Chamisa promise "ED lucrative pension and 5 star hospitals for ruling elite" - making rich, richer and poor, poorer N Garikai

“MDC Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa says he will reward President Emmerson Mnangagwa with a lucrative pension if he wins next month's presidential race,” reported Bulawayo 24.

On the promise to pay Mnangagwa a “lucrative pension” that is to be expected. After all ever since MDC leaders co-operated fully with Zanu PF to make sure that not even one brick of the de facto one-party, Zanu PF, dictatorship was not dismantled throughout the five years of the GNU; even the heartless Robert Mugabe has softened and accept MDC leaders as bona fide members of the country’s ruling elite or be it junior members.

During the GNU Mugabe rewarded MDC leaders with ministerial cars, generous salaries and allowances, a former white-owned farm for Welshman Ncube, a $4 million Highlands mansion for Morgan Tsvangirai, etc. MDC leaders made more money in the five GNU years than many Zimbabweans with comparable qualification would ever make in a life time. Douglas Mwonzora did not know what to do with all the money he was making he ended up building sprawling house, “a hotel”, as Job Sikhala aptly called it.

Chamisa has three or four houses in the low-density suburbs plus many business interests. He is also a pastor, in a country where religion has become the opium of the filthy poor masses; many have made a very good living from ripping off the masses of their last pennies in exchange for the pastoral promise of a better life behind the grave.

SADC leaders tried to get the elections postponed so that some reforms could be implemented but Tsvangirai et al would not listen. With not even one democratic reform in place, Zanu PF blatantly rigged the 2013 election to return to power with a landslide victory.

“MDC leaders were busy enjoying themselves during the GNU, they forgot why they were there!” moaned one SADC leader is sheer exasperation at MDC’s failure to implement even one democratic reform.

Robert Mugabe, just to show his appreciation of what MDC leaders had done to keep his dictatorship intact against all the pressure, especially from SADC, to reform; allowed Tsvangirai to stay in the $4 million mansion although he was not entitled to it. Indeed, the tyrant even paid Tsvangirai’s SA hospital bills. When Mnangagwa took over from Mugabe after the November coup he has given Tsvangirai the title deeds to the mansion and paid his R2 million hospital bill.

Going to SA, Singapore for Mugabe and his family, for all one’s health and education needs started as a status symbol, every member of the ruling elite was doing it. Mugabe made as many as 12 such health trips in one year at the cost of $3 million a trip. It did not take long to turn these health trip from status to an absolute necessity as Zimbabwe’s own health services has all but collapsed.

The large fortunes squandered on foreign lands on the education and health needs of the ruling elite meant there was little money left and thus accelerated the collapse of the local services. Zimbabwe’ health and education services have all but collapsed. People up and down the land are dying of all manner of ailments for lack of $5 per month drugs. With ¾ of the population living on US$1.00 a day, spending $5 on medication is a luxury many simply cannot afford!

“He (Chamisa) also said when elected into power no senior government official, including him, will be allowed to seek medical service outside Zimbabwe,” the report continued.

That should be very easy to do; spare no expense in building health five-star facilities complete with the latest equipment and staffed with the very best in their field of expertise for the ruling elite. The quality of service will be comparable if not even better than what Mugabe gets in Singapore, who would refuse that!

Good idea Mr Chamisa, do the same with education. The late Malawi dictator, Dr Hastings Kamuzu Banda, reported build a replica Eton in Malawi complete with imported lawn for the cricket pitch for children of country’s ruling elite. We used to complain that Ian Smith’s regime was spending $54 on the education of a white child for every $1.00 spent of the education of a black child. You want to do better than that; you want to spend 1000 times plus on the education and health needs of the filthy rich ruling elite than is spend on the needs of the filthy poor majority.

It is 38 years of gross mismanagement and rampant corruption by these Zanu PF thugs that has landed this nation in this economic mess. The regime rigged elections to stay in power against the people’s democratic wishes. Instead of implementing the democratic reforms designed to end the vote rigging and tyranny you and your MDC friends have left the reforms untouched and have been negotiating with Zanu PF to be accepted into the exclusive ruling elite club.

Instead of demanding that Zanu PF thugs must be held to account for all the criminal waste of the nation’s resources and the over 30 000 innocent blood they have shed, MDC is offering them “lucrative pensions” to add on to the mountain of wealth they have looted!

When MDC was launched in 1999, the party promised to bring democratic change as implied in the party’s name. Sadly, the party has failed to bring about even one democratic change, even when the party had the golden opportunity to do so during the GNU. Mugabe and his Zanu PF friends entrapped MDC leaders with the trappings of high office and they sold-out on reforms. The sooner the ordinary Zimbabwean accept that Chamisa and company are running with the hare but hunting with the hounds the sooner the nation can snap-out of the mistaken belief that MDC leaders are fighting for the common good and take up the fight for democratic change.

Nelson Chamisa and his MDC friends have tasted the good life of the ruling elite; they are now fighting to climb up the ladder and they are offering the Zanu PF ruling elite lucrative pensions, five-star health services, etc. as down payment to assure their extravagant lifestyles will not be interrupted in any way. As for the down trodden ordinary Zimbabweans fighting for freedom and basic human rights including the right to free, fair and credible elections; Chamisa et al have long forgotten about them!