms designed to stop Zanu PF rigging elections. All Tsvangirai and his MDC friends had to do was implement the reforms. They failed to get even one reform implemented in five years. We, the people, did not even lift a finger to get MDC guys to implement the reforms - proof we too did not appreciate the importance of the reforms.
ReplyDeleteNow if we are serious about wanting reforms then we must first demonstrate our resolve by workout the raft of reforms we need for ourselves! If we sweat that one out then we will make sure the reforms are implemented.
Malema applauded the investigative journalism spearheaded by senior journalist Hopewell Chin'ono, Mduduzi Mathuthu and Elias Mambo with the support of various news outlets in exposing the alleged tender scams.
ReplyDeleteSaid Malema, "We applaud the fight against corruption and looting of public funds going on in Zimbabwe. It is cruel and evil for anyone regardless of who they are to steal money meant to help citizens fight Covid-19. There is nothing revolutionary or patriotic about thieving. Pasi neMbavha!"
It is little wonder that many donors have stopped giving any assistance to Zimbabwe! I think we the people of Zimbabwe have let ourselves down badly, corruption have been going all for the last 40 years and we have done very little to stop it!
@ Siphosami Malunga
ReplyDeleteThank you!
“The election in July 2018 turned out to be anything but free and fair. Mnangagwa maintained the pro-Zanu-PF securocrats in the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, effectively denting any hopes of its independence and neutrality in the poll. The voters’ roll – a default tool for electoral manipulation – was again kept a closely guarded secret until days before the election, again destroying all hopes in its authenticity,” you said.
This is all true but it is not the complete story. We must never forget the MDC had a chance to implement the democratic reforms designed to stop Zanu PF rigging elections but failed to do so because the sold-out. The opposition knew by participating in these flawed and illegal elections they would be giving the process and outcome some modicum of credibility and legitimacy. They participated regardless out of greed!
“No one can say with certainty when a people’s revolution will happen in Zimbabwe, but for a country where the living conditions have declined to unbearable and desperate levels, and the political system is impervious to reform and unashamedly continues to corruptly serve a small elite and impoverish the citizenry, it is surely just a matter of time,” you concluded.
“Undoubtedly, the shift by citizens from national consciousness to consensus and then to action is not easy and direct, but the fact that it is no longer a question of whether a revolution will happen in Zimbabwe, but when, suggests that the “revolutionary party” Zanu-PF’s days may be numbered.
“When the time comes, experience has shown that it will not matter that it has the strong backing of the army. All other revolutions that have successfully taken place elsewhere have been against repressive regimes with far stronger armies.”
I totally agree that the corrupt and tyrannical situation in Zimbabwe is long overdue for change. However if we, the people, do not think carefully about what kind of change we want then there is a real danger of yet another fig-leaf illusion of change as happened in 1980 and more recently in November 2017 military coup!
@ Mpho Tsimpa
ReplyDelete“Wilbert so what are u saying?”
It is not what I am saying, but what South Africans, the rest of the SADC and the international community at large are saying and been saying for years, if you care to listen, that matters here. What all these people are saying is they will step in to support Zimbabweans in their fight for change but only in a supportive role. And I totally agree with that!
In 2008 SADC stepped up and played a leading role in trying to bring about democratic change in Zimbabwe by forcing Mugabe to agree to the GPA and the raft of reforms. We, the people of Zimbabwe did not care about the reforms and hence the reason we failed to get even one token reform implemented.
So what SA is now saying is “If Zimbabweans are finally serious about dismantling the Zanu PF dictatorship then you must prove it by telling us what democratic reforms you want to implement!” That is not too much to ask!
It is only by taking the trouble to spell out the democratic reforms we want that we will get them implemented.
@ Clever Makura
ReplyDelete“The author is purely a ZANU-PF corruption beneficiary who do not want to see other people happy in their motherland.”
And the readers are supposed to believe you, who is not a beneficiary of Zanu PF corruption, that SA will send its soldiers to help impose democracy in Zimbabwe!
The truth is if Zimbabweans want to be happy in their motherland then they must take up the challenge and demand democratic reforms but no one else is going to do it for them – that is a fact. I do know how stating a simple fact like that makes me a “beneficiary of Zanu PF corruption” but I do accept that there are some people who are not as clever as their names suggest!
