After a lifetime of a wishy-washy media our
political leaders have often shown just how corrupt and incompetent they are
when they have been subjected to the harsh reality of a truly free and
independent media. The BBC HardTalk programme has claimed several scalps,
Minister Patrick Chinamasa, the late Morgan Tsvangirai and last week it was
Nelson Chamisa.
BBC Hardtalk anchor Steven Sackur did not
disappoint, he took the MDC Alliance President to task describing Chamisa's 800
km/hr bullet-train and other promises as "nonsensical" and
"fantasy".
"Of course, Nelson Chamisa has faults. All
of us do. Of course, he has made mistakes in some of his pronouncements — all
of us have done so in our own political careers. None of us are perfect — but
at this moment in our history we cannot let perfection be the enemy of the
good," said David Coltart, coming to the defence of the party leader.
"No doubt he has learned from the experience and he is a quick learner. Having done Hardtalk twice myself I know how demanding it is and I respect that he was prepared to go into the firing line.”
"No doubt he has learned from the experience and he is a quick learner. Having done Hardtalk twice myself I know how demanding it is and I respect that he was prepared to go into the firing line.”
“Perfection be the enemy of the good!” What is
he talking about? We are talking about being corrupt and incompetent here!
MDC leaders have already proven that they are
corrupt, incompetent and sell-outs a cocktail much, much stronger than fault
and ignorance from which one be said to learn from the mistake. MDC leaders,
including David Coltart himself failed to implement even one reforms in five
years of the GNU. SADC leaders and many others tried to remind the MDC leaders
about the reforms but, with their snout buried in the feeding trough, they did
not hear.
In June 2013 SADC leaders told MDC leaders not
to take part in the elections without first implementing the reforms. “If you
go into the elections next month, you will lose; the elections are done!” they
warned.
We know MDC paid no heed and Zanu PF went on to
rig the elections. MDC was trounced!
“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,” was Senator Coltart’s excuse for disregarding SADC leaders’
advice.
“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.”
The MDC leaders have since kissed and made-up to
form the MDC Alliance and yet they are still going into this year’s elections
although not even one reform was implemented! MDC will be trounced yet again!
“Chamisa is a quick learner!” What lesson did
any of the MDC leaders, not just Chamisa, learn from the five years in GNU, the
rigged July 2013 elections, etc.? Would MDC be taking part in this year’s
elections with no reforms if they had learned anything!
“Chinodzipfira ndochiri mumuromo; chirimumusoro
unofa nacho!” (What is in the mouth you can spit out and live, what is in the
head (cardinal evils) will be interred with your bones!) MDC leaders have proven that they are corrupt,
incompetent and sell-outs, they are beyond the pale. And, for the good of
Zimbabwe, they should have retired en masse from all public life after the GNU!
The building of Zimbabwe's new $100 million parliament to start soon and will be complete in 36 months.
ReplyDeleteThis is a nation whose health and education services have all but collapsed. How is it then possible that we can afford these extravagances!
By seizing power as soon as Tsvangirai was died, before he was not even buried, and denying the other candidates a chance to put their names in the hat. It is nonsensical to argue that the party needed a leader immediately for stability and continuity. Steven Sackur was saying the obvious when he told Chamisa his seizing power did not bring stability in the party but the exact opposite, chaos. The worst kind of chaos too, since there is no healing the rift in this case.
ReplyDeleteTo say Chamisa is a fast learner is another piece of nonsense from Coltart when clearly Chamisa has learned nothing by repeating Tsvangirai's blundering.
MDC leaders and supporters should have the folly of failing to implement the reforms and contesting elections with no reforms in place. But, being the hard-wired fools they are, they have learned nothing and are now dragging the nation into yet another meaningless election. Coltart admits the folly in his book but he does not have the common sense to act on it!
You are right; "Hupenzi inyama yegakava!" MDC is a party full of some of the biggest political idiots in human history!
If Zimbabweans are serious about getting out of the political and economic mess Zanu PF has landed the nation into then the first lesson they must should have learned by now is to stop looking to MDC to chart the way forward and provide the leadership. MDC has been blundering from pillar to post for the last 20 years and that is not going to change!
