There is no denying that Zimbabwe’s in serious economic and political trouble. The economy is in total meltdown after 40 years of gross mismanagement, rampant corruption and rank lawlessness that has earned the country the burdensome title of pariah state.
The political trouble is because the country has not only a corrupt, incompetent and tyrannical ruling party, Zanu PF, but an equally corrupt, incompetent and utterly useless opposition. And to crown it all, we have an electorate that has no clue what is going on and hence are given to follow the corrupt and useless leaders blindly like sheep to the slaughter. A recipe for political paralysis; and that is exactly what we have.
“A functioning, robust democracy requires a healthy educated, participatory followership, and an educated, morally grounded leadership,” said Chinua Achebe, one of Africa’s great intellectuals.
For Nelson Chamisa, the leader of MDC A, Zimbabwe’s main opposition party; forget about being educated and moral grounding: he lacks common sense. He really has no clue what is going and and hence keeps repeating the same foolish mistakes over and over again - proof he has no common sense.
“ED (Mnangagwa), you have been working so hard, 24/7, to try and bury Nelson Chamisa. Note this: when you try to bury him, you are only planting him and he will only germinate even more viciously," boasted Chamisa, in an interview with The Standard.
"ED will never forgive us for drubbing him in 2018. The people's crime is that they showed him a red card in 2018 only to get relief and extra time through the ConCourt.”
If there is one thing that the July 2018 elections proved beyond all reasonable doubt, for the umpteenth time, it was that Zanu PF would never lose an election in which the regime has the carte blanche powers to rig.
The 2008 Zimbabwe elections were a watershed because that year Zanu PF showed the noun-sphere of its vote rigging capabilities. The party order the recount of the March vote and held up announcing the result for six week whilst it cooked up the figures. Tsvangirai’s 73% vote count, by Mugabe’s own Freudian slip, was whittled down to 47%; enough to force a presidential run-off.
In the run-off, Zanu PF unleashed it party thugs, war veterans backed by the Police, Army, CIO and Prison Service officials to punish the electorate for having rejected Robert Mugabe, the party’s presidential candidate in the early March vote. Millions of Zimbabweans were harassed and forced to go into hiding; hundreds of thousands were severely beaten and/or raped and over 500 were murdered.
“Zanu PF has declared war on the nation!” said Tsvangirai, as he announced his withdrawal from the run-off.
Mugabe went on to win the one-horse race with 84% of the vote.
For the first time ever, SADC and AU, renowned for giving a thumbs up to Zanu PF rigged elections in the past, refused to accept the 2008 elections as free and fair and Zanu PF as the legitimate government.
SADC leaders forced Mugabe and Zanu PF to sign the 2008 Global Political Agreement (GPA) in which Zimbabwe was to implement a raft of democratic reforms designed to stop the blatant election cheating and wanton violence and ensure future elections were free, fair and credible.
A Government of National Unity (GNU) comprising Zanu PF and the two MDC factions led by Morgan Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutambara was tasked to implement the reforms. SA’s President Thabo Mbeki signed the GPA on behalf of SADC which was the guarantor of the agreement.
Mugabe bribed the MDC leaders with the trappings of high office and, with their snouts in the feeding trough, the forgot about implementing the reforms. Even the constant nagging by the SADC leaders failed to get MDC leaders to implement even one token reform in five years!
SADC leaders made a desperate last minute attempt to get Zimbabwe’s 2013 elections postponed until democratic reforms are implemented.
“In 2013 the Maputo Summit, in June 2013, before the elections, the Maputo Summit was all about having the elections postponed – the SADC summit. I went there,” Dr Ibbo Mandaza latter told Journalist Violet Gonda.
“And after that Summit, Morgan Tsvangirai, Tendai Biti, Welshman Ncube, all of them were called to a separate meeting by the Heads of State of SADC in the absence of Mugabe, that same evening. And they were told; ‘If you go into elections next month, you are going to lose; the elections are done!’.”
As we know, Zanu PF went on to blatantly rig the 2013 elections, as SADC leaders had predicted.
Nelson Chamisa and his MDC A went participate in the 2018 elections too, knowing fully well that with no reforms in place Zanu PF will rig those elections too. ZEC failed to produce something as basic for free and fair elections as a verified voters’ roll, for Pete’s sake. And still Chamisa et al participated in the elections regardless. Why?
The same reason MDC leaders had failed to implement even one democratic reform during the GNU - greed.
The one lesson Mugabe learnt from the GNU was that Zanu PF can continue rigging the elections without risking plebiscite being declared null and void as happened in 2008 as long as the opposition participated in the flawed and illegal elections in numbers. Zanu PF would give away a few gravy train seats; a honey trap the opposition found irresistible.
Chamisa et al participated in the 2018 election out of greed and gave all manner of excuses for doing so knowing the elections will be rigged. “MDC A has stringent measures to stop Zanu PF rigging the elections!” he boasted.
When the stringent measures failed he has another feeble excuse why; Mnangagwa “only to get relief and extra time through the ConCourt!”
