The Greeks all those 2 500 years ago appreciated the importance of educated and diligent citizens for democracy, government of the people, for the people and by the people, to work; and hence the reason they put so much emphasis on safeguarding freedom of expression.
It is no secret that Zimbabwe’s dominant public media is but
an arm of Zanu PF’s propaganda department in all but name whose sole purpose
has been to brainwash the people. Any hope of the small private media taking up
the challenge of educating the people has been dashed the regime’s open
hostility to stifle freedom of expression and, it must be, said by the
mediocracy of staff in the private media.
“Charamba's statement 'Military won't hand over power' implies
that the country was liberated by Zanu-PF and it solely belongs to Zanu-PF and
that holding the 2023 elections is a waste of time and resources because it is
a foregone conclusion,” reported Newsday.
“The remarks also indicate where the centre of power lies and that the army
decides who rules Zimbabwe regardless of the election result, which is exactly
what happened in 2008 when Zanu-PF refused to hand over power and reluctantly
shared it with MDC.
“It is, therefore, not clear, whether it makes sense to hold elections in 2023
considering that people like Charamba openly tell the nation that our vote does
not matter.”
Fcuk me! (Pardon my French but this is really infuriating!)
The 2008 elections were a watershed election in that they
proved beyond all doubt that it was futile to expect the country’s elections to
be free, fair and credible whilst Zanu PF retained such a strangle hold on the
nation’s key institution such as ZEC, Police, CIO and Army. SADC leaders realised
this and forced Robert Mugabe to agree to the implementation of a raft of
democratic reforms. The primary task of the GNU was to implement the reforms.
The task of implementing the reforms fell to Morgan
Tsvangirai and his MDC friends. Mugabe bribed the MDC leaders with the
trappings of high office and for the next five years not even the nagging by
SADC leaders could get Tsvangirai and company to implement even one token
reform.
For anyone therefore to still be asking “whether it makes
sense to hold elections in 2023”, knowing fully well that not even one reform
has been implemented and Zanu PF still enjoys all its dictatorial powers; only
goes to show he/she has no clue what the GNU was about even now with all the
benefit of hindsight! Worst of all, that the clueless individual is a full-time
private media reporter; the very people entrusted the responsible to enlighten
the brainwashed public!
“MDC Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa is fighting for
democracy, like what the late former President Robert Mugabe fought for
(although he deviated from the ethos of the struggle) against the Rhodesian
regime. Therefore, Charamba should not instil fear in Chamisa's backers,”
continued Newsday.
This is just rubbish! Nelson Chamisa and his fellow MDC were
in the 2008 to 2013 GNU, he was one of the MDC-T Ministers for crying out loud,
and, just like the rest of the MDC leaders, had his snout in the feeding trough
and failed no propose even one reform in five years.
ALLIES Morgen Komichi, Vincent Tsvangirai, Tapiwa Mashakada and Paurina Mupariwa have made it into MDC-T president Douglas Mwonzora’s shadow cabinet announced Thursday.
ReplyDeleteThe four, who left favourable MDC Alliance to support Mwonzora’s takeover of MDC-T’s leadership are among 32 others who will “shadow” President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s appointees in Cabinet and Provincial offices.
Zimbabwe is in this economic and political mess because for 41 years and counting the nation has been stuck with a corrupt and tyrannical regime, Zanu PF, that has rigged elections to stay in power. What the nation has been dying for is democratic change to end the curse of rigged elections and bad governance.
Mwonzora and his fellow MDC-T friends including those now in the rival faction MDC A like Chamisa and Biti sold out during the 2008 to 2013 GNU and failed to implement even one reform. And by insisting on participating in these flawed and illegal elections these opposition opportunists have given vote rigging Zanu PF legitimacy. Zanu PF has dangled a few gravy train seats to entice the opposition to participate and they have found the bribe irresistible.
Millions of Zimbabweans are now living in abject poverty, the country’s basic services such as education and health care have all but collapsed, this is unsustainable, and we must end the curse of rigged elections by demanding democratic reforms BEFORE elections. We must denounce Zanu PF holding flawed elections and all the opposition sell-outs who continue to participate in these elections.
“It has set Africa in a very positive light. Africa must be seen as a continent of excellent values, standards, ideas and processes. Africa must be known for its strong institutions and smooth transitions. Zambian elections confirm that narrative. A narrative we must sustain,” he said.
ReplyDelete“Elections must not just be about an empty pursuit of power without the responsibility to serve. Elections must empower each and every citizen to determine the collective destiny of a nation. State institutions must respect and not disrespect, invalidate or disregard the will of the citizens,” he said.