@ Mapomba
ReplyDeleteThese elections are not going to be free, fair and credible because not even one reform has been implemented. Surely the alternative is obvious, demand that the elections must be postponed until the reforms are implemented. As Coltart rightly admitted above, by participating we are giving the flawed and illegal process credibility!
If you are told that by voting you will not change the outcome; you will be a fool to go on and vote.
If you are told that by voting you will not only fail to change the outcome but worse still, you will give the rigged process credibility; you will be a fool beyond recall if you still go on and vote.
"Pane mapenzi anonzwa, mamwe midzimu!" (The are fools can hears, others are dead to this world!)
MDC leaders have been warned time and time again but they never listen because they are dead to this world! And those who continue to follow MDC are themselves dead to this world.
Bonyongwe tell MPs no one in the CIO looted diamonds.
ReplyDeleteThe MPs should have done their homework, Bonyongwe was named in the Chinese looter who was tried and convicted of corruption in China a few years ago!
@ Kuku
ReplyDelete"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," said David Coltart.
This was Coltart being honest and bland. It is a great pity that very few Zimbabwean have ever stopped to take this in. These elections should not be going ahead without the reforms and yet here we are going into yet another flawed and illegal elections. We have learnt nothing from all our 38 years of blundering from pillar to post!
UK Ambassador tells MDC supporters they did not have anything to do with the humiliation of MDC Alliance leader on HardTalk.
ReplyDeleteMaking sure the elections are free, fair and credible is at the very heart of what everyone who cares about Zimbabwe and wants to see an end to the economic mess should be thinking about! It is impossible to see how these elections can be free and fair given there is no free public media, no verified voters' roll, no fair funding of political parties, massive intimidation, etc., etc. We should not have gone into these elections without first implementing the democratic reforms!
@Mukwirivindi
ReplyDeleteTrue, ED, Chiwenga and the rest of the coup cabal did not risk life and limb to wrestle power from Mugabe just to hand it over to whoever the people elected in a free, fair and credible elections. But by the same token, are we going to say Mugabe and his Zanu PF cronies did not risk life and limb fighting the white colonialists to hand over power to whoever the people elected in a free and fair election?
Elections are not about the opposition but about making sure the people have a meaningful say in the governance of the country. The decision as to who governs is the people’s right and theirs alone. Free, fair and credible election is a fundamental right and not a privilege that the ruling elite can grant to some and deny to others as their whim dictates.
It is no secret that Zanu PF has never held free, fair and credible elections just as it is no secret that these elections are not going to be free and fair. Whilst we cannot do anything about the past, we sure as hell must do something about the present. We cannot stop the elections going ahead, it is too late for that, but we can make sure these elections are ruled null and void!
The worst thing the British or anyone else for that matter can do is to turn a blind eye to the political reality that President Mnangagwa has refused to implement even one democratic reform to make these elections free, fair and credible. Where in the world can elections be judged free and fair when there is no free media, no verified voters' roll, the ruling party has access to billions of dollars of looted nation wealth to bankroll its vote rigging schemes whilst the opposition is stone-broke, etc.
ReplyDeleteYes, the MDC and the other opposition players are to blame for agreeing to take part in these flawed elections. Indeed, Nelson Chamisa and his MDC friends had the golden opportunities during the GNU to implement the reforms and stop the vote rigging; the wasted the opportunities because they are corrupt, incompetent and they sold-out.
Still, it will be wrong of any of the international election observers to judge the conduct of these elections on the basis of what the MDC have judged acceptable. It is the great misfortune of Zimbabwe's corrupt and dysfunctional political system that neither the ruling party (Zanu PF has never held free and fair elections) nor the opposition (MDC sold out of reforms) truly represent the ordinary Zimbabwean.
There is no doubt that no one in their right mind would ever want to be denied their basic freedoms and human rights including the right to free, fair and credible elections. The root cause of Zimbabwe's economic meltdown that has send unemployment soaring into 90% and left ¾ living on US$1.00 a day is the nation's failure to remove the corrupt and tyrannical Zanu PF regime from office. Zimbabwe's economic recovery is therefore intrinsically linked to meaningful political change, which is only possible if we have free and fair elections.
