“Zimbabwe is indeed open for business including our air
space where Ethiopian Airways had its maiden trip to Bulawayo today. There was
water canon salute for the inaugural Ethiopian airlines flight connecting
Bulawayo and Addis Ababa, becoming the first airline to service Bulawayo!” read
the WhatsApp text.
The text was accompanied with a photograph of the Ethiopian
plane on the tarmac and in the foreground a water canon shooting a jet of water
at the plane!
Following his visit to Zimbabwe soon after independence,
Ken Yamamoto, a Japanese scholar and analyst, said the country had the
potential to become the South Korea of Africa. After decades of corrupt and
tyrannical Zanu PF misrule, there is no denying we are the North Korea of
Africa.
Zimbabwe is a pariah state, a failed state, ruled by
corrupt, incompetent and murderous thugs who have rigged elections to retain
their iron grip on power. And as long as the country remains a pariah state;
there will be no meaningful economic recovery.
The Zanu PF propaganda machine has always gone into
overdrive celebrating every positive development, many of the developments long
overdue and over budget, the nation has done. What the regime has been very
careful to hide is the regime’s many failures. For every one step forward, the
nation has taken five or more steps backwards.
One positive step forward followed by five negative steps
backwards = four negative steps backward
No among of propaganda or spin will change the negative
backward steps into positive forward steps.
Ever since the country’s independence in 1980 Zimbabwe’s
economic trajectory has been negative. The seizure of the white own farms to
give to Zanu PF loyalists mostly aided by the idiotic printing of money that
saw inflation soar to dizzying height of 500 billion percent accelerate the economic
meltdown. The Zimbabwe economic shrunk by a world record 50%, for a country not
at war, in the period 2000 to 2008 alone.
The economy has never really recovered even after the
scrapping of the of the worthless Z$ during the 2008 to 2013 GNU because no meaningful
democratic reforms to dismantle the dictatorship were implemented.
When Mnangagwa replaced Mugabe following the November 2017
military coup he promised to stamp out corruption and hold free, fair and
credible elections. These changes would have gone along way to end the pariah
state and restore business confidence. Sadly, he did not keep his promises and so
Zimbabwe remained a pariah state or be it under a new dictator.
In the 42 years of Zanu PF rule the country’s basic
services such as education and health care have all but collapsed. Millions have
left the country to escape the economic chaos and/or political tyranny. The country
has a staggering 80% plus skilled manpower shortage in many key sectors such as
engineering, education, health care and farming. How the country can survive
let alone thrive without skilled manpower, an ill-educated population, etc. beggars
belief!
“Zimbabwe is indeed open for business!” Yeah right! 1 – 5 = -ve 4 not +ve 4!
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.
ReplyDelete"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.
"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."
Lord Robert Hayward is right in saying there will be no free elections in Zimbabwe without first implementing the democratic reforms.
However, he is barked up the wrong tree; it is not for ZEC to implement reforms to ensure ZEC is independent. It is for parliament to implement the reforms and the Zanu PF controlled parliament will never do it. Zanu PF will never reform itself out of office.
The window of opportunity to implement reforms was during the 2008 to 2013 GNU. Nelson Chamisa and his CCC (then MDC) friends failed to implement even one reform for the same reasons they continue participating in these flawed elections to give Zanu PF legitimacy – greed and incompetence.
CCC are hell bent on participating in 2023 elections knowing fully well Zanu PF is rigging because they also know Zanu PF is giving away a few gravy train seats to entice the opposition to participate. They find the bait irresistible!
If we are serious about wanting free elections in Zimbabwe, we must not only confront Zanu PF intransigence but CCC duplicity. Zanu PF would not be still in power today if MDC had implemented the reforms or stopped participating in flawed elections!
@ honet
ReplyDeleteElections are first and foremost about giving the ordinary citizens a meaningful say in the governance of the country. Zanu PF has denied the people that right by rigging elections. The "comatose" CCC, as you called them, have participated in these flawed elections out of greed. The need for free and fair elections is still important particularly since this is the only peaceful way to end the dictatorship and end the tragic suffering it has brought!
@ Muzezuru
ReplyDeleteYes British Lords are unelected, at least there are there with the blessing of the elected House of Common. In Zimbabwe not even one official can say they were elected by the people since the country has never held free, fair and credible elections!
@ Oneday Dirorimwe
ReplyDeletewhatever method is used to vote in a country the process is simple, credible, free and fair.in whose eyes must the election be fair? only the ZEC can verify.
The voters’ roll must be a public document accessible by all stakeholders to ensure all those with the write to vote are afforded the opportunity to do so and that only those with that right are in the roll. Zimbabwe has never ever produced a verified voters’ roll. Why?