“Tsvangirai woos top
army bosses!” read the headline in the Daily News.
The news must have
left every thinking Zimbabwean out there sick and it only confirmed that Morgan
Tsvangirai and his MDC-T friends have learned nothing from the past! Whilst the
nation is fighting to implement the democratic reforms to end the corrupt and
tyrannical Zanu PF dictatorship, he is doing his uttermost to retain the
dictatorship if it accepts him and his friends in the exclusive ruling elite
club!
In the last 17
years, Morgan Tsvangirai has had many opportunities to implement the democratic
reforms designed to dismantle the Zanu PF dictatorship, the best chance of all
was during the GNU. He has wasted every one of these opportunities because he
is corrupt and incompetent; so, incompetent he thought he could eat his cake and
keep it too. Instead of implementing the reforms designed to break President
Mugabe’s corrupting and undemocratic control of the Army, Police, CIO, war
veterans, etc. during the GNU, he wasted the five years trying to bribe senior
officers with assurances they will keep all their privileges if they in turn switched
undemocratic allegiance from Mugabe to him. Now he is at it again!
“I have met with the
church, political leaders from across the entire spectrum, the army, war
veterans, ….. who all agree on the need for a positive trajectory for this
country that we love,” Tsvangirai said according to 1st June Daily
News report.
Does this mean Tsvangirai
does not subscribe to the democratic tenet that the Army, Police and all the
other security services must be apolitical and per se should never be seen to
be entering into any special deals with any politician or political party. Or
is it that Tsvangirai’s only objection with the present undemocratic cosy
relationship between President Mugabe and the top brass in the Army, Police,
etc. is that it should be with him and not Mugabe.
It is no secret that
the security sector has played a major role in the imposition of the Zanu PF
dictatorship. Indeed, it is no exaggeration that the top brass in the security
services are an integral part of the Zanu PF dictatorship on equal par with the
political leaders Mnangagwa and Mugabe himself. Real political power in
Zimbabwe has rested in the Join Operations Command, a Junta, whose actions and decisions
not even cabinet and parliament have ever dared to question.
It is no secret too
that the top brass in the security sector are among the principle beneficiaries
of the wholesale looting and plunder of the country’s wealth and riches. When
General Douglas Nyikayaramba over stepped the mark and joined in the
condemnation of Professor Jonathan Moyo for his misuse of $400 000. The minister
silenced Nyikayaramba by reminding him that security sector chefs, including
the pompous general him, are earning huge fortunes from their diamond mining
activities which they cannot account for.
In the past Tsvangirai
has wooed the security sector top brass with promises that they will all keep
the positions complete with powerful political influence, their multiple farms
seized from white farmers, diamond mining concessions, everything; if they
agreed to switch their political allegiance from President Mugabe and Zanu PF to
him and his MDC party.
Tsvangirai’s policy
of appeasement did not just stop with the security services but extended to
President Mugabe and his Zanu PF regime itself. Or be it that it was the tyrant
who ended up conning Tsvangirai. Tsvangirai failed to implement even one reform
to dismantle the Zanu PF dictatorship during the GNU because he thought if he
appeased Mugabe by doing nothing to implement the reform, he and his MDC
friends would be granted life-time membership into Zimbabwe’s exclusive ruling
elite.
“Mazivanhu eMDC
adzidza kudya anyerere!” (MDC people will not rock the boat because they have succumbed
to corrupting influence of the gravy train lifestyle!) Boasted one Zanu PF ruling
elite members. He was commenting on worrying reluctance by MDC leaders to
implement the democratic reforms as agreed.
The Zanu PF official
was one of the Mugabe appointed permanent secretaries, he had held many similar
posts in the past, a veteran of the gravy train life. He knew how sweet and
intoxicating gravy train life is and how addictive it is, taste it and you will
be craving for more. He also knew that the cardinal rule for keeping one’s seat
on the Mugabe’s gravy train seat was a very simple one – you must forget all
your do-gooder principles and promises.
After a few months of
enjoying the trapping of high office; a farm, formerly owned by a white farmer,
for Welshman Ncube; a $4 million Highlands mansion for Tsvangirai; etc. President
Mugabe himself must have been pleasantly surprised at how quickly Tsvangirai
& co. grasped the gravy train etiquette and rules.
SADC leaders had
hope that the reforms would be implemented and thus restore political stability
and end the economic meltdown in Zimbabwe. They were very disappointed, naturally,
that MDC leaders failed to implement even one democratic reforms in the five
years of the GNU. They denounced Tsvangirai & co. for “enjoying themselves in
the GNU, they forgot why they were there!”
Tsvangirai’s
continued attempts to ingratiate himself with the top brass in the security
services instead of implementing the democratic reforms designed to end all corrupting
political interference of the running of all state institutions including the
Army and Police is totally unacceptable. Instead pushing for reforms he still
continues to pursue his selfish agenda of keeping these key pillars of the Zanu
PF dictatorship in tact as long as they accept him and his MDC friends in the
exclusive ruling elite club.
Tsvangirai is determined
to contest in next year’s elections with not reforms in place to end the
corrupt and tyrannical Zanu PF autocracy as long as he is accepted as a member
of this corrupt and exclusive ruling elite.
