When the British people voted to leave the European Union in the 2016 Referendum, then Prime Minister, David Cameron, who had campaigned to remain, resigned and chaos ensued. Voting to leave was the easy bit, doing it has proven a bridge too far.
Prime Minister Theresa May’s, who succeeded Cameron in the famous 10 Downing Street, premiership was dogged by this one issue, Brexit, as the process of leaving the EU was commonly called. Even my aunt in Zimbabwe’s rural backwaters heard about Brexit; no doubt she did not know what it meant.
After three years of blundering from pillar to post, even P M May’s supporters generally agree that she had no Brexit plan from the word go and was no wise after three years. She, tearfully, fall on her own sword. Hell, public office is not a charity venture particular when the destiny of the whole nation is at stake!
Prime Minister Boris Johnson became the new occupant of 10 Downing Street. Within months, he thrashed the withdrawal agreement, the basis of the divorce, with the EU.
But before the ink on the withdrawal agreement had dried there was the corona virus outbreak, which knocked Brexit off the nation agenda until now.
It is not the new trade arrangements between EU and the UK, the meat of the divorce arrangements, that have forced Brexit back on the headlines. It is PM Boris Johnson’s proposal for the British to unilaterally break the terms of the withdrawal agreement signed last year!
“Last week, the (UK) government admitted attempting to break international law over the EU withdrawal agreement. The justification, which became an internet meme, was that this was a breaking of the law only in a very ‘limited and specific way’,” explained Nesrine Malik UK Guardian columnist.
“Conservatism consists of exactly one proposition, to wit: there must be in-groups whom the law protects but does not bind, alongside out-groups whom the law binds but does not protect,” continued Malik, quoting Frank Wilhoit.
Conservatism!!! Hell, that is the very essence of Zanu PF thuggery! Unlike the Conservative party, Zanu PF breaks all the laws, international, national, traditional, party’s own laws, the lot. And Zanu PF thugs have no patience for such niceties as breaking the law in a very “limited and specific way”; they break everything and damn the consequences!
South African Communist Party Secretary Bonginkosi Emmanuel Blade Nzimande says Zimabbwe has a crisis and the South African government must acknowledge that reality.
ReplyDeleteNzimande was addressing his party's online Central Committee meeting in Johannesburg on Sunday.
"The Central Committee expressed solidarity with the people of Zimbabwe, many of whom found themselves with no other option but to leave or flee the country. South Africa is host to most of them, and is, in many ways, directed impacted by the crisis in Zimbabwe. The assertions that there is no crisis in Zimbabwe are nothing but a denial of the self-evident truth. In fact, you don't even have to go Zimbabwe to see the crisis; you only have to go to our informal settlements in South Africa to see how many Zimbabweans, who are trying to make an honest living for their families, have had to come to South Africa to make a living because of the crisis we have there." Nzimande said.
The one thing that has serve SA well is the country’s holding free, fair and credible elections. It is infuriating that President Ramaphosa endorsed Zimbabwe’s rigged 2018 elections and yet went on to hold free and fair elections in SA a few months latter; proof he knew what constituted free and fair elections.
The least he should have done was to say nothing!
The solution to the Zimbabwe crisis has to start and finish with ending the curse of rigged elections. The country needs to implement the democratic reforms necessary to stop the vote rigging and since Zanu PF has had many opportunities to implement the reforms but failed to do so; the party must step down to allow others to do this work.
President Ramaphosa has already said Zanu PF is legitimate and so will not ask the party to step down. He must for once do the right thing and ask the UN to step in on this matter!
US President Trump's contemptuous disregard for the rule of law and respect for human lives is the one thing that has cheered and emboldened Africa's despots greatly these last four years. Prime Minister Boris Johnson's admission that he is proposing a law that will violate an international treaty is a very worrying development. Reputations take generations to build but they can be lost just like that!
ReplyDeleteWe in the developing world where good governance is the rare oddity and not the norm we need someone to help keep our corrupt and oppressive leaders on the straight and narrow. If the west loses its moral high ground then there will be no one guard our errant thugs!
He also said Zanu-PF's decision to allow the ANC to meet with the opposition and civil society organisations in future, as part of trying heal the political rifts in the country, was neither new nor sudden.
ReplyDelete"You will recall that in 2008 we enabled dialogue to take place between ourselves and the opposition.
"From the very foundation of the Second Republic under President Emmerson Mnangagwa we created a far-reaching policy position for sustainable political dialogue through the 1 August violence commission of inquiry.
"This was a ground-breaking precedent to the future of political dialogue in our country.
"Therefore, beyond the ANC's proposal to engage opposition parties and some civil society organisations (CSOs) working in the service of the regime change agenda is a continuity to the principle of engagement and re-engagement which we have been able to domesticate as part of the post-November 2017 transitional political culture," Mpofu further told the Daily News On Sunday.
The root cause of Zimbabwe’s crisis is the country’s failure to hold free, fair and credible elections the idea that the party that rigged the last elections can be part of the solution going forward is foolish. We know Zanu PF will never reform itself out of power and so it is utterly pointless pretending otherwise!
Zimbabwe is now facing an existential crisis and needs a solution a.s.a.p. We know the solution is in getting Zanu PF to step down so we can appoint an interim administration to implement the reforms. We must go on with it. Zanu PF must step and not allowed to hold the nation to ransom any longer!
However, Zanu-PF's secretary for administration, Obert Mpofu, told the Daily News on Sunday at the weekend that the ruling party was happy for the ANC to meet the opposition in future, as this was in line with their principles post the 2017 military coup which ousted the late former president Robert Mugabe from power.
ReplyDeleteBut Mumbengegwi told the media that there was no need for the ANC to act as a mediator, because there was "no crisis" in the country.
"The question of a sister party coming to the country of another sister party to establish bilateral relations with the opposition party is unheard of (as) that can only happen in the context of mediation, and mediation can only occur with the consent of the conflicting parties.
"But where there is no crisis, there is no real need for mediation and, therefore, no purpose will be served by trying to play a mediatory role.
Zanu PF will never reform itself out of office and it really beggars belief that that there some people out there who still want to appease Zanu PF by letting it stay in power in the hope the party will implement the democratic reforms. Zanu PF rigged the July 2018 elections, the party is illegitimate and must step down.
Zimbabwe is facing a existential crisis and the prospect of Zanu PF remaining in office until 2023 to rig these elections is simply unthinkable! We need to appoint the task force to implement the reforms and not to be wasting time appeasing an illegitimate regime!
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has proven to be a bully willing to not only bend but to break the law to get what he wants. He has already tried to prolong parliament recess so that he could enact laws without MPs input. The judiciary has slammed him down. Many British citizens and leaders from both sides of the political divide have already made it clear they will oppose the government's attempts to break the withdrawal agreement.
ReplyDeleteIn a healthy and functioning democracy leaders will rarely, if at al,l get away with this nonsense of the law is there to protect but not bind the ruling elite and bind everyone else without even protecting them!
In a dictatorship like Zimbabwe the ruling elite are the law unto themselves and do as they please and so their whim protects them but does not bind them and it binds everyone else without giving them any protection. Basic freedoms and human rights are, at best, privileges which the ruling elite gives to some and deny to other as they please!
The people of Zimbabwe have yet to wake up to the reality that it is their duty to defend their freedoms and rights and once denied to fight to have them restored.