Nelson Chamisa is like Unoka, in Chinua Achebe’s book Things Fall Apart. Unoka wanted a good harvest but would not put in the hard work to earn it. Chamisa wants to be president of Zimbabwe but will not lift a finger to stop Zanu PF rigging the elections.
“Many years ago when Okonkwo was still a boy his father Unoka, had gone to consult Agbala. The priestess in those days was a woman called Chika. She was full of power of her god, and she was greatly feared. Unoka stood before her and began his story,” wrote Achebe, in his book Things Fall Apart.
’Every year,’ he said sadly, ‘before I put any crop in the earth, I sacrifice a cock to Ani, the owner of all land. It is the law of our fathers. I also kill a cock at the shrine of Ifejioku, the god of yams. I clear the bush and set fire to it when it is dry. I sow the yams when the first rains has fallen, and stake them when the young tendrils appear. I weed –‘
‘Hold your peace!’ screamed the priestess, her voice terrible as it echoed through the dark void. ‘You have offended neither the gods nor your fathers. And when a man is at peace with his gods and his ancestors, his harvest will be good or bad according to the strength of his arm.
‘You Unoka, are known in all the clan for the weakness of your machete and your hoe. When your neighbours go out with their axe to cut down virgin forests, you sow your yams on exhausted farms that take no labour to clear. They cross seven rivers to make their farms, you stay home and offer sacrifice to a reluctant soil.
‘Go home and work like a man!’”
After 43 years of rigged, why, oh why, are we being dragged into yet another flawed and illegal election, “so flawed, so illegal, that the only logical step is to withdraw,” as David Coltart once confessed?
"Bad politics cannot deliver good economics. The state of the economy is the state of leadership,” wrote Nelson Chamisa is his usual noncommittal and meaningless tweets.
"Prices in the shops are wild. Salaries are completely washed away.
"Just pay workers a decent wage in $US. Zimbabwe, this time try us, give us a chance to fix this mess once and for all.”
Well to fix the economy you must first fix the politics.
Mr Chamisa, how many times have you been told that Zanu PF will NEVER EVER reform itself out of office and as long as the party retains the carte blanche powers to rig elections and remain in office Zanu PF alone will have the say in how the country’s economy is run.
The people of Zimbabwe have risked life and limb, over 500 were murdered during the wanton violence of 2008 alone, to Nelson Chamisa and his MDC/CCC friends into power on the promise the party would bring about the democratic changes necessary to end the Zanu PF dictatorship. After 23 years, 5 of which in the 2008 to 2013 GNU, MDC/CCC have failed to implement even one reform. No even one!
Worst of all, MDC/CCC have given up on implementing reforms and is participating in the flawed elections confident the party has winning in rigged election strategies! This is the equivalent of Unoka stubbornly planting his “yams on exhausted farms that take no labour to clear”, which he and needless to say got what he deserved - another poor harvest.
After 43 years of rigged elections, gross mismanagement, rampant corruption and tyrannical oppression the country is in economic ruins and millions of our people are now living in abject poverty. The prospect of yet another rig election and another five more years of this Zanu PF dictatorship is simply unthinkable. And yet that is exactly what is happening.
Chamisa and his CCC friends are dragging the whole nation into yet another meaningless election process all because they will not implement the reforms and stop the curse of rigged elections.
Okonkwo despised his father Unoka for being lazy and vowed never to be like his father. In like manner, the people of Zimbabwe we must open our eyes and minds and admit to ourselves that CCC will never implement the democratic reforms and deliver free and fair elections. And as long as Zanu PF continue to enjoy the carte blanche powers to rig elections we will never have a meaningful say in the governance of the country. Never ever!
Chamisa et al have been hunting with the hounds and running with the hare. They are participating in these flawed elections for the asme reasons they failed to implement any reforms during the GNU - greed and breath-taking incompetence. We, like Okonkwo, should disown CCC and stop following the party blindly like sheep to the slaughter.
By participating in these flawed elections we, the people, are giving SADC the excuse to grant Zanu PF legitimacy and thus perpetuating the dictatorship. We are shooting ourselves in the foot. Of course, it is insane!
This is just nonsense! Zanu PF is not going to step aside and let CCC take over, that is obvious. Then only way CCC was going to get into power is by stopping Zanu PF rigging elections, a task Chamisa and company have failed to carry out these last 23 years.
ReplyDeleteThey had the golden opportunity to implement the reforms during the GNU and they sold out and now they think they will win rigged elections! How foolish is that!
Religion has become the opium of all those who will not think for themselves! What can be more foolish than participating an a flawed election knowing doing so will give legitimacy to Zanu PF and then hope that God will intervene!
ReplyDelete@ City Hardware
ReplyDelete"How many parties/candidates participated in previous elections 🤔 ,out of that number if 1 party/candidate had pulled out/boycott e elections do u think zanu would have be gone by now the answer is NO."
