“To what extent it benefited the ordinary men and women because some arrangements are simple window dressing, we are not interested in window dressing arrangements but having said that, Zimbabweans did benefit tangibly from the GNU of 2009 to 2013,” said Douglas Mwonzora in a recent interview.
The people of Zimbabwe din NOT benefit from the 2008 to 20013 GNU in that MDC leaders sold-out on the most important issue - implementing the reforms. The very fact that Mwonzora still fails to see this key point only underlines why to would be folly to expect any manful change from MDC-T going forward.
“In May 2014, we had a congress of the MDC and where we made a resolution regarding sanctions and this resolution says that the MDC will work towards Zimbabwe's international re-engagement,” explained Mwonzora.
“It also went on to say any positive move on the part of the international community must be made by an equally positive move on the part of Zimbabwe in instituting key social, political and economic reforms.”
The single most important task the people of Zimbabwe have risked life and limb to elect MDC leaders into power to carry out is to implement democratic reforms designed to end the Zanu PF dictatorship. After 20 years, 5 of which in the 2008 to 2013 GNU, MDC leaders have failed to deliver even one meaningful reform.
It is a historic fact that MDC leaders have sold-out on reforms during the GNU period; a fact the party has down played, at best, and therefore have done nothing to put right.
The most important 2014 MDC-T congress resolution was that the party would never take part in any future elections until democratic reforms were implemented. “No reform! No elections!”
It was none other than Douglas Mwonzora, as the then Secretary General of the party, who announced the following year, 2015, that the party would participate in the 2018 elections insisting the party will get Zanu PF “kicking and screaming” to implement the reforms before the elections.
The party was disregarding its own “No reform! No elections!” Resolution for the same reason it had disregarded the SADC leaders’ advice not to participating in the 2013 elections with no reforms - greed.
MDC leaders knew, with no reforms, Zanu PF would rig the elections but they were determined to participate regardless because they also knew that Zanu PF will give away a few gravy train seats, as bait to entice the opposition to participate. This was the honey pot trap MDC-T leaders have found irresistible.
Mwonzora and his MDC-T outfit are gearing to participate in the 2023 elections with no reforms in places for the same reason - greed.
Zimbabwe is up to her eye balls in this economic and political mess precisely because the country has been stuck with a corrupt, incompetent and tyrannical Zanu PF dictatorship for the last 40 years and counting. The nation elected MDC leaders to implement the reforms and thus end the Zanu PF dictatorship. What is now clear is that MDC leaders have abandoned that task and settled for letting the Zanu PF dictatorship remain in power for a share of the spoils of power.
So if Zimbabweans are serious about ending the economic meltdown and end the suffering of the millions now living in abject poverty they must see MDC leaders for what they are corrupt, incompetent and, above all, sell-outs who are given up the fight for free, fair and credible elections.
Zimbabwe desperately needs competent and focused men and women who will implement the democratic reforms and end the curse of rigged elections and bad governance. Mwonzora, Chamisa and the rest of the MDC leaders will never implement the reforms; they do not have what it takes.
“AS long as the Zimbabwean economy remains in a mess, it would be difficult for the ruling Zanu-PF party to convince people that they deserve another five-year term in 2023.
ReplyDelete“The current state of the economy is undeniably pathetic.
“The economy is in the intensive care unit as most Zimbabweans are surviving on less than $1 per day. Time is not in the ruling party's favour. Zimbabweans are fast becoming restless. The ruling party has not fulfilled its 2018 election promises.”
This is a totally misleading statement because it implies that ordinary Zimbabweans will have a meaningful say in who governs Zimbabwe in 2023. Zanu PF has always blatantly rigged the elections in the past denying the people a meaningful vote, with not even one reform in place and no sign of the regime going to implement any in the next two years, it is certain Zanu PF will rig the 2023 elections too!
Indeed, the failure to implement reforms is getting Zanu PF worried that the usual opposition suspects will be exposed as the sell-outs they are in participating again in flawed elections. And so telling the opposition they are certain to win the 2023 elections because the economy is not doing well, as if that is all that matters, will encourage the opposition to contest the flawed elections in drives!
The very fact that MDC leaders, even now with all the benefit of hindsight and countless discussions on the matter, still do not understand that the primary purpose of the 2008 to 2013 GNU was to implement the democratic reforms and stop a repeat of the blatant cheating and wanton violence of the 2008 elections; goes to show just how incompetent these leaders are.