Of course, if we had implemented the democratic reforms fully before the 2018 elections then Mnangagwa would not have got the relief from the ConCourt or from anywhere else. The reforms are designed to end Zanu PF’s corrupting hold over all the state institutions including ZEC, Police, ConCourt, etc.!
"Through the hurdles, attacks and downs of 2020, we remain standing and marching towards a free and new great Zimbabwe. Fighting for freedom is a national duty and a patriotic act. 2021 will be incredible and full of surprises,” Chamisa told The Standard.
Chamisa and his MDC A friends are gearing to participate in the coming 2023 elections with not even one token democratic reform in place. Mnangagwa knows that as long as the opposition participate Zanu PF has every chance of rigging the elections and get away with it as before.
The biggest mistake the people of Zimbabwe made was to risk life and limb electing Morgan Tsvangirai and his MDC friends into power in the hope the party will bring about the democratic changes necessary to end the Zanu PF dictatorship.
The people themselves had no clue what the changes were much less how they were to be implemented and so when MDC leaders sold-out during the GNU; the people failed to comprehend the blatant betrayal.
As long as the Zimbabwe electorate remain a naive and gullible lot given to believe such feeble excuses as “MDC has stringent measures to stop Zanu PF rigging” and be dragging by MDC A into flawed and illegal elections; the opposition will claim to command a national following and thus have credibility. And a credible opposition participating in flawed and illegal elections will give Zanu PF some modicum of legitimacy!
Educate the Zimbabwe electorate so they understand what the democratic reforms are and how Chamisa et al not only sold-out on implementing reforms but, worst of all, how participating in these flawed elections is only helping to perpetuate the curse of rigged elections. An enlightened electorate will desert the corrupt, incompetent and sell-out opposition opportunists in droves!
A discredited opposition can participate in flawed elections but it will never give the vote rigging Zanu PF legitimacy!
So, the most important task before us is to educate the Zimbabwe electorate so that as many as possible understand what the democratic reforms are needed to ensure free, fair and credible elections. It is for the people to then demand that the reforms are implemented before the next elections and to reject the elections as null and void if no reforms are in place. This is a mammoth task but not an impossible.
Sound public policy requires broad consultation of citizens. It must be scientific and for this reason it ought to be evidence-based. The latest lockdown measures lack scientific rigour, rationality & consistency. We suggest consultation with business, labour & Church.
ReplyDeleteThe single most important task MDC was ever asked to carry out in all its 20 years on the political stage was to implement the democratic reforms during the 2008 to 2013 GNU. The party failed to get even one reform implemented in five years. Was that sound public policy?
SADC leaders and many ordinary people nagged MDC leaders to implement the reforms, and the party leaders ignored them.
Ever since the MDC leaders sold-out on reforms during the GNU they have been participating in flawed and illegal elections for the sake of the few gravy train seats Zanu PF has offered as bait. The MDC leaders have been fishing for news headlines, just to attract public attention, at the expense of meaningful democratic reforms that will help end the curse of rigged elections and bad governance. This contribution is just one such example!
“We don't just have a health crisis here but a governance and leadership crisis. We have provinces even districts and we have hotspots and epicenters. Why not have isolation and targeted lockdowns for hot spots, where we identify red zones than to lock the whole nation,” you said.
Zimbabwe will not have this corrupt, incompetent Zanu PF regime in power today if MDC leaders had implemented the reforms and, indeed, we will never rid ourselves of Zanu PF as long as MDC leaders continue sell-out and participate in flawed elections.
Chamisa is offering the same idiotic solution that have not worked. He participating in the 2018 elections with no reforms and now the idiot is preparing to do the same in the 2023 elections. We cannot be making the same foolish mistake of participating in flawed and illegal elections and then crying foul all because Chamisa and company cannot resist the few gravy train Zanu PF is offering as bait!
ReplyDeleteAfter 40 years of rigged elections surely, surely we can agree on what constitutes free, fair and credible elections and have the resolve and discipline to demand that the reforms are implemented no if no but.
ReplyDeleteOf course, Zanu PF will never ever implement any reform and deliver free, fair and credible elections and risk lose the elections when the party knows the opposition will participate regardless.
MDC had the opportunity to implement the reforms but failed to implement even one reform in 5 years of the GNU. MDC leaders have given up get the reforms implemented and they are content to settle for the few gravy train seats Zanu PF is offering.
It is madness to let MDC leaders sell out the whole nation's fight for free, fair and credible elections for selfish gain. MDC leaders know there is nothing to be gained by participating in flawed and illegal elections other than for individuals like Tendai Biti and Job Sikhala being MP!
South Africa is arresting more than 500 illegal Zimbabwean immigrants at the Beitbridge border every day, eNCA reports citing SA Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi.
ReplyDeleteThe country has deployed soldiers and police patrol teams on helicopters and boats as it steps up its blitz.
This is really sad! Zimbabwe is a rich country with enough resources to afford all who live there a decent life; the only reason why millions are living in abject poverty is because of the country’s failed leadership.
Zanu PF has rigged elections to stay in power for the last 40 years. We have had many golden opportunities to end the Zanu PF dictatorship but the MDC opposition have wasted the opportunities.
