“When @nelsoncha became Minister of ICT, a mobile phone
SIM card was US$200 in Zimbabwe due to the incompetence and looting of Zanu PF.
It took Chamisa less than a month to bring the price of a
SIM card to first US$1 then 50 cents.
He did this when sanctions were in place.” Twittered Hopewell
Chin’ono.
True! And the message Mr Chin’ono is sending is clear: “Follow
Chamisa, he is the man who will get Zimbabwe out of this economic and political
mess!”
Chamisa and his CCC have come under increasing pressure
to justify why the party is insisting on participating in the 2023 elections
when it is crystal clear not even one token reform in place Zanu PF will rig
the 2023 elections just as it rigged the 2018 elections!
Speaking in the House of Lords Friday, Lord Robert
Hayward, who was an observer at the country's last general elections,
questioned the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission's (ZEC) capacity to provide an
uncontested poll, referencing the 2018 one.
"My Lords, reference has already been made to the elections in 2018; the
report was pretty damning, particularly in relation to the events after the
general election in 2018,” commented Lord Robert Hayward in a recent House of
Lords debate in UK.
"Can my noble friend ensure that very strong representations are made to
the electoral commission, because it has been lamentable in any action.
"It was before the 2018 election, and there is no sign that it will
enforce any form of free and fair elections next."
The debate has received wide social media and print media
coverage, once again highlighting the folly of participating in the elections
with no reforms.
Chamisa and his CCC friends are hell bent on
participating in these elections and Hopewell Chin’ono is one of those who have
backed CCC’s position to the halt. The twitter above is no doubt meant to
buttress that position by reminding us all what a competent Minister Chamisa
was during the GNU. Chin’ono only told a small part of the GNU story and one
has to ask why!
Nelson Chamisa and his MDC friends failed to implement
even one token reform in five years of the 2008 to 2013 GNU. How was that possible
especially for one who sorted the SIM card problem and a multiple of other
problems in record time?
The primary purpose of the GNU was to implement the
democratic reforms and restore the people’s freedoms and rights including the
right to a meaningful say in the governance of the country. Zanu PF was able to
rig the 2013 elections at the end of the GNU and get back into power precisely
because MDC failed to implement the reforms.
There is no doubt that implementing reforms was more
important and urgent than reducing the price of SIM cards, especially when
failing to implement reforms allowed Zanu PF back in power!
“Mazivavhu eMDC adzidza kudya anyerere!” (MDC leaders
have learned to enjoy the gravy train good-life, they will never rock the
boat!) boasted Zanu PF cronies during the GNU when asked why MDC leaders were
not implementing the reforms.
It was bad enough that MDC sold out by failing to implement
even one reform during the GNU the situation could have been redeemed if MDC
leaders paid heed to SADC leaders’ advice not to participate in the flawed
elections until reforms were implemented. They ignored the advice for the same
reasons they failed to implement reforms – greed and incompetence.
Whilst one can accept that my uncle and Nice in Zimbabwe’s
rural back waters will not know that the primary purpose of the GNU was to
implement reforms, that MDC leaders sold out by failing to implement reforms
and that it is insane to participate in the flawed elections to give Zanu PF
legitimacy. A town-wise person like Hopewell Chin’ono, Award winning
International Journalist| Film Maker | 2 Time African Journalist of The Year |
Africa Leadership Fellow I Nieman Fellow, will know ll these historic facts.
So, one has to ask why is savvy Chin’ono determined to
see CCC participate in a flawed elections process when the obvious and rational
thing to do is demand reforms, more so now after 42 years of rigged elections?
Whatever corner Hopewell is fighting for, it is not the long-suffering
ordinary Zimbabweans’ corner. Participating in these flawed elections will only
serve to perpetuate the Zanu PF dictatorship, that is the last thing povo want!
The ruling Zanu PF party has bought about 500 cars to use in the 2023 election campaign.
ReplyDeleteThe party has also spent millions of dollars on party regalia and the welfare of its VIPs.
According to NewsDay, the ruling party spent ZW$1.8 billion and over US$4.8 million from January to September on staff salaries, gratuities, transport, health and allowances for party bigwigs, among other expenses.
The local daily cited a report of Zanu PF’s recently held 7th national congress.