The parties participated and what good has that done? The real challenge here is why did MDC fail to implement even one reform during the GNU? It is naive to expect them to do so now when they did not do so when they have all the trump cards!
@ Talisman
ReplyDelete“Mukori uyo dai aigara muzim aisangowhukura zvaanoita izvo instead of mobilizing pple to reg to vote in their numbers anongomama kutaura.”
Do not exhaust yourself, tiger! The question was rhetorical. There is no need for you to put on the mental after-burners answering it. We all know there are people like you who do as they are told and are participating in these elections because Chamisa told you so.
You lot do not have the mental intellect to realise the sheer futility of participating in these flawed elections only to perpetuate their suffering by giving Zanu PF legitimacy and CCC a few gravy train seats. Even after 43 years of rigged elections and millions ordinary Zimbabweans now living in abject poverty!
“Mobilise people to vote!” What is that to Zanu PF’s many vote rigging schemes!
Nations get the government they deserve and we in Zimbabwe, with our mentally challenged populous, certainly deserve this corrupt and tyrannical Zanu PF dictatorship complete with the entourage of corrupt and utterly useless opposition parties.
@ Chan
ReplyDelete“Wilbert sounds like a broken record. How would they have done the implementation, with ZANU opposed?”
Zimbabwe is in this economic and political mess because the majority of our people have no common sense. Even now, with the benefit of hindsight you still have no clue what the 2008 to 2013 GNU was about implementing the democratic reforms much less that MDC leaders sold out by failing to get even one reform implemented.
If MDC had failed to implement the reforms because Zanu PF opposed it, as you say. Then why did MDC fail to report that to SADC leaders who were the guarantor of the 2008 GPA?
You cannot stand to hear the truth spoken about MDC/CCC leaders’ greed and breath-taking incompetence. And since CCC are selling out by dragging this nation into yet another meaningless elections out of greed, it is imperative that the sell out is exposed and denounced.
You do not want the truth spoken about CCC and hence the “broken record” swipe. Well, swipe all you want the truth must be spoken and this madness of rigged elections stopped.
@ Dr Kwetekani80
ReplyDelete"You are right he’s stuck in reverse! Zanu pfubvu willing never agree to any reforms! What part of Zanu pfubvu doesn’t he understand???"
No one asked Zanu PF to implement the reforms and during the GNU it was not in Zanu PF’s power to refuse to implement the reforms either. You clearly have no idea what the GNU was about.
After the 2008 elections it was as clear as day that Zimbabwe will never ever hold free, fair and credible elections without first implementing democratic reforms. The only reason why MDC/CCC leaders continue participating in these flawed elections is greed
“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,” confessed David Coltart in his Book.
Participating in an election process to give vote rigging Zanu PF legitimacy is INSANE. But when you are mentally challenged already, it is proof one is not stuck in reverse!
The penny has finally dropped in Chamisa's empty head that he will never become president as long as Zanu PF retains the carte blanche powers to rig elections. So now he is begging Zanu PF for a chance to rule. No bloody likely!
ReplyDeleteMnangagwa and company are NOT going to step aside and let some one else rule even in the face of the worsening economic meltdown. They have always claimed to have a solution and economic prosperity is round the corner. As long as they retain the carte blanche powers to rig elections, they will rig elections and stay in power!
Chamisa's claim to fix the economic mess is just as hollow as Mnangagwa's 2017 "Zimbabwe is open for business!" promise. The later could not stamp out corruption nor hold free and fair elections. Chamisa has already assured the top brass in the securocrats they will all keep their jobs and privileges - code name for looting rights - if he became president. A Chamisa presidency with an unreformed securocrat, civil service and Zanu PF bigwigs calling all the shot is the perfect image of a puppet on the string!
Chamisa is crying for a chance to loot which is what he and his MDC friends were doing in their own small-scale way during the GNU and hence the reason they failed to implement even one democratic reform.
Chamisa and his MDC/CCC friends have abandoned implementing reforms and delivering free elections, they are into getting a share of the spoils of power. And after all these years participating in flawed elections to give Zanu PF legitimacy, Chamisa thinks it is his turn to be president!
Journalists at the Government controlled Zimpapers have written the letter below to their management.
ReplyDeleteZimpapers is Zimbabwe’s biggest newspaper group, which is also the Propaganda arm of the Zimbabwean regime.
“We the undersigned and being reporters in Sunday News, Chronicle, uMthunywa and B-Metro write to you to raise issues that affect our daily operations in the newsrooms as well as our grave welfare issues.
On our job execution, the situation is becoming gravely with each passing day as the few of us are expected to perform duties of a fully and well staffed newsroom.
One reporter is expected to do three print stories, three online stories and videos on a daily basis.