The people themselves have failed to hold both Zanu PF and MDC to account because they have not bothered to pay attention to what is going on. And so the country’s in a mess because of failed leadership by the ruling party, the opposition and by the voters themselves.
All the observers of the July 2018 election with any democratic credentials have dismissed the plebiscite as a farce; "with numerous errors, lacking transparency, traceability and verifiability", as the EU final report stated. And to prove the point both Nelson Chamisa and ZEC failed to produce the V11 forms, the summary of the vote count from the Polling Station, to back up their vote tally.
ReplyDeleteZEC had 90% of the V11 and hence the reason why the commission had three different vote counts and could not reconcile the figure. 10% of its figures could not be traced or verified!
Chamisa did not have the V11 forms to back his claim either. His ConCourt challenge was based on the foolish claim that he would accept the election as free, fair and credible if the Court declared him the winner! It is no surprise therefore that the EU, Commonwealth and the rest of the observers have all dismissed Chamisa and his ConCourt challenge the the contempt it rightly deserves.
"I drubbed ED!" Yeah right! And the whole elections process was full of irregularities and illegalities no one could make head or tail of what was going on! Of course, it was foolish to participate in an elections in which even something as fundamental as a verified voters' roll was lacking!
There is no doubt that Chamisa and his MDC A friends are taking Zimbabweans for fools. MDC leaders are happily participating in these flawed elections for the sake of the few gravy train seats and know their criticism of Zanu PF even more talk of defeating Zanu PF is only hot air for the naive and gullible voters!
@ Amalinze
ReplyDelete“The writer of this article is misled in his interpretations. As far as opposition leaders is concerned Chamisa is a rightful candidate to lead this country. Of-course no one is 100% perfect but this young man is among the best. Rejecting entering into an election is not solution. The opposition must bull doze through the rough terrains of the current electoral situation. Come 2023 you shall see that this young man has a huge following and no rigging mechanism will work.”
You cannot have your cake and eat it too!
Many Zimbabweans out there have risked life and limb to elect MDC leaders into power on the understanding that once in power they would bring about the democratic changes necessary to end the curse of rigged elections. The party is a movement for democratic change!
MDC has been on the political stage for over 20 years now, 5 of which in they were in power in the GNU, and yet have failed to bring about even one democratic change.
MDC leaders wasted the golden opportunity to implement the democratic reforms during the GNU because Mugabe bribed them with the trappings of high office - proof they are corrupt and breathtakingly incompetent.
Ever since their pathetic performance during the GNU, MDC leaders have they will continue participating in flawed and illegal elections for the sake of the few gravy train seats Zanu PF is offering as bait.
Of course, MDC leaders have completely sold-out on the national cause of implementing the reforms and restoring the individual freedoms and rights including the right to free elections. Without reforms and free elections Zimbabwe is not going to get out of this hell-hole Zanu PF dragged us into.
“MDC has stringent measures to stop Zanu PF rigging elections,” said Chamisa.
“The opposition must bull doze through the rough terrains of the current electoral situation,” as you put it.
These are all just feeble excuses for participating in flawed and illegal elections for selfish greed.
Just because MDC leaders have proven to be corrupt and incompetent to get the reform implemented does not mean no one else can implement the reforms or that the reforms are no longer necessary as the pre-requisite to good governance.
No Zimbabwean out there who understand what the GNU was about and how MDC leaders sold-out big time will every want to support Chamisa and company. The task is to educate the masses. More and more Zimbabweans are beginning to understand what the GNU was about and MDC’s political credibility is evaporating like morning mist under the African sun!
So Chamisa drubbed Mnangagwa but failed to drub a ConCourt judge Malaba, a lesser mortal?
ReplyDeleteZimbabwe is in this political and economic mess precisely because the nation has been stuck, for 40 years and counting, with a corrupt, incompetent and tyrannical Zanu PF dictatorship. The nation has had many golden opportunities to end the dictatorship and MDC leaders have wasted them all.
Chamisa's claim of "MDC has stringent measures to stop Zanu PF rigging elections!" was nothing but the boastful dog claiming to put out the forest fire with its punny fart! We, the people of Zimbabwe, must hang our heads in shame for falling for such idiotic nonsense. It will be truly unforgivable if we allow ourselves to be dragged into yet another pointless election in 2023 by falling for the same punny dog fart!
Nations get the government they deserve; we in Zimbabwe certainly deserve this Zanu PF dictatorship complete with its entourage of utterly useless opposition parties. If we are so stupid to be conned into believing MDC can win rigged elections then we certainly deserve the dictatorship and all it entails!
Just how many "turning points" are we having? MDC has been on the political stage for 20 years, 5 of which in the GNU, and yet the party has failed to deliver even one democratic change.
ReplyDeleteChamisa is taking us for a ride, promising change is just round the corner. All he want to do is to participate in the 2023 elections for the sake of the few gravy train seats Zanu PF is offering, Zanu PF will remain in power and nothing will ever change! Nothing!
If Zimbabweans allow themselves to be dragged into yet another meaningless elections in which Zanu PF will once again blatantly rig the elections then we only have ourselves to blame for being so naive, blind and stupid to be conned again and again and again! Chamisa's turning point is that he will win rigged elections!