“MDC-T leader Douglas Mwonzora has claimed that Zimbabweans have no plan that could remove the ruling Zanu-PF party at elections,” reported Bulawayo 24.
It would have been more accurate for Mwonzora to say "Zimbabwe's opposition parties not only have no plan to remove Zanu PF from power but, more significantly, they are now they ones keeping the regime in power!”
It took the people of Zimbabwe nearly 20 years for them to accept that Zanu PF was dragging the nation into mass poverty instead of mass prosperity, “Gutsa ruzhinji!” as Mugabe never tired of repeating. When the people tried to remove the regime from office, they soon realised they would never do it as long as Zanu PF retained its carte blanche dictatorial powers to rig elections.
The people realised that only sure way to remove Zanu PF from office was by implementing the democratic reforms designed to stop Zanu PF rigging elections. Implement the democratic reforms to restore the individual freedoms and rights usurped by the de facto one-party, Zanu PF, dictatorship was and still is a sound plan guaranteed to end the Zanu PF dictatorship.
For the last 22 years, Zimbabweans have risked life and limb to elect MDC leaders into power on the understanding the party would implementing the reforms the nation was dying for. The party has had many opportunities to implement the reforms notably during the 2008 to 2013 GNU but wasted them all.
MDC leaders have failed to implement even one token democratic reform in 22 years and so Zanu PF still enjoys its carte blanche dictatorial powers including powers to rig elections. After the blatant cheating and wanton violence in the 2008 elections it was crystal clear Zimbabwe will never have free, fair and credible elections as long as Zanu PF retained these dictatorial powers.
All the opposition parties who have participated in Zimbabwe’s elections post 2008 have all known that without reforms to end Zanu PF’s dictatorial powers, Zanu PF will rig the elections and retain power - guaranteed.
However, the opposition parties have participated in these flawed elections regardless because they also knew that Zanu PF was giving away a few gravy train seats to entice the opposition to participate.
So the opposition were participating in elections knowing fully well the elections were a blatant denial of the people’s right to a meaningful say in the governance of the country and their participation will never remove Zanu PF from office. They were participating for the sake of the share in the spoils of power.
Robert Mugabe and his fellow Zanu PF thugs were forced to go into the 2008 to 2013 GNU because no one, not even SADC and AU known for endorsing dodgy elections in the past, would endorse the 2008 elections as free and fair and an expression of the democratic will of the people of Zimbabwe. Mugabe and company knew by failing to hold free and fair elections they will, per se, lose the legitimacy of the people’s democratic mandate.
Zanu PF’s plan has been to entice the opposition to participate in the flawed and illegal elections by dangling a few gravy train seats in their faces. The party will entice the naive and gullible public to participating in the elections by spreading propaganda down playing Zanu PF’s power to rig elections.
Thus Zanu PF has managed to present the many opposition parties and candidates contesting Zimbabwe elections as proof the elections were free, fair and credible. Why would the opposition participate if they KNEW the elections were flawed and illegal?
Meanwhile, Zanu PF has been careful to portray each election result as a very close run affair and thus giving the gullible public hope Zanu PF can be removed from office with no democratic reforms in place. Indeed, Zanu PF is spending a fortune, second only to that spent in running the vote rigging juggernaut, into brainwashing the public into believing the opposition’s hare-brain “Winning In Rigged Elections (WIRE) strategies” are working and Zanu PF is on the ropes!
SADC leaders warned Morgan Tsvangirai and his MDC colleagues of the sheer folly of participating in elections without first implementing the reforms. “If you go into the elections next month (July 2013); you will lose. The elections are done!” they warned.
As we know, MDC leaders paid no heed to the warning and, as expected, Zanu PF went on to blatantly rig the July 2013 elections.
Nelson Chamisa, who had replaced Morgan Tsvangirai following his death in 2018, participated in the 2018 election so flawed ZEC did not even have something as basic as a verified voters’ roll. “MDC A has stringent measures (new word for WIRE strategies) to stop Zanu PF rigging the elections!” Chamisa boasted. All hot air, of course.
