Let’s face it, the Tuesday 29 September 2020 Trump vs Biden presidential debate, first with two more to come, was a melee, chaotic and a total waste of time and missed opportunity. Democracy itself was on the ropes and the pugnacious culprit hell bend on delivering the knock-out punch President Trump - the President of the United States of America, the undisputed leader of the free and democratic world!
The Greeks, the nation that bequeathed democracy to the world 2 500 years ago, accepted that for democracy to work the people must be educated and hence the reason they promoted freedom of expression and freedom of association. No doubt the USA presidential debates were meant to help educate the American electorate so they will make an informed choice of the man/woman to hold the highest office in the land for the next four years. The one thing the Tuesday debacle was not was informative.
Within a few minutes of the 90 minutes debate, it was clear President Trump’s agenda was not be as disruptive as he could. He constantly interrupted Joe Biden. The listeners wanted to know what each candidate was going to do not end the corona virus in America and in follow up question why their opponent’s plan would not work, for example.
Chris Wallace, of “Fox News Sunday” who was anchor and moderator of the debate was forced to intervene. “Please don’t interrupt!” then “Please obey the rules!” and finally “This isn’t serving the country well!” in sheer exasperation.
President Trump did not only undermine the very essence of democracy by interrupting the debate but worse still by raising doubt in the validity of the election process itself! Should he lose the election, he has repeatedly refused to accept the results; implying that could only happen because the elections were rigged.
“As you know today, there was a big problem,” said Mr. Trump during Tuesday’s debate. “In Philadelphia, they went in to watch, they were called poll watchers, a very safe, very nice thing. They were thrown out, they weren’t allowed to watch. You know why? Because bad things happen in Philadelphia, bad things.”
As usual, he did not elaborate or provide any evidence. It is all innuendo and suppositions!
On this occasion, it turns out the officials in Philadelphia were enforcing an existing law designed to stop poll watchers, from all the political parties, observing voter registration activities for fear of “intimidating the voters”.
The Proud Boys, a white supremacist group and ardent Trump supporters, have been involved in disruptive and intimidating activities. When President Trump was asked to publicly denounce the group, all he could master was “stand back and stand by”.
No doubt President Mnangagwa and his Zanu PF cronies have watched the Tuesday US debate with renewed interest and will be thrilled to bits to see President Trump back in White House. They will expect him to tear up Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act (ZDERA) and lift the sanctions imposed on Zanu PF leaders. It would be very hypocritical of President Trump to do otherwise when, to win the US elections, he borrowed heavily from Zanu PF’s own vote rigging manual!
“I’ve been involved in a certain amount of soul-searching.” concluded Mr Wallace. “I’m just disappointed with the results. For me, but much more importantly, I’m disappointed for the country, because it could have been a much more useful evening than it turned out to be.”
The Commission on Presidential Debates, the body tasked to oversight the conduct of these presidential debates is considering changes to the format of this year’s remaining debate, “a clear sign of its frustration with the results of Tuesday evening”, reported the New York Times.
So rampant was the plundering that government, in 2016, banned firms from carrying out operations, with former president Robert Mugabe revealing that Zimbabwe could have been prejudiced US$15 billion by mining firms understating earnings.
ReplyDeleteIn an interview this week from his base in Tel Aviv, Musan said Zimbabwe can still yield considerable dividends if it sold its gems to Israel directly, rather than selling through "unscrupulous" buying entities.
"In my opinion and as I mentioned, if Zimbabwe uses its mines and its diamonds as guarantees to investors and banks who are willing to give Zimbabwe cash for it, it will help inject huge money into the economy and march Zimbabwe into a new era much faster than it seems.
"Of course this whole procedure must be controlled and responsible, in order to prevent corruption and really use it for the benefit of all Zimbabwean citizens,'' Ronny Levvy Musan as Zimbabwe's Honorary Consul to Israel said.
''Zimbabwe is indeed one of the five leading countries in the field of diamonds and Israel is known as a leading country in the field of diamond trade, with branches in almost every country in the world. The absurdity is that there are many companies from all over the world who buy diamonds from Zimbabwe and come to Israel to sell them after adding their profit.’
Corruption, especially in the diamond industry, was rampant before the 2017 military coup and has remained rampant after the coup. Many people in Zimbabwe and indeed the world over will remember Israel’s involvement in Zimbabwe’s vote rigging through the operation of such companies as NIKUV. Israel has no qualms about right and wrong and will happily aid and abet the rampant corruption in the diamond industry. All Israel is after here is a piece of the action!
"Of course this whole procedure must be controlled and responsible, in order to prevent corruption and really use it for the benefit of all Zimbabwean citizens!’’ Only a first class idiot would believe that nonsense!
A resident of Glenview in the capital Harare, a constituency once dominated by the country’s opposition MDC party over the years, Mhere said he faces confusion as his party is gradually being elbowed out by what he calls “plots” by the country’s ruling Zimbabwe Africa National Union Patriotic Front (Zanu-PF) “to get rid of the biggest opposition”.
ReplyDeleteThere is no doubt that Zanu PF thugs are rubbering their hands in sheer delight to see MDC leaders slogging each other just as MDC members have done the same to see Zanu PF implode in the endless factional wars that have ripped the party asunder.
