It
seems globe-trotting is in the blood of Zimbabwean leaders. We all know of
Tsvangirai's world tour during his five-year term as Prime Minister. Little
wonder the MDC failed to get even one democratic reform implemented during the
GNU, Tsvangirai had no time for that after his busy travel schedule and his equally
demanding womanizing programmes.
As
for Robert Mugabe, every year of his 37 years in power he probably clocked more
air miles than the Pope, US President, British Prime Minister and UN Secretary
General put together! Zimbabweans have nicknamed Mugabe, Vasco da Gama, the 15
century Portuguese explorer and first European to reach India.
President
Mnangagwa has been in State House for less than three months and already he has
been in and out of the country like a yoyo!
“President
Emmerson Mnangagwa will today visit Namibia on the third leg of his regional
tour to brief his counterparts on the political situation in the country and
the forthcoming harmonised elections,” reported Bulawayo 24. “He will
meet Namibian counterpart, President Hage Geingob.
“President Mnangagwa's first stop over was Pretoria in South Africa where he met President Jacob Zuma and ANC leader Cyril Ramaphosa, and on Friday he was in Luanda, Angola, on a similar mission.
“In Angola, President Mnangagwa met his counterpart, President Joao Lourenco, who also chairs the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security.
“President Mnangagwa's first stop over was Pretoria in South Africa where he met President Jacob Zuma and ANC leader Cyril Ramaphosa, and on Friday he was in Luanda, Angola, on a similar mission.
“In Angola, President Mnangagwa met his counterpart, President Joao Lourenco, who also chairs the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security.
“In
an interview yesterday, Presidential spokesperson Mr George Charamba confirmed
today's visit. He said the President would also use the visit to explain
opportunities presented by the new dispensation ushered into power following
the resignation of former President Mugabe on 21 November 2017.”
Well,
it seems President Mnangagwa was not only bitten by the travel bug the turn
Mugabe into Vasco da Gama but worse still he was also bitten by the bull-s**t
bug!
The
nation will never ever forget Major General Sibusiso Moyo’s 15 November 2017
04.30 ZBCTV broadcast announcing that the army had seized all the strategic
State Institutions and President Mugabe was under house arrest. “This is NOT a
military coup!” insisted the Major, foolishly.
Of
course, it was a coup but the coup plotters, of whom President Mnangagwa and
Commander Chiwenga were the ringleaders, have insisted it was “military
assisted transition to usher a new dispensation”. Bull s**t! Sadly, the bull
s***t from the regime has clearly not stopped there.
President
Mnangagwa has insisted this year’s elections are going to be free, fair and credible
and yet he has not implemented even one democratic reform without which it is
impossible to have free and fair elections. He is forgetting that it was SADC
leaders who forced Zanu PF to sign the 2008 Global Political Agreement in which
Zanu PF and MDC were instructed to implement a raft of democratic reforms
designed to stop the blatant vote rigging and wanton violence that had marred
Zimbabwe’s elections that year. The one deliverable product of the agreement was
free, fair and credible elections and SADC were the guarantor of that
agreement.
Not
even one reform was implemented in five years of the GNU because Morgan
Tsvangirai, the leader of the MDC, the party tasked to spearhead the implementation,
was busy gallivanting and womanizing, among other things. With no reforms
implemented SADC leaders made their position very clear; elections must be
postponed, as Dr Ibbo Mandaza explained to Violet Gonda.
“Of
course they (2018 elections) can be postponed. In 2013 the Maputo Summit,
in June 2013, before the elections, the Maputo Summit was all about having the
elections postponed – the SADC summit. I went there. I was there at the Summit
and Mugabe pretended to agree to a postponement of the elections,” explained Dr
Mandaza.
“If
you recall, the postponement was based on the need to reform at least electoral
laws, and after that Summit, Morgan Tsvangirai, Tendai Biti, Welshman Ncube,
all of them were called to a separate meeting by the Heads of State of SADC in
the absence of Mugabe, that same evening. And they were told; I was sitting
there outside the room with Mac Maharaj; they were told ‘if you go into
elections next month, you are going to lose; the elections are done’.
“And
we came back on a Sunday and that Monday we had a SAPES Policy Dialogue to
discuss the Summit and lo and behold, whilst we were discussing it, the court
papers arrived calling the MDC to court to show reason why the elections should
be postponed. Mugabe had done a volte-face against the decision of the
Summit. Mugabe went on TV and threatened to leave SADC – ‘who is SADC, we can
leave SADC anyway’. And so, under some pretext of a court application by
Jealousy Mawarire, which others claim was really a ZANU PF ploy, the elections
were held.
“And
3 or 4 days before the election Morgan Tsvangirai was lamenting that he had
evidence that the election was already rigged. But they were warned like they
are being warned again now. But blindly, they cannot make any excuses now, they
going into elections again.”
The
full interview with Dr Mandaza is available on violetgonda.com.