Douglas Mwonzora is right, he, Nelson Chamisa, Lovemore Madhuku and the rest contesting the 2023 elections know, with no reforms, Zanu PF will rig the elections to secure 2/3 majority and the presidency. They will be fighting over the remaining 1/3 of the gravy train seats, the share of the annual Political Party Finance Act payout and the POLAD perks, a new addition.
If the people of Zimbabwe are serious about the full restoration of their basic freedoms and rights including the right to a meaningful say in the governance of the country, then they must demand the implementation of the reforms before elections. Implementing the reforms was a sound plan to remove Zanu PF from power 22 years ago; it is still a sound plan today.
In his book, Twilight of the Idols, written in 1888, German philosopher, poet and writer, Friedrich Nietzsche, penned the quote “What does not kill me makes me stronger.” He repeated the axiom in his autobiography, Ecce Homo, which was sadly his last literary work before his death in August 1900, at the age of 55.
ReplyDeleteAmerican basketball player, Kobe Bryant, “great things come from hard work and perseverance. No excuses.”
EXILED former Zanu PF politburo member Jonathan Moyo’s offer to assist MDC Alliance polling agents ahead of the 2023 general elections has left the opposition party sharply divided, with some senior officials vowing to resist his approaches.
ReplyDeleteMoyo’s helping hand is part of a united approach to unseat President Emmerson Mnangagwa and Zanu PF in what has been termed the Citizens’ Convergence for Change.
He offered to train 44 000 approved and security cleared MDC Alliance polling agents for 11 000 polling stations and support all polling agents from his home district, Tsholotsho, with assistance from colleagues.
Moyo’s overtures are facing resistance from two of Chamisa’s co-deputies Tendai Biti and Welshman Ncube as well as its treasurer-general David Coltart.
“The problem is that there are those who feel Moyo has no boundaries when it comes to speech and can spill secrets at any time when you least expect it,” said the source,” a senior party official said.
“The national executive is divided on the matter and as it stands no decision has been made on how to deal with his offer and whether or not he should take a leading role in defending the vote in 2023. The president is open to the idea but is still considering whether it is the wisest decision,” the source said.
Of all the people, Professor Jonathan Moyo knows just how corrupt, incompetent and utterly useless MDC leaders are - their failure to implement even one reform during the 2008 to 2013 GNU speaks volumes. He must be pretty desperate to yoke himself with this lot.
There is no way Zanu PF will ever lose an election which the party has carte blanche powers to rig, Jonathan Moyo that. The election agents he is offering to train will not stop Zanu PF winning the elections because the vote rigging is not confined to the voting day alone. Indeed, the vote rigging is already at very advance state, by denying 3 million in the diaspora the vote, for example.
It is quiet possible that Moyo wants Chamisa and company to participate in the 2023 elections, their participation will go a long way in giving Mnangagwa legitimacy. Moyo will then pull the rag under Chamisa and company leaving them to hang high and dry.
Of course, even a buffoon like Mnangagwa will appreciate the service and it would not be the first time Jonathan Moyo did Zimbabwe’s dictators a great favour and earn back the dictator’s gratitude and forgiveness! He pulled that off with Mugabe, a much smarter dictator and therefore can do the same with a buffoon like Mnangagwa.
Many of Chamisa’s subordinates have good reason to be wary of Professor Jonathan Moyo, the one thing one can be certain of is that he is up to mischief and one is worried they are not the target!
Part 1 of 2
ReplyDeletePRESENT day Bangladesh is one of the developing economies of the world.
In 2015, Bangladesh graduated from LDC status and became a low-middle-income country.
Many Asian and European including American economists hope that soon Bangladesh will become one of the middle-income countries in the world.
Today, Bangladesh is moving forward at a relentless pace in various indicators of the economy.
Today, Bangladesh is rapidly advancing in the areas of national growth, per capita national income, export income, foreign exchange reserves, electricity, communication, economic and social infrastructure, essential for development, etc.
All African countries can follow the ‘Bangladesh Economic Rise Model’ in this regard.
Despite the global epidemic of the coronavirus, the per capita national income of Bangladesh is positive.
