“Zanu-PF and MDC MPs showed rare unity on
Tuesday as they combined to demand better salaries for public sector workers
who have declared "incapacitation", reported Zimlive.
“Civil servants are currently working a two-day week – Mondays and Tuesdays –
after declaring a pay impasse with the government. They are demanding the RTGS
equivalent of US$540 per month for the lowest paid worker, up from the present
US$199 at the official exchange rate.”
This is all politicking, they are all
after cheap brownie points and they know it. The issue of poor civil servant
wages has going on for donkey years. The country’s health and education
services have all but completely collapsed after decades of underfunding.
The root cause of Zimbabwe’s economic
meltdown is the country’s failure to hold free, fair and credible elections.
All of our political opportunists know and yet not even one of them would dare
admit it much less do something about it. Zanu PF members know they are MPs
precisely because the party rigs elections and they have all played their part
in the rigging.
"The salaries are inadequate,
especially for those in rural areas," said Chikomba MP Joseph Chinotimba
(Zanu-PF).
"The current exchange rate is US$1
to 130 RTGS, that's the rate that is being used by most shops… We expect
immediate action to be taken on the matter, even if it means minister Mthuli
Ncube be called into the House to answer questions and to address the matter.
"At one time, the minister said that
the government has a surplus. How can you talk of surplus when the standard of
living for the majority has not improved and they are earning peanuts?"
Is this not the same Joseph Chinotimba who
spearheading the violent invasions of commercial farms in Zimbabwe. The same
Chinotimba who headed the Zanu PF operatives in Buhera in 2008 responsible for
the harassment, beatings, rape and brutal murder of Chokuse Mupango, popularly
known as Nyoka.
Zimbabwe is a pariah state governed by
corrupt, incompetent and murderous tyrants who have rigged elections to stay in
power these last 41 years and counting. Four decades of gross mismanagement and
rampant corruption have left the country’s once promising economy in ruins. And
as long as long Zimbabwe remain a pariah state there is no hope of any
meaningful economic recovery, no hope of teachers, nurses, etc. being paid a
living wage.
So, in the interest of national economic recovery
and paying teachers a living wage; would the right honourable Joseph Chinotimba,
Zanu PF MP for Chikomba, demand the implementation of democratic reforms, the
pre-requisite for holding free and fair elections and ending the curse of rigged
elections and pariah state?
Well, demanding that the pariah state
should pay teachers a living wage without first demanding the dismantling of
the pariah state is as nonsensical as expecting blood from a stone!
"An incentive is something which is
given to somebody in order for that person to be motivated or to be encouraged
so that they do more. The sad reality right now is that our civil servants
don't have anything. Their salaries are paltry. They cannot do anything
meaningful with their salaries," added Thokozani Khupe MDC-T.
The opposition MPs are no less hypocrites
than their Zanu PF counterparts. Dr Khupe was a senior MDC leader in the 2008
to 2013 GNU that failed to implement even one token democratic reform to
dismantle the Zanu PF dictatorship. This was the best chance the nation has
ever had to end the dictatorship and MDC leaders wasted it. Mugabe bribed them with
the trappings of high office and the rest is history.
Ever since the GNU debacle MDC and the
other opposition opportunists have participated in the flawed and illegal
elections knowing fully well that doing so would give the vote rigging Zanu PF
legitimacy. They also knew that Zanu PF was offering a few gravy train seats to
entice the opposition; these they found irresistible!
Zimbabwe’s economic recovery comes with a
price tag – meaningful democratic change. Neither the Zanu PF MPs nor the
opposition MPs, want democratic change and free, fair and credible elections. Zanu
PF MPs know they will reform themselves out of office.
MDC MPs know they lost the chance to
implement reforms during the GNU and an informed electorate will punish them
for it. They have since settled for the scraps Zanu PF gives away to entice the
opposition to participate in rigged elections and thus buy legitimacy.
“Zanu-PF, MDC MPs unite over civil
servants pay” They are united in paying lip service to economic recovery because
they all know this will come at the price democratic change and holding of free
and fair elections: a bridge too far for all of them!
Mutambara yesterday took to microblogging site Twitter, accusing Zanu PF of “giving its detractors a big stick to whip its behind”.
ReplyDelete“Zanu PF is begging for more economic sanctions,” he tweeted.
“Amendment No 2 gives its detractors reasons to maintain sanctions, constitutional violations, illegal judges, compromised Judiciary, the corrupt imperial presidency. Zanu PF is giving its detractors a big stick to whip its behind. It is pure idiocy.”
Zanu PF has 2/3 majority in parliament and in the senate and per se has the constitutional power to amend the constitution to argue otherwise is plain stupid.
The argument arise from the fact that Zanu PF got the 2/3 majority by rigging the elections and so one has to examine why the party was able to rig the elections and get away with it.
Zanu PF was able to rig elections because MDC leaders, including Mutambara, failed to implement the reforms when they had the golden chance to do so.
By participating in flawed and illegal elections MDC leaders have given legitimacy to the vote rigging Zanu PF. MDC have known this all along as David Coltart has admitted in his book.
“The worst aspect for me about the failure to agree a coalition was that both MDCs couldn’t now do the obvious – withdraw from the elections,” wrote Senator Coltart.
“The electoral process was so flawed, so illegal, that the only logical step was to withdraw, which would compel SADC to hold Zanu PF to account. But such was the distrust between the MDC-T and MDC-N that neither could withdraw for fear that the other would remain in the elections, winning seats and giving the process credibility.”
The very fact that so many Zimbabweans cannot understand the problem is with giving the vote rigging Zanu PF legitimacy goes to show the nation is not ready for a healthy and functioning democracy.
“Amendment No 2 gives its detractors reasons to maintain sanctions, constitutional violations, illegal judges, compromised Judiciary, the corrupt imperial presidency. Zanu PF is giving its detractors a big stick to whip its behind. It is pure idiocy.”
ReplyDeleteThis is just nonsense! Of course, Zanu PF has the constitution power and authority to amend the constitution by virtue of its 2/3 majority. The question that should have been asked is how the regime got its 2/3 majority since we know the elections were rigged. The finger of blame points to MDC for failing to implement reforms and then for participating in a flawed election giving the vote rigging Zanu PF legitimacy.
It is laughable that Zimbabweans are still failing to understand that MDC betrayed them and what is happening now is just some of the consequences. Wake up people!
Zimbabwe is a pariah state ruled by corrupt, incompetent and murderous thugs who have rigged elections to stay in power. Since the 2008 GNU the thugs have learned that they can rig and get away with it as long as they bribe the opposition with a few gravy train seats to lure them to participate.
ReplyDeleteAs long as Zimbabwe remains a pariah state there will be no meaningful economic recovery. I totally agree, the MPs are just paying lip service to demands for a living wage and economic recovery because they too have invested interest in keeping the pariah state