Of
course, the President Mnangagwa regime is illegitimate born as it was from a
military coup (it is bull s***t to deny it was a coup). The Zimbabwe’s roadmap
to return to legitimacy is by holding free, fair and credible elections and
that is only possible is all the democratic reforms agreed in the 2008 GPA are fully
implemented. The suggestion that the November coup has brought about a new
dispensation to allow free and fair elections with not even one reform
implemented is bull s***t!
Indeed,
President Mnangagwa is busy implementing the Zanu PF vote rigging programme
such as buying Chiefs new trucks, a bribe to encourage them to continue campaigning
for the party and threatening villagers who dare support the opposition. He has
appointed know Zanu PF thugs like retired Lt. Retired Lt General Engelbert
Rugeje, Zanu PF Political Commission; the man who spearheaded Zanu PF’s campaign
of terror and mayhem in 2008 and 2013. He has already started reminding people
what the party will do to them if they do not vote for anyone else, etc. Proof
this year’s elections will not be free and fair unless the reforms are
implemented.
It is true that SADC leaders did not buy all the nonsense that the November coup was NOT a coup, they certainly would not want to encourage such "military assisted transition" in their own country. They turned a blind eye to the coup because they did not want the process reversed and have to deal with Robert Mugabe again! The tyrant had to go and at any price.
ReplyDeleteIf President Mnangagwa thinks that the international community will reward his military coup and allow him get away with another rigged election he has something else coming. Countries like USA, UK, EU and many other democratic countries have already said they want to see free, fair and credible elections. They mean it! SADC leaders know the coup was a clear warning of how easily Zimbabwe can slip into political chaos if nothing is done to end the economic and political chaos in that country.
SADC leaders will have a chance to do something to end Zimbabwe's crisis this year, all they will have to do rule the elections null and void if Mnangagwa does not implement the reforms as they had suggested before the 2013 elections.
@ Sarah
ReplyDeletePresident Mnangagwa has promised the people free, fair and credible elections. given that he has been at the heart of the Joint Operations Command Junta that has rigged elections, staged the coups, etc. any thinking Zimbabweans would want to see him implementing the reforms instead of wasting time visiting neighbour.
Everyone knows Zanu PF's modus operandi is to bribe Chiefs with gifts and in return the Chiefs will take advantage of their position in society to campaign for Zanu PF and even threaten villagers who dare support the opposition.
People like you, Sarah Mahoka, choose to ignore the reality that Zanu PF has been rigging elections in the past and is certain to do the same this year. You are a paid Zanu PF apologist and do not care that millions of ordinary Zimbabweans out there are suffering and dying because the country has failed to resolve its bad governance problem. The country needs free, fair and credible elections to end the economic mess of the last 38 years.
"What wrong with Chiefs getting upgrades 37 years after independence?" Thank God the world is not that naive and stupid not to see the truth behind the upgrades! The SADC leaders President Mnangagwa will be trying bamboozle with these “upgrading Chiefs’ car” hen’s teeth stories are the ones who told the tyrant Mugabe to postpone the 2013 elections. They are not buying any of this nonsense or are many Zimbabweans!
“Secondly, as a party, which is Zanu-PF, we are determined to walk the talk,” said President Mnangagwa.
ReplyDeleteNonsense! You have said you will hold free and fair elections this year and yet you have not implemented even one democratic reform. Indeed, you have continued with Mugabe's vote rigging plans by buying Chiefs new trucks, ZEC will not produce a verified voters' roll, Rugeje, your Zanu PF Political Commissar, has started reminding people of the return of 2008 violence if Zanu PF lose the elections, etc.
When it comes to losing power that is the one thing that Mnangagwa is resolved must not be allowed to happen and hence will never ever implement the necessary reforms.
Mugabe And Wife Grace Heed To Mnangagwa’s Call Offer To Return $5 Billion
ReplyDeleteIn his letter dated 7 January 2018, the Mugabe’s said they wanted to lead the way by returning funds to government coffers and appealed to other high profile government officials to follow suit. Mr Mugabe said he had not been pressured to take this move. He urged all Zimbabweans to work in harmony and support the incumbent President.
He also blasted his former spin doctor, Jonathan Moyo’s statement that the military’s intervention was a coup.’ The military were targeting criminals like Moyo, Kasukuwere, Chombo, Mphoko and others who had infiltrated the party.
Mugabe admitted that the so called G40 cabal led by Jonathan Moyo had endorsed former first lady Grace Mugabe to succeed him.
He however refused to divulge the whereabouts of his wife Grace, Patrick Zhuwawo and Kasukuwere.
It is unclear whether President Munangagwa will embrace Mugabe’s offer or if he will ask his predecessor to surrender more funds purportedly externalized.
Presidential spokesman George Charamba refused to comment on the latest development.- Agencies
Let us assume this is true, Mugabe is offering to return $5 billion. I would say government must accept the money and ask him to declare all his cash and assets holdings inside and outside the country.