Tsvangirai has had
many the golden opportunities to implement the democratic reforms the country has
been dying for to end the dictatorship and move on. He has failed to implement
even one reform in all his 17 years in politics. He will never ever implement
any reforms because he does not believe in reforming the political system but
fine tuning it to secure for himself a permanent seat on the gravy train.
For the umpteenth
time Mr Tsvangirai, Zimbabwe’s political stability and economic prosperity is
dependent on the implementation of all the democratic reforms and the holding
of free, fair and credible elections. Reforms and free and fair elections are
no negotiable, not now not ever!
MDC did not lose the 2013 elections because the opposition was not united, they lost, first and foremost, because they did not listen to SADC and everybody else out there in the know. They were warning about implementing reforms and not to contest the elections with no reforms in place. Tsvangirai and company would not listen and Zanu PF went on to blatantly rig the vote and win the elections.
ReplyDeleteTsvangirai and the opposition are once again ignoring the warnings not to contest the elections with no reforms in place. All this talk of coalition building is just an excuse for them to once again contest the elections with no reforms.
"...Tsvangirai...will give an insight into the progress made so far in the process of forming a coalition and he will also reiterate our call for electoral reforms as advanced by (National Electoral Reform Agenda) Nera," said Gutu.
Only the really politically naïve and gullible will believe this nonsense that Zanu PF will ever especially when they know MDC will contest the elections with no reforms as they did in 2013!
The real challenge here is to stop the opposition opportunities betray the people by contesting the flawed elections and giving process credibility which is what Zanu PF wants! Tsvangirai must be forced to honour their own “No reform, no election!” pledge!
Grace Mugabe says Zimbabwe is expecting a bumper harvest this year and so does not need NGOs.
ReplyDeleteNGOs have been helping ordinary people with food aid and medicines such as HIV drugs. Zanu PF does not care how that people are suffering and how many are dying unnecessarily as a result of the man-made poverty. All the regime cares about is for it to retain power at all cost.
Holding next year's elections with no reforms is madness! We, the people, can stop the elections going ahead if we so decide!
It had never occurred to me at the time that Tsvangirai and his MDC friends had let the nation down in failing to implement reforms during the GNU or soon thereafter. But now that I have had some time to look back it is clear that they did indeed betray the nation. There is no other reason why they failed to get even one reform implemented in five years other than that they are corrupt and incompetent.
ReplyDeleteZimbabwe has paid dearly for MDC’s failure to implement the reforms in terms of the political, economic and social consequences of allowing Zanu PF back into power after 2013. Contesting next year’s elections with no reforms will only save to drag the nation even deeper into the hell-hole we are in already.
Tsvangirai has already sold-out during the GNU by failing to implement even one reform during the GNU. If the people do not wake up quick smart, he will sell-out and contest next year’s elections with no reform and it is a lose, lose situation for the nation. A Zanu PF victory, which is the most likely outcome, would be a disaster for the nation in that nothing will change. An MDC victory will mean giving up on reforms because Tsvangirai will never implement any. His priority will be to appease Zanu PF thugs as much as he can by letting them have everything they want as long as they accept him in this exclusive ruling elite club you are talking about.
Zimbabweans are today the poorest in Africa because we have made some serious mistakes in the last 37 years. Well here is our chance to do something right – force the implement the democratic reforms BEFORE the elections - that will have the effect of changing the nation’s destiny for the better. The real challenge is do we have the vision to see the opportunity, the courage to seize it and the mental aptitude to see the task through!
Harare City Council pampered senior MDC-T officials, including party deputy president Ms Thokozani Khupe, Mayor Councillor Bernard Manyenyeni and some councillors, with huge tracts of land in the leafy Mt Pleasant suburb.
ReplyDeleteWell MDC leaders are in politics for the money as Ms Khupe has readily admitted. We know that the likes of Mwonzora built a “hotel” of house during the GNU, Ncube got a farm, Tsvangirai got the $4 million Highlands mansion, etc. A thorough audit of the MDC leaders’ asset portfolios will show beyond all doubt that politics in Zimbabwe is all about the gravy train.
We are stuck in this political and economic mess because MDC betrayed the nation during the GNU, instead of implementing the reforms and delivering on the democratic changes they promised they sold the cause for a share of the gravy train loot. A thorough audit of all our political leaders’ asset, on both sides of the political divide for we know looting has been the norm in Zanu PF too, is now a must do.
President Mugabe is calling for unity and for those vying for his post to be patient and meanwhile he will go into overdrive to promote his preferred successor. It is an all too familiar strategy he has used all his political career and, fortunately for him, has worked largely because his advisories have all been slow witted sloths! By the time the advisory realise what is happening it is too late, Mai Mujuru would testify to that.
ReplyDeleteMugabe has perfected the art of saying one thing, make a big song and dance about it, whilst doing the exact opposite. The art of waving the olive branch of peace whilst hiding the murderous dagga under the cloak. "Kurova imbwa wakavinga mupini!" as one would say in Shona.
SA is to tighten it immigration laws in the light of xenophobia attacks and growing unemployment in that country.
ReplyDeleteZimbabwe has been sitting on its political and economic problems which have driven many to leave the country for decades and now we will be forced to address them because many of our people will have no escape!