Vince Musewe and Robert Mugabe have one thing
in common, they are both stubbornly single track minded. Allow a single track
minded individual to get into power and you know immediately you are in trouble
because they will abuse their position to get absolute power and then bring hell-on
earth on us all as the latter has done.
Whilst Musewe has admitted, be it grudgingly,
that twisted political system is the root cause of the Zimbabwe’s poor economic
performance.
“ZANU (PF)'s ultimate aim was always to create
a one party capitalist state dominated and controlled by a predatory leadership
and a predatory coalition (a "comprador bourgeoisie" as Ibbo Mandaza
likes to call it) and this they have achieved much to our detriment. We need to
change that paradigm, but that paradigm will not change as long as Mugabe is entrenched
at State house,” admitted Musewe.
For his solution he proposed “a second national
revolution” which is to come in two stages:
First “we need a fundamental rapture from the
old to the new,” he argued. “As PDP we are therefore promoting the idea of a
grand coalition which is currently taking shape.”
“Second, as articulated in our HOPE policy
document, must be the immediate establishment of National Technical Transition
Council (NTTC) to take over the running of the country to restore confidence
and stability as a transitional mechanism to re-position Zimbabwe back onto a
socio-economic recovery trajectory.”
This is where the trouble with having a
single-track mind comes to the fore. The “grand coalition” Musewe been wittering
about for the last two years is composed of the likes of Morgan Tsvangirai and
his MDC-T, Tendai Biti and his PDP, Joice Mujuru and her ZimPF, Welshman Ncube
and his MDC, etc. All these politicians without exception have a proven track
record of betrayal and failure; they are all incompetent and corrupt.
Zimbabwe is in this political and economic
hell-hole because for the last 36 years the nation has had the great misfortune
of having incompetent and corrupt leaders. All the men and women Musewe has assembled
to form his new grand coalition have played their part in the demise of the
country; five years for the MDC leaders and 34 years for the ZimPF leaders.
Musewe is recycling the same incompetent and
corrupt leaders; there will not be any “fundamental rapture from the old to the
new”.
Since not even one democratic reform was
implemented by MDC during the GNU there is need for yet another transitional
body, NTTC or whatever, which will be tasked to implement the reforms and hold
the free, fair and credible elections. My quarrel with Musewe is over his insistence
that Mugabe should be assured that no reforms will be implemented by the
transition body.
“Our main problem, however, remains the fact
that we are expecting the same dictator to implement political reforms which
are most likely to result in his dismissal from power. It is therefore clear
that the dictator, and the predatory coalition that has mushroomed around him,
will hardly be enthusiastic to implement the very changes that will inevitably
result in their demise and possible criminal prosecution,” argued Musewe in one
of his last articles.
“This an obvious fact and I just don't know why
some of us are choosing to ignore this fact.”
So if we are not to ignore “this fact” we have
to assure Mugabe his position in State House is assured throughout the life
time of the transitional body and after it since there will be no free, fair and
credible elections at the end of the transition period.
Only a single-track minded person like Musewe
would admit there will be no “change as long as Mugabe is entrenched at State
house” in one breathe and argue that Mugabe must be allowed to stay in State
House in the next breathe and not see these are two conflicting positions.
We are in this political and economic mess
because Mugabe has the same single track mind like Musewe and thus given to
holding opposite and conflicting position without realizing it. Mugabe continue
to see himself and his Zanu PF cronies as a great national liberation icons and
yet for the last 36 years he and his thugs have ridden rough shod over the
people’s freedoms, rights and dreams! He has ruthlessly imposed his
no-regime-change ethos and yet would swear he has always held free, fair and
credible elections.
If we want free and fair elections then we must
implement the democratic reforms; that is a fact. We cannot appease Mugabe and still
have free and fair elections because democracy and dictatorship can never co-exist
side by side; that is an oxymoron single track minded and pretentious analysts
pedal!
“Another Zimbabwe is possible!!!” Signed off
Vince Musewe.
Yes, another Zimbabwe is possible just as it is
possible to have another single track minded dictator after Mugabe. If we want
a free, just, democratic and economically prosperous Zimbabwe then we must to
implement all the democratic reforms and make sure we not only to flush out the
incumbent single track minded tyrant occupying the State House but prevent
another single track minded tyrant occupying the State House ever again.
The comparison of Musew to Mugabe is interesting and relevant here. I used to religiously read Musewe's articles just as I used to listen to President Mugabe's speeches with pride and awe. Not any more. Now I have had the chance to reflect, the two gentlemen remind me of Rumbi, a class mate in form one.
ReplyDeleteRumbi was the only one in the class whose compositions, for example, rarely had a spelling or grammati-cal mistake and her handwriting was a work of art. Our English Teacher praised her for this but encour-aged her to pay attention on content. End of Form Two, Rumbi failed in most subjects.
Musewe and Mugabe have the same forte as Rumbi; their presentations are great but look closely and you soon will find there is no substance.
President Mugabe's indigenisation law is one example of one of his policies that looks pure genius at first sight but on close inspection is crap! Why would anyone want to investor in a business and give up con-trolling shares before they have even got a dollar return on the investment. If the law is to stop outsiders investing in the nation then so be it, we should be mourning about the soaring unemployment because there is no investment.
The indigenisation law has chased away would be investors, which is clearly as one would expect. Mean-while local Zimbabweans have failed to invest because the worsening economic situation has left millions impoverish. In other words the indigenisation law has not benefited the local people in any way!
Last month Geoffrey Nyarota argued that “Grand coalitions are no silver bullet for electoral victory over Zanu-PF”. The trouble with Vince Musewe is he does not otherwise he would not still be presenting the grand coalition of the same corrupt and incompetent leaders as the silver bullet. There is simple no substance is Musewe’s argument!
We have already wasted two and half years out of the five we have to get the democratic reforms implemented to ensure the next elections are free, fair and credible. Some of this time has been wasted on Vince Musewe’s “paradigm shift” proposals - all presentation and no substance!