The trouble with all looters with unfettered access to wealth, as the Mugabes had, is that once they started looting they really did not know how to stop. They looted so much they have dollars sticking out of their ears and diamond rings on every finger and toe! What Mugabe is trying to off load is the loose change he is hoping will allow him to be let off the hook without further questions.
“When we go to the elections you should not fight,” he wrote on his Twitter handle.
ReplyDeleteHe continued stating,” when people support their parties it’s their choice. We should work for the people and not be selfish.
“There should be justice and national reconciliation because we cannot progress when communities are in conflict. God bless Zimbabwe”
This is an insult to those of us who have been calling for the implementation of all the democratic reforms because all we keep hearing from President Mnangagwa is talk and twitter and no action. He has not implemented even one reform. NOT ONE!
We know that Zanu PF has always used other more subtle ways to rig the vote such as denying opposition supporters the vote by making sure their details are posted in wrong constituencies whilst allowing its own supporters to cast multiple votes. The party has co-opted others such as the village heads and Chiefs to do the harassing and intimidating of voters on its behalf, etc. The party has been able to scale down the violence whenever it felt these more subtle methods are working.
Zanu PF has resisted implementing the democratic reforms because it has always wanted to have the option to scale up the violence and other more blatant vote rigging means as the need arise.
Zanu PF’s commitment to democratic reform and free and fair elections is not going to be judged on how much Zanu PF thugs have heeded your call and twitters to have peaceful elections but on whether you have implemented all the democratic reforms. ALL means ALL! We want to deal with this matter and settle it once and once for all and not have to revisit it ever again.
@silungish
ReplyDeleteNonsense, Mnangagwa was Mugabe's enforcer for 37 years, he rigged elections, masterminded the military coup against MDC in 2008 and last November against Mugabe and was heavily involved in the Gukurahundi massacre. Was he doing the right things then?
Mnangagwa is buying these trucks for Chiefs because he wants them to continue with their traditional role of threatening ordinary people and force them to vote for Zanu PF. Every Zimbabwean has the right to freedom and human rights including the right to a meaningful say in the governance of the country.
So it is ok for Chiefs to sell-out and deny povo their right to freedom and a free vote for the price of a new truck?
You keep supporting Zanu PF's oppression of ordinary people because you are just one of the regime's paid traitors! You will sell your own mother for a price and be proud you had a mother to sell! It was people like you who hunted down fellow blacks and sold them for a piece of calico cloth and a fist of shiny beads during the slave trade. You are the curse to any nation!
You real are the scum of the earth!
@ poundpower
ReplyDeleteTrue but there is also a real danger of people making the mistake that the November coup brought change only to discover they were wrong. The elections bring an opportunity for real and peaceful change and it must not be wasted. If people are going to vote for this Zanu PF regime, then they must be 100% sure that the November coup did deliver change or they will be stuck with the same corrupt, vote rigging and tyrannical Zanu PF dictatorship for another five years or more!
There is evidence to show that President Mnangagwa talks and lately has ever taken to writing on twitter about free, fair and credible elections and yet has done nothing to implement the reforms to make all this possible. Zimbabwe will npt have free and fair elections without first implementing the reforms - that is a fact!
Zimbabwe is not going to achieve any meaningful economic recovery without holding free and fair elections - that is another fact! In other words ED will not revive the economy if he fails to deliver free and fair elections; you need to wake up to that reality now before it is too late!
"THE Alliance for the People’s Agenda (APA) has started unveiling its candidates, as the party gears for the upcoming elections, where it says it will not go into a coalition," Zimeye reported.
ReplyDeleteSADC leaders have already said the opposition should not contest Zimbabwe’s elections without first implementing the democratic reforms necessary for free, fair and credible elections. The question people like Dr Nkosana Moyo and all the other opposition politicians who continue to contest these flawed and illegal elections is: why are you contesting an election you know is flawed? Why?
These opposition politicians keep talking about wanting reforms to be implemented but they still contest even when it is clear no reforms have been implemented; proof they were just paying lip-services to calls for reforms and free and fair elections.
The truth is Zanu PF will never implement any reforms when they know that the opposition will contest the elections regardless.
The ball is now in the people of Zimbabwe’s own court – not with opposition or Zanu PF. How much do we, the people ourselves, value free, fair and credible elections? Are we smart enough to realise that both Zanu PF and the opposition are just using us as pawns in their political game? The game is design to give Zanu PF its landslide victory and the opposition are quite happy to win the scraps. It is us we have paid dearly for being stuck for decades with corrupt and tyrannical regime complete with its entourage of corrupt and incompetent opposition.
If we are serious about getting a competent government then it is for us to break the present political mould. It is for us to refuse to take part in these utterly meaningless elections until reforms to guarantee free and fair elections are implemented!
“If you go into elections next month, you are going to lose; the elections are done,” SADC leaders warned Tsvangirai and his MDC friends in June 2013. I believe SADC or anyone with eyes to see and half a brain to perceive the political reality today will say the say about this year’s elections. The only question that must now be answered is; are we, the people, smart enough to heed that sound advice!