In the report, ZANU PF also acknowledged that the majority of Zimbabweans were not formally employed but earned their living from the informal sector, which it described as the “new mass employer.”
This is an indictment on President Mnangagwa who told delegates at his inauguration in 2017 that he would create “jobs, jobs, jobs.”
Zanu PF has all but given up hope of the party reviving the country’s economy. Mnangagwa will continue to wear his trademark scarf, the uniform of the “Zimbabwe is open for business!” brigade. Even he knows the call was a lead balloon that never took off. When he failed to delivery on his key promised to hold free and fair elections in 2018, no one was left in any doubt that Zimbabwe was still a pariah state or be it under a new dictator.
No one wants to do honest business in a pariah state; the criminal waste of human and material resources and the inherent lawlessness makes it near impossible to do honest business. Those doing business in a pariah know this is very risky and have inflated markup and are ever ready for a quick exit!
Change could come from piling pressure on Zanu PF to accept the need for reforms to ensure free and fair elections. MDC not only failed to implement reforms but are giving the regime legitimacy by insisting on participating in flawed elections under the idiotic claim the party has winning in rigged elections strategies. It is a great pity that there are some Zimbabweans out there who actually believe this nonsense even after 42 years of rigged elections!
BRITAIN will engage South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa to lead efforts to make African leaders put pressure on President Emmerson Mnangagwa to ensure that Zimbabwe's 2023 general elections are free, fair and credible.
ReplyDeleteThe deal was hatched in the British House of Lords on Thursday when MPs expressed concern that the polls may be marred by disputes over lack of transparency. Baroness Kate Hoey raised the matter.
"My Lords, the noble Lord, Lord Oates has outlined the shocking violence perpetrated by Zanu-PF and Mnangagwa on anyone, really, who opposes the regime."
"The economic situation is dire, and hunger is being used against anyone who opposes the regime." "Does not the visit of the South African President - the first state visit under His Majesty the King - give the government a wonderful opportunity to work with the South African government and talk to them about how they, and other countries in Africa, can influence together to ensure that there really will be free and fair elections next year in Zimbabwe?" she asked the UK's minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, Frank Zacharias Robin Goldsmith.
In his response, Goldsmith concurred and sealed the deal.
"The noble baroness has been a champion of Zimbabwe for many years, and I pay tribute to her for that. She is right to identify this upcoming visit as an opportunity."
"There is no doubt that South Africa, and indeed southern African countries, not least through Sadc, have a particular ability to influence Zimbabwe, far more so than we can. I am sure that the topic we are discussing today will be on the agenda when the visit happens," he said.
Ramaphosa has already said the crisis in Zimbabwe needs to be put on the table for discussions in order to resolve immigration problems caused by the country's citizens fleeing economic hardships.
He previously sent envoys to help resolve the crisis but was snubbed by Zanu-PF officials who claimed all was well in the country.
Diplomatic sources confirmed to The NewsHawks that, as a result, the ANC was shifting to the left and abandoning its soft stance on Zimbabwe.
SADC countries, particularly SA were disappointed by MDC’s failure to implement even one reform during the 2008 to 2013 GNU and the regional leaders endorse Zanu PF rigged elections in despair. Sadly, this has not helped Zimbabwe in any way as the country has sunk deeper and deeper into economic chaos and political paralysis.
If SADC leaders make the mistake of once again granting Zanu PF political legitimacy after the rigged 2023 elections there will be a new wave of economic and political refugees heading for SA, Botswana and Zambia in particular. These three SADC countries are under increasing pressure to stop rubber stamping rigged Zanu PF elections and perpetuate the dictatorship because they will have to deal with the consequences of increased refugees.
The solution for SADC is simple judge the Zimbabwe elections on the evidence put before you. Zanu PF is rigging these elections; just say so. What happens next is not for SADC to decide particularly since their last involvement was a failure thanks to MDC leaders selling out.
The Voters roll must be timeously accessible & independently audited to enhance transparency, scrutiny, & effective planning on the part of political stakeholders.
ReplyDeleteThis is just political posturing, Zanu PF has never produced a verified voters' roll and MDC has always participated in these flawed elections regardless. CCC will participate in the 2023 elections with no verified voters' roll, we all know this and so does Zanu PF and hence the reason Mnangagwa is ignoring Chamisa!