"Zimbabwe's problems are political and politicians must approve the solution" - so giving politicians the veto, how foolish

 There is no denying that Zimbabwe is facing a serious economic, political and social crisis. Before the corona virus outbreak Zimbabwe’s economy was already in total meltdown, unemployment had soar to 90% and 34% of the population was already living in abject poverty. The root cause of the economic mess is 40 years of Zanu PF misrule.

The people have been aware of Zanu PF misrule but have failed to do anything about it because the party rigged the elections and hence the political paralysis. 

The corona virus outbreak has made life in Zimbabwe intolerable. The ruling party, Zanu PF’s blundering incompetence in the handling of the pandemic has helped the virus to spread like wildfire.

There is only so much suffering and death human being can endure without complaining. Zimbabweans have reached the Roche limit of their human endurance and not even the Zanu PF regime’s brutality can stop them demanding change. The tidal waves of Zimbabweans demanding an end to their economic hardships, human suffering and deaths, is unstoppable.

Mnangagwa and his Zanu PF cronies’ denial of the economic, political and social crisis is to be expected; denials, lies and damned lies are just some of the regime’s favourite tactics. We must dismiss Mnangagwa et al denials with the contempt they rightly deserve. 

However, it is not Mnangagwa and company’s denials of the crisis that is hold back the change; it is the lack of consensus in the rest of the Zimbabwean populous as to what is the root cause of the crisis the way forward. 

“The MDC Alliance insists, Mnangagwa stole the 2018 elections. This means there is a legitimacy crisis,” argued Dr Ibbo Mandaza in an article in Bulawayo 24 and the Standard. 

“The electoral dispute should be solved and there is need for compromise for a transitional authority.

“This should be done by bringing together a group of people, who are non-partisan. Mnangagwa and Chamisa should support the initiative.

“The problems in Zimbabwe are not legal impediments, but political. If Mnangagwa and Chamisa support that, we are done.”

Dr Ibbo Mandaza, is Director of SAPES, a media house that has hosted a number of panel discussions in a determined effort to find a solution to Zimbabwe’s worsening economic and political crisis. Sadly, instead of helping find the solution, his repeated comments are mudding the waters. 

“MDC A insists, Mnangagwa stole the 2018 elections!” MDC A leaders are renowned for being corrupt, incompetent and selling out; if they had implemented the democratic reforms during the 2008 GNU, for example, then we would not still be in this mess. So spare us the nonsense of what MDC A insists and tell us whether or not Mnangagwa stole the 2018 elections. 

Whilst Dr Ibbo Mandaza has accepted there is a serious crisis in Zimbabwe; he, like so many other Zimbabweans, have failed/refused to accept the root cause of the crisis is the country’s failure to hold free, fair and credible elections. And more specifically, failed/refused to accept that Zanu PF rigged the 2018 elections and per se making the Zanu PF government illegitimate. 

Mandaza is tacitly acknowledge Zanu PF government’s illegitimacy by offering the regime legitimacy if it agrees to the formation of NTA in which the regime gives up power to a group of technocrats who will implement the democratic reforms to take away Zanu PF’s carte blanche dictatorial powers. 

Even if Zanu PF was to agree to this proposed NTA, the party will fight tooth and nail to ensure most of the implemented reforms are not worth the spit! 

What should be crystal clear and beyond dispute is that the July 2018 elections were not free, fair and credible. Why people like Mandaza are making heavy weather of the issue beggars belief!

“The electoral commission lacked full independence and appeared to not always act in an impartial manner. The final results as announced by the Electoral Commission contained numerous errors and lacked adequate traceability, transparency and verifiability,” stated the EU Zimbabwe Election Mission final report. 

“As such, many aspects of the 2018 elections in Zimbabwe failed to meet international standards.”

By participating in the flawed and illegal July 2018 elections, MDC A and their equally corrupt opposition friends gave the rigged elections some modicum of credibility but not legitimacy! Indeed, what Chamisa is doing is bargaining legitimacy for NTA and cabinet position, as if legitimacy is his to give away. 

Once you accept the historic fact and reality that Zanu PF rigged the July 2018 elections then the consequences of that follow; the whole election process is null and void, all the MPs, Senators and the President are all illegitimate. Zimbabwe has no legitimate government. This is exactly what happened following the 2008 elections when the international community, including SADC and AU, refused to accept the rigged elections. 

In 2008, SADC stepped in to help the country transition from illegitimacy back to legitimacy by proposing the formation of the 2008 to 2013 GNU. SADC was the guarantor of the transition and supervised the GNU. 

SADC leaders could have appointed other people and not Zanu PF and MDC leaders into the 2008 GNU. Indeed, some of the key players in that GNU like Arthur Mutambara had failed to win a seat in the 2008 elections. This time, whoever is going to supervise the country’s transition from the current illegality not legality must NOT appoint Zanu PF and/or MDC leaders in the transition administration - they failed to implement any reforms and it is naive to expect them to do any better. 

The cause of Zimbabwe crisis and solution were was as plain as the nose on your face back in 2008 - cause, curse of rigged elections and solution, implement the democratic reforms to stop the rigging. The crisis has not changed! And the cause and solution have not changed either! The 2008 GNU failed to end the crisis because there was no political will to implement the reforms; we must not repeat that mistake again! 

“The problems in Zimbabwe are not legal impediments, but political. If Mnangagwa and Chamisa support that, we are done.” Mnangagwa and Chamisa are indeed the root causes of Zimbabwe’s problems but how can granting the two the veto be the solution?

Zimbabwe’s political system is rotten to the core and needs a complete overhaul. The country’s ruling elite are part of the rot and therefore cannot be part of the solution too. What has been noticeably lacking is the political will, especially by those who should know better, to look the politicians straight in the eyes and tell them: “You are the one holding the nation to ransom. Enough is enough!”