ReplyDeleteIt was 2004 to 2007 US ambassador to Zimbabwe, Chris Dell, who said in a secret cable back to Washington that Morgan Tsvangirai "was a flawed and indecisive character who would be an albatross round the nation's neck!" The cable was leaked and made public in the Wikileaks. The MDC leaders' failure to implement even one reform during the 2008 to 2013 GNU proved beyond all doubt that the ambassador was not just right about Tsvangirai but the entire MDC leadership.
MDC leaders have become an albatross round the nation's neck in that the party has used the political mandate the people gave them to get into power but after betrayal the national cause to implement the reform they have abuse the mandate to push their own selfish agenda. MDC leaders have taken advantage of the ordinary people's naivety - failure to see MDC leaders sold-out - and still get the people's mandate but use it to promote the new MDC agenda of allowing Zanu PF to stay in power in return for a share of the spoils of power.
Neither Mwonzora, Chamisa or anyone of the MDC leaders will ever implement the democratic reforms to deliver free, fair and credible elections; they wasted the golden opportunity to do so during the GNU, it is naive to think they can ever do it now! Without implementing the democratic reforms, Zimbabwe will stuck with a Zanu PF type dictatorship.
Even if Zanu PF thugs were to be removed from office the emerging government will be bedevilled by corruption and mediocrity, without reforms to force open debate and democratic competition, the leaders will be corrupt and incompetent, 'flawed and indecisive' as Ambassador would put it!
@ Mavaza
ReplyDelete“Millions of people in Zimbabwe are unable to get medical treatment as costs have skyrocketed. The demand of payment in forex has shown serious traits of extortion.
Only a lucky few have health insurance, while millions find themselves without rising inflation and corruption in Zimbabwe means healthcare is now a luxury only few can afford.
In twenty four hours I have lost over fifteen people who are known to me personally and to the country.
On the 30th December 2020 the nation lost five important people to COVID 19. These were all people known to me personally. This left me completely confused and feel cornered.
1. Gibson Gondo 2. Chester CEO Astra Zim 3. Karen Dhliwayo ex Chibuku-Zim 4. Thompson Dondo Impala car Hire -Zim 5. Masimba Tawengwa -Zim on a visit from UK 6. Mrs Shamuyarira the wife of the former late minister and national hero 7. Worthwhile Mugabe a friend and businessman from Bulawayo. 8. Emmanuel Chimwanda former Police Assistant Commissioner 9. John Dzadambuka a socialite 10. George Toropa.
There are plenty more whose names miss the media and they are not statics. The sad thing on all this is that all the above except one died in a very expensive hospital. Masimba died in Arundel ten minutes after he was put on a ventilator. Not before they took two thousand five hundred US dollars from him. There will be no refund coming from the Hospital. Many people are paying for a place to die not to be healed.
I had to check the author of this article twice and still find it hard to believe it was you, Dr Mavaza who wrote it since you are the one who has sang Zanu PF’s praises at every turn.
You are right Zimbabwe’s health care service has all but completely collapsed “many people are paying for a place to die not to be healed”. Many, many more people are so poor they are suffering and dying without ever being admitted to any hospital.
Again, you are right there are hell lot more people with corona virus and who died of the virus “whose names miss the media and they are not statics”. Zanu PF had deliberately failed to test and under reported the corona virus cases to hide the truth and the regime’s blundering incompetence in the handling of the pandemic. The move has only helped the virus spread and so many more people caught the virus and many more will die!
Zimbabwe is a very wealthy nation as we know from the 1980s and before that. The reason why millions of our people are living in abject poverty today is because of 40 years of gross mismanagement, rampant corruption and rank lawlessness. The root cause of Zimbabwe’s economic and political mess is decades of misrule - a man-made problem.
It is a great tragedy that it has taken the suffering and deaths of so many innocent Zimbabweans to finally open your eyes and see this Zanu PF thugs for what they are - corrupt, incompetent and murderous tyrants.
It is not that MDC leaders do not understand the need for reforms, many of them do.
ReplyDelete"I totally agree that we missed an opportunity during GNU when we controlled the levers of power that we should maybe have exerted more pressure on Zanu-PF to have all these things reformed," said Prince Dubeko Sibanda, MDC Alliance MP for Binga North. This was last year.
MDC leaders did not implement the reforms during the GNU and have all but given up on reforms for the same reasons Mugabe and his Zanu PF cronies jettisoned “One man! One vote!” to impose the de facto one party dictatorship. Of course, Mugabe and company understood the need for freedom and human rights, after all that was ostensibly, at least in the beginning, what the liberation war was about.