The international election observers must listen to the ordinary Zimbabweans, not the country's politicians, who are crying for free, fair and credible elections after 38 years of rigged elections often accompanied by some of the most barbaric political harassment, beatings, rape and even murders. Zanu PF has murdered over 30 000 innocent Zimbabweans in its 38 years reign of corruption and terror.
With not even one democratic reform in place, it is impossible to see how these elections can ever be free, fair and credible. IMPOSSIBLE!
Whilst there is nothing anyone can do to stop these flawed and illegal elections going ahead; they can run they course. What we, the ordinary Zimbabweans, expect the international observers to do is to judge the elections process included the flaws, mole and all!
We are keen to implement the democratic reforms and end this charade of flawed and illegal elections and by judging the process null and void, the observers will give the nation a peaceful way out of this nightmare. Surely, that is not too much to ask!
@ Noble Ngara
ReplyDelete"It's a ridiculous notion that Britain is supporting ED----the fact that Britain sent three ministers to Zimbabwe is a positive and great thing for the country----only a novice minion is unaware that Britain is crucial to the economic recovery of Zimbabwe---just as much as China," you said.
That is all very true, but the British are doing all this on the clear understanding that ED was not going to hold free and fair elections. The argument here is that the British should not sell-out on free and fair elections. If ED fails to deliver free and fair election, then the whole process must be declared null and void so someone else who will implement the reforms and hold free and fair election is appointed. ED must not be allowed to get away with another rigged election.
Zimbabwe is in this economic and political mess because for the last 38 years the nation was stuck with a corrupt and tyrannical Zanu PF dictatorship that rigged the elections to stay in power. We must deal with the problem of rigged elections now because nothing of any substance will ever be accomplished until we do!
Only a fool ever believed the nonsense that the Zanu PF dictatorship was transformed from the corrupt and oppressive regime to a competent and democratic one by the simple act removing Mugabe and a few others whilst the rest of the vote-rigging and corrupt thugs remained.
ReplyDeleteIndeed, the give-away that the coup had changed nothing, this was the same deadly cobra that had shed off its old coat, was to look at who was talking of the "new dispensation" the same vote-rigging, corrupt and murderous thugs in a different regalia!
"A lot of people are finding resonance with the reform agenda that the New Administration is Harare has embarked and these comrades that are coming from across the political aisle vindicate that they are on board with the Reform Agenda," said Nick Mangwana.
ReplyDeleteOne can understand why some people are deserting the MDC, there is chaos and confusion in the opposition camp. But these people will never find Zanu PF to be any better either, the party has just gone through a massive implosion and the infighting is not over as we saw with the party members fighting each other in the recent primaries. As long as the economic mess remains the party members will continue to fight each other in their desperate effort to escape the ever rising tide of abject poverty.
People like Nick are now singing the praises of the "new administration" with the same blind loyalty the praised the "old administration" and if one was to ask Nick what this "reform agenda" is he will waffle for hours and say nothing of substance because there nothing new ED is offering. He has promised free, fair and credible elections and only a fool will still believe these elections are not going to be rigged!
If Zanu PF is going to rig the elections then what reform agenda has ED brought!!!!
Zanu PF' strategy is to make the opposition believe they can win rigged elections and it is working, even after 38 years of rigged elections!
ReplyDelete@ Makoni
ReplyDeleteED wanted us to believe him as the messiah when he was indeed the most evil during Mugabes era. Nothing has changed in you, look at the chaos during the Zanu PF primaries when your advisor Mutsvangwa lost the election he abused the government letter head to say the police and army where involved. My question is if he was an opposition candidate will that have happened??" you wrote.
You are 100% right, ED and his junta friends were the most evil elements in the Mugabe Zanu PF dictatorship and to for anyone to believe they changed after forcing Mugabe to resign is to believe a mamba that shed off its old coat is now a harmless snake!
Commissioners from the electoral management body, ZEC have unanimously agreed that it is unconstitutional for political parties to be part of the ballot papers procurement process.
ReplyDelete"It was agreed that allowing that to happen would be in violation of the constitution and also impinges on the independence of the electoral body," said ZEC chairperson, Chingumba.
How naïve! ZEC is not and has never been an independence body and it is foolish to suggest otherwise!