He expressed confidence in state institutions’ ability to allow for power transfer in the event of citizens having voted against the incumbents.
“In the case of Zimbabwe, we have many patriotic men and women in uniform with exceptional integrity and duty to the constitution. Any vote by the citizens shall be upheld and respected,” Chamisa said
I totally agree with Tsitsi Dangarembga who recently dismissed Nelson Chamisa’s endless gravel as “mumbo jumbo”. The man is a village idiot who talks too much and none of it makes any sense. Zimbabwe has never held free, fair and credible elections because Zanu PF has corrupted our state institutions; the 2008 elections proved this beyond all doubt. SADC leaders forced Mugabe to agree to the implementation of democratic reforms to dismantle the dictatorship.
The task of implementing the reforms fell to Chamisa and his fellow MDC leaders and in the five years of the GNU they failed to implement even one reform. It is therefore rich for Chamisa to now be preaching to Africa’s leaders on free and fair elections and good governance when it was him and his MDC friends who sold out on Zimbabwe’s chance to achieve these things!
The people of Zimbabwe must wake-up to the political reality that Chamisa and his mumbo jumbo is not going to get them out of the mess the nation is stuck in. Indeed, right now Chamisa is gearing to participate in the 2023 elections regardless of the certainty Zanu PF is rigging the elections.
TRANSFORM Zimbabwe president Jacob Ngarivhume, who organised the world famous #31July Movement last year, has petitioned the parliament to expeditiously implement electoral reforms and address the issue of human rights violation urgently or face mass street protests.
ReplyDeleteThis is just politicking, Ngarivhume will do anything to get public attention!
If electoral reforms are as important as he is making us believe here, then why the Dickens did he participate in the 2018 elections with no electoral reforms in place?
If parliament fails to implement even one meaningful reform, will this stop Ngarivhume participating in the 2023 elections?
Zimbabweans must wake-up and stop be conned by these opposition opportunists who are now working to keep Zanu PF in power!
“We understand that we have been affected by what Mr Mnangagwa has been doing. But thank God, he has done a fantastic thing for us. He has managed to reorganise us by taking away from us the bad elements and the bad apples.
ReplyDelete“And our basket of good apples is sure to provide that hope to the people of Zimbabwe. Young people I know you can do it. Let’s go out there and register to vote,” said Chamisa.
The March 2020 Supreme Court judgement that has resulted in Chamisa losing the leadership of MDC-T, recall of MDC A or losing them to MDC-T and losing the party HQ are all the consequences of his unconstitutional seizure of the party leadership after Tsvangirai’s death. To keep on blaming Mnangagwa for this is childish, to say the least!
Responding to Charamba’s remarks, Biti said the former should be charged with treason and incitement of public violence. Said Biti:
ReplyDeleteThe remarks of the regime’s spokesman Mr George Charamba are not only false but treasonous and designed to create public disorder and despondency.
In a normal country, George Charamba would be charged with treason and incitement of public violence.
The truth however is that George Charamba is not a spokesperson for the military. The military is a legitimate constitutional body that will defend the constitution and the people of Zimbabwe.
The attempt to politicise the same and to suck same into internal party politics and ZANU factions is deranged and ahistorical Change will occur in Zimbabwe sooner rather than later.
Change is the only constant variable. That change will be part of a new consensus. A new United Vision that will establish a sustainable democratic great Zimbabwe in which all are free to pursue justice, prosperity and happiness
The sheer naivety of the MDC leaders beggars belief!
“The military is a legitimate constitutional body that will defend the constitution and the people of Zimbabwe.” This is all wishful thinking because we all know that the army, just like many other state institutions, has been captured and corrupted by Zanu PF to turn it into a department of the party serving the party goal of resisting regime change at all costs. Was the army being legitimate and constitutional when it played its party in the 2008 wanton violence or the 2017 military coup?
If anyone should be charged with high treason then you, Tendai Biti, and your MDC friend must be charged too for your part in the failure to implement even one reform in five years of the GNU. We would have a law-abiding Army, Police, Judiciary, etc. if you lot had not sold-out and implemented the democratic reforms!
There is no denying that the Army, as it is presently constituted, will never allow anyone whom the top brass consider a threat to their own selfish interests to rule Zimbabwe. If the army would topple one of their own Zanu PF ruling elite, Robert Mugabe, in a military coup as happened in 2017, it is naive to think they will not do that against anyone elect out there.
ReplyDeleteWhat is infuriate here is that the nation had the golden opportunity to implement the democratic reforms designed to end Zanu PF's strangle hold on the Army and all the other state institutions and the opportunity was wasted because MDC leaders sold-out!