People like Mhere who blame Zanu PF for MDC’s infighting are just idiots who will never admit MDC leaders’ failures and that they shot themselves in the foot. Mhere is just as naive and gullible as the Zanu PF idiots who will not accept that Zanu PF leaders are corrupt and incompetent and have destroyed the nation’s economy and blame sanctions instead.
The Greeks were right, democracy can only function when the people are informed and diligent. In Zimbabwe we have more than our fair share of some of the most naive, gullible and idiotic electorate in the world!
MDC leaders have already proven beyond all reasonable doubt that they are corrupt, incompetent and sell-outs. They failed to implement even one reform in five years during the 2008 to 2013 GNU! Why anyone still follow MDC beggars belief!
“Soon, we will be left with no genuine opposition party in our country,” Mhere told Anadolu Agency.
Mnangagwa is not smart by any stretch of the imagination but even he knows that the last thing Zanu PF wants is a genuine and competent opposition and so Zanu PF will weaken MDC but always keep one or two factions ticking just to stop the emergency of a competent opposition! So Mhere, you will have your MDC!
“Human rights are in a terrible state,” said Chin’ono. “I had expected that Mnangagwa would be different from Mugabe but I was wrong. I was one of the people who asked citizens to give Mnangagwa a chance when the coup happened, but we got it wrong. This has been a misadventure of the abuse of citizens, journalists, civil society and anyone who demands that the regime respect the rule of law, they become a target.”
ReplyDeleteChin’ono has vowed to keep up his investigative work.
“As citizens we are responsible for holding the state to account. As journalists, we have a higher responsibility to light the torch into dark corners where corruption is taking place and where the looting of public funds is taking place,” he said.
There was absolutely no reason to justify why Mnangagwa deserved “to be given a chance”. None! It is just this naivety and foolishness that allowed tyrants to ride roughshod over the people’s freedoms and rights and get away with it.
Chin’ono has repented his naivety and foolishness, there are other like Ministers Professor Mthuli Ncube and Kirsty Coventry and many, many others who are still propping up the regime under the pretext of “giving Mnangagwa a chance”! Our Police, Army, Judiciary and other key state institutions are all departments of Zanu PF in all but name. They are all run by individuals committed to “giving Zanu PF a chance!” Even after 40 years of corrupt and murderous rule, they still want the party to be given another chance!
Having been given the chance to continue with the looting, rigging elections and ruthlessly silencing all critics; Mnangagwa is carried on what Zanu PF has been doing all these last 40 years. Chin’ono has had a taste of what some of the ruthless oppression means.
Thanks to these foolish idiots we are now stuck with a corrupt and tyrannical dictatorship masquerading as a democratically elected government.
Of course, it was naive and foolish to expect Mnangagwa to stop being a corrupt and murderous thug just because he proclaimed Zimbabwe a Second Republic and open for business.
Ngarivhume, Chamisa and all the other opposition politicians who participated in the July 2018 elections did so out of greed. They knew Zanu PF was rigging the elections but also knew that Zanu Pf would give away a few gravy train seats to entice the opposition. Ngarivhume and company could not resist the bait.
ReplyDeleteBy participating in the flawed and illegal July 2018 elections, the opposition gave credibility to the process and, by extension, legitimacy to the vote rigging Zanu PF regime.
It is nonsensical that people like Ngarivhume, Chamisa, Sikhala, Biti and all the other opposition leaders should be calling for street protest, to unseat, the regime they helped to usurp power!
@ J Sikhala
ReplyDelete“Part of the plot to inject us with a lethal substance is a subject for another day. I can’t reveal the details today. Some of the officers have been defrothed of their duties as intelligence and security personnel and have been transferred to Mazowe.
One has been downgraded to be a guard at the prison medical stores. Another one is going to be transferred to Binga. I will not mention the names of these officers under siege at this moment but if the persecution continues I will be left with no option but to reveal them.
I witnessed it one day when one officer Sergent Chitsa was called into the office of Sup’ Mlambo and insulted left, right and centre. He was accused of being an MDC stalwart and told to produce his MDC party card for allowing me to properly climb into the prison truck.”
History will remember that it was your greed; you Sikhala, Ngarivhume, Chamisa and all the other opposition politicians who participated in the July 2018 elections; that has landed the nation in this mess. You all knew that Zanu PF was rigging the elections but also knew that Zanu PF would give away a few gravy train seats to entice the opposition. You found the bait irresistible!
By participating in the flawed and illegal July 2018 elections, you gave credibility to the process and, by extension, gave legitimacy to the vote rigging Zanu PF regime.
All MDC leaders are doing right now is political grandstanding and posturing; come the elections, they will participate in the flawed and illegal elections!
Zanu PF is not going to implement any democratic reforms to ensure free, fair and credible elections as long as the party know it will get legitimacy from the greedy opposition politicians who will participate in elections regardless how flawed and illegal.
It is not just Zanu PF that is stopping free, fair and credible elections in Zimbabwe; MDC and other equally corrupt and greedy opposition politicians are too a serious hindrance to change!