Chamisa's USA $15 billion handout is a cynical crocodile sweet grass lure to wildebeest W Mukori

National elections are important in that they offer the nation a chance to decide which way to go; in that regard, this year’s elections are the most important in the country’s history because of what is at stake. Zimbabwe has fallen from its position in 1980 as one of the top five richest nations in Africa with promising prospects of becoming the South Korea of Africa. Today the country is the poorest nation in Africa with ¾ of its people living in heart-breaking abject poverty cheek in jowl with the filthy rich ruling elite. Depending on the outcome of the coming elections; the nation will either continue hurtling down this road of self-destruction it has travelled these last 38 years or finally put an end to this madness. A simple and yet grime choice!

There are those who would want to talk about Robert Mugabe and his Zanu PF thugs, how they are the ones who have destroyed the nation’s economy after four decades of gross mismanagement and rampant corruption. They will also point to how the nation has been stuck with the regime because it rigged the vote and used violence included cold blooded murder of its political critics and opponents. Whilst all these details are all true and of great historic importance they do not address the all-important and critical question: in all these years, was the nation ever offered any opportunity put an end to the Zanu PF madness and take a different road? If the nation was offered any such opportunity (ies); then why did the people fail to take it?

The coming elections are one golden opportunity for the people of Zimbabwe to end the madness that has landed us all in this hell-on-earth situation in which 72.3% of our people live on US$1.00 or less a day. If people sit-up and pay attention to how we have wasted many golden opportunities in the past to change from this disastrous course; learn from the lost past opportunities, we might have hope of getting it right this time!

Zimbabwe has had many golden opportunities to end Zanu PF’s corrupt and tyrannical rule, the best chance by a long mile was during the GNU, and has wasted them all.

Following the 2008 blatant vote rigging in which ZEC was ordered to recount the vote to reduce Tsvangirai’s 73% vote to 47% and the worst case of wanton violence in the run-off that followed SADC leaders stepped into Zimbabwe’s seemingly endless political chaos. The regional leaders forced Mugabe to agree to a raft of democratic to dismantle the de facto Zanu PF dictatorship, striping the regime of all its carte blanche powers to rig elections. This was a clearly defined roadmap, with the X showing where we were, Y where we should be plus a compass with which to navigate.

It was left to Morgan Tsvangirai and his MDC friends to implement the reforms. to follow the roadmap. After five years, MDC failed to get even one reform implemented. The details of why MDC failed to implement even one democratic reform are there for all to read; if will suffice to say:

1)    MDC leaders are corrupt and incompetent; they sold-out, Mugabe bribed them to forget the reforms and they did.

2)    Implementing the democratic reforms still remains the only viable way out of the political mess; implement the reforms and the country put an end to the madness that has dragged us into this hell-on-earth.

3)    MDC leaders continue sell-out on implementing the reforms and if they are not stopped, they will drag the nation deeper into the hell-on-earth we are in.

When it was clear that MDC leaders had sold-out during the GNU, SADC leaders advised MDC leaders not to contest the 2013 elections. MDC leaders did not listen out of selfish greed as one of the MDC leaders, Senator David Coltart readily admitted in his book.

“The worst aspect for me about the failure to agree a coalition was that both MDCs couldn’t now do the obvious – withdraw from the elections,” he wrote.

“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.”

MDC leaders have been coming up with all manner of excuses why they are continuing on this ruinous path of contesting flawed and illegal elections whose consequence is a nightmare to the nation. Nelson Chamisa’s lie that the Americans promised to bankroll Zimbabwe’s economic recovery to the tune of $15 billion is an example of the sicken depth of depravity these MDC leaders have sunk in their selfish greed.

“When we met with President Trump in America alongside Biti, he asked us how much we needed to move the country forward and we told him that we needed $15 billion,” Chamisa told an MDC Alliance rally in Mutare.

He told his naïve and gullible audience that President Trump assured them the money will be dished out in the event of an MDC victory “since his government had faith in the MDC Alliance.”

To start with, the $15 billion funding was a lie as the US Embassy has been quick to point out.

“We do not support individuals or political parties,” said the US Embassy Official. “We do not take a position on who is going to be a political leader of a country. The outcome of an election is up to the people of that country to decide.

“We do not make such promises to individuals or political parties.”

But, most worrying of all, the lie was a deliberate and calculated ploy to draw the Zimbabwe voters away from the important and pressing matter of the elections going ahead with no reforms in place. The MDC does not want the people to talk about its intention to contest the elections with no reforms in place because the party knows that it has failed to provide an answer to that question.

After 38 years of being stuck with Zanu PF because the regime rigs elections we cannot ignore this problem, pretend this will not happen this year. We cannot talk of all the financial assistance the new MDC Alliance government will get to rebuild the economy when they have no chance of winning the election given Zanu PF’s unlimited power to rig the vote.

After 38 years of being systematically denied one of our most basis and fundament right – the right to a meaningful say in the governance of the country – with the disastrous consequences of the nation being dragged into this hell-hole. How can it be possible, in this day and age, that we cannot see that Zanu PF is rigging the elections?

It is unforgivable that MDC leaders have wasted the many chances to implement the democratic reforms that would have stopped Zanu PF rigging elections and got the nation out of this mess. MDC have the roadmap out of this hell it is unforgivable that they are now misdirecting the nation. What good is it to talk of a post Zanu PF era whilst doing nothing to stop Zanu PF rigging elections, the pre-requisite for regime change.

If there is one lesson we should have learned these last 38 years, then it must be that we will never change anything on the economic front until we stop Zanu PF rigging elections. We must stop behaving like the wildebeest whose focus is on the grass across the river it ignores, to its peril, the immediate danger of the flooded river, crocodiles, steep river banks, etc. It will take the death of hundreds even thousands of animals before it finally dawns on the herd of the folly of trying to cross at that point in time or place. How many more years and/or people out of work or dying in abject poverty will it take before the nation finally ask MDC to follow the roadmap and implement the reforms!

Nelson Chamisa's promise of $15 billion funding was to lure participate in yet another flawed election process. He is being as cynical as the crocodile luring the wildebeest to cross the river with promise of the sweetest grass on the other side! Now that the American have confirmed they never promised the cash, one hopes the nation will once again focus on the folly of participating in yet another election knowing they will be rigged!