According to various local and international media outlets, in the fiscal year 2019-2020, the per capita income of Bangladesh was 2064 US dollars.
And in the fiscal year 2020-2021, this income has increased to US$2 228. In the fiscal year 2018-2019, the GDP growth of Bangladesh was 8.15%.
And in the fiscal year 2019-2020, this growth has been 5.24%. According to the ADB report, in the 2020-2021 and 2021-22 fiscal year, this growth is expected to be 6.8% and 7.2% respectively even in this Covid-19 pandemic.
Part 2 of 2
ReplyDeleteAccording to the Center for Economic and Business Research (CIBR), a British economic research institute, Bangladesh will be the 34th largest economy by 2025, 26th by 2030, and 25th by 2035 if the current economy continues to grow and develop.
While the global economy is in the grip of the Corona epidemic, where the global economy is stagnant, where the world’s GDP and GDP, and per capita income are stable or negative, Bangladesh’s economy is moving forward, albeit at a relatively slow pace.
And one of the strengths or factors behind this move is the growth of its overall export earnings, the growing inflow of remittances, and the positive flow of per capita national income.
Africa can follow the Bangladesh model of how to overcome economic stagflation during the Covid-19 period.
According to a survey by the World Bank’s Multi-Donor Trust Fund the Global Knowledge Partnership and Development, Bangladesh ranks 8th among the top ten countries in the world in terms of remittance flows by 2020.
At present, Bangladesh’s remittance reserves are over US$45 billion and Bangladesh ranks 45th in the world in terms of remittances. According to an EPP statistic, in the first ten months of the 2020-2021 fiscal year, Bangladesh’s export earnings were US$32.07 billion, an increase of 8.75% over the same period last year.
This rise and progress of Bangladesh’s economy is now a surprise to the whole world. People all over the world are now amazed at this progress of Bangladesh. State thinkers, economists, and big newspapers of different countries are now praising Bangladesh.
They are monitoring our economic development strategy. Some countries are also considering whether this development strategy can be followed or implemented in their countries. The above-mentioned states can think widely in this regard.
It is understood that the development strategy of Bangladesh has aroused response among the policymakers and thinkers of the United States.
Another US daily, the Wal-Mart Journal, recently wrote that Bangladesh’s economy is now the most ‘fast horse’ in South Asia. Mike Hard, a commentator for the Washington Post, writes that at one time South Korea was cited as an example of development. Now Bangladesh has occupied that place.
Zimbabwe has been stuck with this corrupt, incompetent Zanu PF dictatorship that has dragged the nation deeper and deeper into the economic abyss. Corruption and mismanagement have been allowed to grow and spread and now they are the cancers killing the nation.
Meanwhile Zanu PF has dug in and will never admit they have failed much less give up power. The regime insists the country is on course to become an upper middle income nation by 2030. Vision 2030 remains a reality although all the indicators show the country is going in the wrong direction!
First things first, we must fight to end the curse of rigged elections and bad governance; this country is not escaping from this hell-hole as long as we remain a Banana Republic.
Postponing by-elections for fear of the corona virus pandemic is one thing but even that is subject to review. To talk of postponing national elections still two years away for fear of corona, when the nation might well have achieved herd immunity targets by then, is premature.
ReplyDeleteThe suggestion that Zanu PF and MDC - T can meet and agree to postpone the elections, to allow time for meaningful reforms to be implemented, is a nonsense that must be dismissed with the contempt it rightly deserve. Those in power, i.e. Zanu PF and the opposition, are responsible for making sure the next elections are free, fair and credible and go ahead on time. If they are not going to deliver free elections and on time, for whatever reasons, then they must step down and let the nation decide what to do next.
The suggestion those who have failed the nation should grant themselves leave to extend their stay in office to fulfil their duties is preposterous as those who have betrayed the nation are being allowed to benefit from their wrong doing - a very dangerous precedence!