The only sports reporter is now working seven days a week, a shocking situation. All this is because of staffing incapacitation.
Students on attachment or correspondence are now the backbone of the newsrooms yet the opposite should entail.
We are also subsidising the company in the form of data, this over our meagre salaries.
After decades of defending the corrupt and tyrannical regime, the chicken have finally came back home to roost. Now these journalists know the regime is corrupt and incompetent, let's us see them sing the usual songs of praise now!
Chamisa would never fix the economic mess because he would never stamp out the wholesale looting in the country. He has already promised the securocrats they will keep their jobs and benefits - code name for looting - if he was to become president.
ReplyDeleteMDC failed to fix the broken political system during the GNU because they were busy enjoying the gravy train good life! MDC/CCC has helped Zanu PF stay in power and now they are crying for a bigger slice of the cake.
https://bulawayo24.com/index-id-opinion-sc-columnist-byo-230994.html
The Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) has demanded an accessible, auditable, and credible voters roll ahead of Zimbabwe's 2023 Harmonized elections.
ReplyDeleteThe announcement by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) for voters to inspect the roll between the 26th and 30th of May 2023 has been viewed as an important call for citizens to check for their names on the voters roll.
However, the CCC has reiterated that the inspection is no substitute for a comprehensive voters roll auditability and verifiability.
Speaking to Daily Bulletin, CCC's election Taskforce vice coordinator Ellen Shiriyendenga highlighted the importance of an accurate voters roll, stating that the inspection process must accurately capture personal details such as name, date of birth, and gender.
Failure to do so may result in citizens being turned away on election day. In addition, with the new delimitation, citizens must be aware of their polling station, ward, or constituency to avoid confusion.
However, Shiriyendenga noted that the voters roll inspection only allows for individual inspection and does not provide opportunities for a comprehensive audit at polling station, ward, and constituency levels.
She emphasized the critical importance of an auditable and verifiable voters roll in ensuring an election free from errors and challenges.
"The voters roll is like a syllabus, and hence the crux of the election. A wrong syllabus will result in wrong outcomes, which could inherently culminate into a contested electoral outcome," Shiriyendenga said.
Zimbabwe has never ever produced a verified voters’ roll although this is both a common sense and a legal requirement. The two reasons for this is
Zanu PF has been rigging elections and the production of a verified voters’ roll would have placed very serious constrains on its ability to rig elections.
Zanu PF has always known that MDC/CCC will participate in the elections with no verified voters’ roll, giving the regime the assurance it will get away with no verified voters’ roll. CCC is just grandstanding and posturing, the party will participate in these 2023 elections with no auditable voters’ roll! Zanu PF knows that!
@ Sturdy
ReplyDelete“If CCC does not participate there is still other ZANU PF made oppositions. The elections will still go ahead.”
MDC did not implement even one reform during the GNU when they had all the trump cards plus SADC backing for the same reasons they are now participating in these flawed elections. What excuses did MDC leaders have then?
Of course, Zanu PF is offering the gravy train seats as bait knowing fully well that CCC leaders would find the bait irresistible. It was greed that made MDC leaders forget about the reforms during the GNU and it is greed that is making CCC forget about participating to give Zanu PF legitimacy.
The real surprise here is that there are so many Zimbabweans who have not fathomed what is going on here, even with the benefit of 43 years of rigged elections. They blissful happy being short changed. Who says stupidity does not have its advantages!
Tina Turner, the legendary rock 'n' roll singer who became a pop behemoth in the 1980s, has died aged 83 after a long illness.
ReplyDeleteTurner, who was born Anna Mae Bullock in Nutbush, Tennessee, in 1939, began her career in the late 1950s as a backing singer for Ike Turner. The couple married in 1962 and went on to have a successful career together, releasing a string of hit albums and singles.
However, their marriage was often turbulent and they divorced in 1978. Turner then embarked on a successful solo career, releasing albums such as "Private Dancer" (1984) and "Break Every Rule" (1986). She also starred in the film "Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome" (1985).
Thank you for all the beautiful music and the joy it brought to the millions out there.
RIP.
WITH various leaders and commentators having suggested that things have gone horribly wrong in South Africa since Cyril Ramaphosa became president more than five years ago, to such an extent that the country could be facing imminent state and economic collapse.
ReplyDeleteSouth Africans must act and rebuild their country before its too late.
SA’s tragedy is that it is already a failed state and so the those talking about it happening are behind the talking of bolting the door when the horse is long gone! They have no clue what to do to fix SA.
One had hoped that SA being a healthy democratic nation it was going to avoid going down the disastrous route other African countries have travelled notable Zimbabwe. Alas! This was not to be.
In a desperate bid to hang on to power there is now a real danger of ANC ditching all the democratic values Nelson Mandela bequeathed the nation. That would accelerate SA’s demise, not save her.