Chin’ono disappointed only 7 000 signed petition to get Minister Obadiah Moyo fired over corruption.
ReplyDeleteObadiah Moyo was involved in the corrupt tender awarding but was Mnangagwa's son not listed as one of the beneficiaries? How then can Mnangagwa fire Moyo if his own son benefited from the dirty business?
Three prison officers attached at Masvingo Teachers’ College quarantine centre on the outskirts of the city have contracted Covid – 19, the Minister of State for Masvingo, Ezra Chadzamira has confirmed.
ReplyDeleteCovid 19 cases in Masvingo have shot from 0 to 37 within two weeks and this is happening at a time when ruling Zanu PF MP for Gutu North Yeukai Simbanegavi has lined up rallies in her constituency where she is luring thousands of villagers to her meetings with donations of rice.
A Mirror reporter who attended one of the meetings realized that the villagers attend the rallies without protective clothing and they don’t observe social distancing. Simbanegavi had a rally attended by over a thousand people at Mandeya Business Center in Nyazvidzi on Thursday and over 100 people at Chitepo School in Soti Source yesterday. She had another huge rally at Nharira Secondary School on Tuesday and had another rally attended by over 1 000 people at Zvavahera Business Centre a few days earlier.
The Deputy Minister of Labour and Social Welfare Lovemore Matuke also attended the Zvavahera rally.
Villagers who talked to The Mirror said there was no Covid virus in Zimbabwe.
“Why should I wear a mask or observe social distance when our leaders are calling us to rallies. Simbanegavi would not be a fool to call us to a rally, she knows that there is no Covid. We are not worried at all. Covid is for those in towns and those who have boarded planes,” said Mbuya Mahuni.
It is illegal and imprisonable to call for meetings that violate lockdown rules. It is also imprisonable to walk in public and crowded places without a mask.
There is no evidence to suggest that when ever anyone other than the returnees has tested covid-19 positive the officials have traced and tested the individual’s family and contact to ensure they did not get the virus. It is therefore little wonder that most people believe the virus is only affecting those in quarantine centres and not everyone else.
Common sense would dictate that anyone who show up at a clinic or hospital with covid-19 like symptoms must be tested for the virus, period. This should be a standing instruction to all our health care providers. And yet this is not happening!
Now that the number of covid-19 cases are soaring because of the cold weather the nation is in for a big surprise as the number of sick and dying will soar! Covid-19 will infect and kill anyone, rich or poor, those who know about the virus and those who do not. Indeed, the virus will spread more widely among those who do not of the virus and therefore fail to take even the common sense precautions like washing one’s hands regularly.
Chamisa said the transitional mechanism must be a "creature of a national consensus and a comprehensive settlement anchored on reforms".
ReplyDelete"That's what is going to save this country and the sooner we achieve that the better," he said.
"The country cannot proceed like this; the environment is too toxic, let us detoxify our environment. We must have a legitimate state, not a contested state. Organs of the state must be out of partisan politics. They must not be deployed for partisan acts.
"We now have a culpable state."
The 2008 GNU was meant to implement a raft of democratic reforms and it was up to MDC to implement the said reforms and they failed to get even one reform implemented in five years! Not one! The suggestion that another Zanu PF and MDC GNU will do any better is utter nonsense. All Chamisa and his MDC friends are after is to have their cabinet posts, ministerial limos, etc. backs.
Mnangagwa has already said the July 2018 elections were free, fair and credible and he will certainly not brook any meaningful reforms being implemented.
The way out of this mess is to accept that the July 2018 elections were not free, fair and credible, Zanu PF does not have the mandate to govern the country and must step down. There will be an interim administration backed by SADC and the UN tasked to implement all the democratic reforms and to deliver free, fair and credible elections.
The nation is not going to appease this illegitimate regime just as it did in the 2008 GNU by allowing it to play any part in the interim government, there will be no second soft landing for Zanu PF and its acolyte opposition party partners.
Zanu PF would not be in power today if MDC had implemented the democratic reforms during the 2008 GNU. By participating in flawed and illegal elections MDC has given legitimacy to this illegitimate Zanu PF government.
Zanu PF has held this nation to ransom for the last 40 years, this must be stopped here and now!