MDC and Zanu PF leaders jettisoned reforms and the liberation war values and ideals, respectively, because greed got the better of them.
Imposing the dictatorship secured absolute power for the Zanu PF ruling elite and so the party cadres supported the imposing of the dictatorship even when it meant riding roughshod over the masses.
Mugabe gave Tsvangirai and company an offer they could not refuse - ditch the reforms and you will join the exclusive ruling elite club as the country’s official opposition party.
The real important issue here is whether or not the ordinary people are smart enough to see what has happened. Sadly, many Zimbabweans are so narrow minded, thick and slow, they have their heads buried in the sand, they have completely failed to comprehend anything even with all the benefit of hindsight.
MDC has failed to bring about even one democratic change in 20 years, 5 of which in the GNU; that should have alarm bells ringing with church bells in every Zimbabwean’s mind. Sadly, many minds out there are as good as dead; decades of mental inactivity have resulted in brain tissue atrophying into fat, impermeable to reason and logic.
No Zimbabwean in his/her right mind would be supporting any of the MDC leaders, not after their blatant betrayal in failing to implement even one reform during the GNU. Sadly both Chamisa and Mwonzora will continue to enjoy a lot of support for years to come; a mark of how far this nation has yet to go before there can ever be a healthy and functioning democracy!
@ Grace Kwinjeh
ReplyDelete“We are trying to imagine a Zimbabwe whose politicians are compassionate to our suffering. Imagine just for this once, a country in which the Coronavirus is not a tool to score political points.
“We are imagining a country in which politicians give citizens reprieve or rest from the incessant political bickering, which has been an emotionally exhausting and draining process.
“The strain and anxiety from the pandemic is in itself enough, meaning that we have to be spared in this season from any further emotional bludgeoning by power hungry politicians.
“I argue here that, this kind of retrogressive politics has resulted in the high fatality rates suffered in the United Kingdom (UK) now at over 75,000, with a high record of 58,784 new cases just last Monday alone – according reports this is a result of the fast-spreading new strain of the Coronvirus.
“Meanwhile, in the US there are more than 20.7million confirmed cases and 353,000 fatalities.
“Consequently, as I have argued before, the machismo leaders in these countries, were more concerned with power retention, rationale science leading to procrastination and a resulting senseless loss of lives, black women or minorities suffering the most.
“A lot of the measures Johnson is taking now could have been taken months ago.
“Before I even get far with Chamisa's response, I tried to find what his shadow minister for health (name?) has been offering as an alternative in response to the pandemic, to both government, citizens and even their party supporters, I found nothing.
“More intriguing as I argue further, is that, is it a mere coincidence that Mbare an apparent MDC-Alliance stronghold, recorded the highest number of Covidiots, over the festive season, who in their hundreds attended against all wisdom a New Year's eve super spreader crossover bash.”
A thought provoking article, thank you.
There are no quality politicians on both sides of the political divide; you cannot get blood from a stone no matter how much one may wish it! We will never have sound policies from Mnangagwa or Chamisa they are corrupt, incompetent and devoid of any common sense.
The challenge we are facing in Zimbabwe is two fold:
we, the people, must take challenge of electing quality leaders with the serious and urgency the matter demands.
must change our political system from the present one that has allowed mediocre leaders into position of power.
It is really disheartening that millions of our people are now living in abject poverty because of 40 years of gross mismanagement, rampant corruption and rank lawlessness. These people are travelling to SA at a time when there is very little hope of earning a living there since SA is on lockdown too, just like Zimbabwe.
ReplyDeleteWorse still these people are taking a serious risk of getting corona virus and spreading it with all this movement during a lockdown but it underlines just how desperate they are.
The real tragedy here is that Zimbabwe had the golden opportunity to implement the democratic reforms during the 2008 to 2013 GNU, which implemented would have ended the curse of rigged elections and bad governance once and for all! Mugabe bribed Morgan Tsvangirai and his MDC friends and the rest is history.
We have an illegitimate government in Harare and it is none other than MDC leaders who give the regime legitimacy. By participating in flawed and illegal elections MDC are giving legitimacy to the vote rigging Zanu PF for the purpose of winning the few gravy train seats that Zanu PF has been giving away as bait.
We cannot accomplish anything of substance if we keep shooting ourselves in the foot by failing to implement democratic reforms even when we have the golden opportunity to do so.
MDC leaders are hell bend on dragging the nation into yet another meaningless election in 2023 by participating in flawed elections. This madness must come to an end!