The people of Zimbabwe did indeed have a plan on how to end the Zanu PF dictatorship; they understood that as long as the regime was able to rig elections there would be no meaningful democratic change in Zimbabwe. The people appreciated the need for democratic reforms of the country's warped and tyrannical political system. Sadly, the people themselves had no clue what these reforms are much less how they were to be implemented and therefore it is no surprise they made the foolish mistake of electing and entrusting Morgan Tsvangirai and his MDC friends the task to implement the reforms.
ReplyDeleteTsvangirai and company too had no clue what the reforms are or how they were to be implemented.
SADC leaders did all the ground work in preparing the implementation of the reforms by getting Robert Mugabe and his Zanu PF thugs to agree in the 2008 Global Political Agreement to the implementation of a raft of democratic reforms. SADC leaders left it to the MDC leaders to implement the reforms. Even with all the ground work done for them, MDC leaders were still not up to the task.
Robert Mugabe bribed the MDC leaders with the trappings of high office and they completely forgot about the reforms for five years of the GNU. Not even the constant nagging by SADC leaders could get Tsvangirai and company to implement even one token reform.
Of course, Douglas Mwonzora is being honest in admitting that neither he nor any of his fellow opposition leaders have a plan to remove Zanu PF from office. They are all fighting over the few gravy train seats Zanu PF is giving away as bait, they have accepted the political reality that Zanu PF has the divine right to rig elections.
MDC have a plan to remove Zanu PF from office no more than Abel Muzorewa had a plan to remove Ian Smith from office. It was Ian Smith whose plan was to include Abel Muzorewa in his regime as window dressing so that he could then claim it was a black government.
ReplyDeleteZanu PF has likewise decided to allow the opposition to win a few gravy train seats so it can point to that as proof Zimbabwe is a healthy and functioning multi-party state. Thanks to the MDC leaders' selling out on reforms and participating in flawed elections; Zanu PF has had its cake and eat it too! Zanu PF has retained all its carte blanche dictatorial powers and yet continue to claim elections are free, fair and credible.
By participating in these flawed and illegal elections MDC leaders are giving vote rigging Zanu PF legitimacy. This is insane and must be stopped, the world must know that the MDC has lost political credibility and per se cannot give Zanu PF legitimacy!
@ Dobbs
ReplyDelete“This is one of useless opinion. ZANU PF is clear that it will not reform it's self out of power and give cosmetic reforms. It's up to the opposition to come up with strategies which counter riggings. The MDC A and other parties seems to have strategies which limits the success of rigging.”
Of course, Zanu PF is not going to reform itself out of office, Zanu PF thugs are stupid but not that stupid. The best chance of implementing the democratic reforms was during the 2008 to 2013 GNU. It is a great pity that MDC leaders sold-out and failed to implement even one reform but that does not mean we don’t need reforms implemented or that there is no one else who can implement them.
“It's up to the opposition to come up with strategies which counter riggings.” Only someone who confuses free, fair and credible elections as a fundamental right and the basis of good governance with a privilege to be given today and denied tomorrow at the whim of a dictator; would utter such nonsense.
Since the MDC leaders have turned out to be corrupt and incompetent, they clearly had no clue how to implement any reforms even when they had the golden opportunity to do so during the 2008 to 2013 GNU and have no strategies to counter rigging; does that mean the nation is doomed!
Zanu PF does not have the divine right to rig elections and Zimbabweans must demand free, fair and credible elections not as a favour but a right!
As long as there are no meaningful reforms implemented to ensure the elections are free, fair and credible; Zanu PF will blatantly rig the elections. As much as one would want to see elections be held as regular as clock work in accordance to the constitution however one cannot pretend constitutional provisions calling for free, fair and credible elections are not important. They are very important.
ReplyDeleteBy failing to hold free, fair and credible elections Zimbabwe has made a complete mockery of elections. After 41 years of rigged elections some has to call a halt to this madness.
It is good we have managed to hold regular elections but sadly they have not been free, fair and credible. We are now demanding regular, free, fair and credible elections. If Zanu PF is incapable of delivering such elections, after 41 years they are clearly incapable, then we must find others who will!
The next elections must be regular, free, fair and credible - none of these demands are negotiable. None!