“In a famous exchange between Hemingway and Fitzgerald, Fitzgerald is reputed to have said, “The rich are different from the rest of us,” to which Hemingway replied, “Yes, I know, they have more money.”
“Liberals have long contended that Hemingway had it right. There is nothing wrong with the poor that a little more money wouldn’t cure. This view is, I believe, profoundly misguided. Money can alleviate the harsh conditions of poverty, but unless it is used to leverage changes in behavior, it will have little lasting effect. Wrote Isabel V Sawhill in an article The Behavioral Aspects of Poverty.
To put Isabel’s argument more crudely; you can take some people out of the ghetto but you cannot take the ghetto mentality out of them!
By the early 1990s, when the country started the first of two five-year Economic Structural Adjustment Programme (ESAP), many Zimbabweans were aware that the root causes of the country’s economic problems were mismanagement and corruption by the Zanu PF regime. However, it was not until the late 1990s, that the people finally realised that if the nation was ever going to tackle the problems of mismanagement and corruption they must force Zanu PF to be accountable to them, the people.
Ever since the country gained her independence, Robert Mugabe and his Zanu PF cronies had moved swiftly and ruthlessly to undermine the country’s multiple democratic institutions and constitution to establish a de facto one-party dictatorship. Zanu PF usurped the people’s democratic power to hold those in power to account and, if the people should so desire, remove them from power. The party rigged the elections to stay in power.
So, as long as Zanu PF was able to rig the elections to power, the people knew the nation is stuck with an incompetent and corrupt regime and hence the nation’s call for democratic change. The people knew they need to have democratic changes to stop Zanu PF rigging elections. What exactly these democratic changes were, most people did not have a clue.
Since the late 1990s the people have risked life and limb to elect the late Morgan Tsvangirai and his MDC friends into power on the promise they will bring about the democratic changes. Sadly, after nearly 20 years on the political stage and countless golden opportunity to bring about the democratic changes the nation has been dying for, MDC has failed to bring about even one democratic change. Not one! Why, you might well ask?
Well the simple answer is that Morgan Tsvangirai and his MDC friends, just like povo out there, too did not have a clue what the democratic reforms were, much less how they were going to be implemented. Instead of using the five years of the GNU to implement the democratic reforms that would have stop Zanu PF rigging the elections – the equivalent of spending the money to alter the behaviour of the poor in Isabel Sawhill’s example – MDC failed to get even one reform implemented. Not even one!
MDC leaders believed they would win the 2013 election “regardless of all Zanu PF’s vote rigging shenanigans”, Tsvangirai admitted. The raft of democratic reforms agreed at the onset of the GNU were meant to end Zimbabwe’s scourge of rigged elections but Tsvangirai and his MDC’s friends with the ghetto mentality did not see the opportunity – they did not see anything wrong with rigged elections given their well-attended rallies.
After the rigged July 2018 elections one would have thought MDC leaders learned their lesson; they will be demanding the implementation of the reforms before elections. Sadly, the ghetto mentality is a hard-nut to crack. MDC leaders came up with all manners of excuses for taking part in this year’s elections with no reforms in place. “MDC has stringent measures to stop Zanu PF rigging the elections,” said Nelson Chamisa. All nonsense, of course.
Now with just six days to voting day, it is clear that Zanu PF is going to blatantly rig these elections. None of Chamisa’s stringent measure have been able to force ZEC to produce a credible, clean and verified voters’ roll, for example. MDC are planning to hold all day and all night vigils outside ZEC offices for the next five days to protest ZEC’s failure to deliver free, fair and credible elections.
MDC’s vigil protest are nothing more than the demonstratives protestations of the mother hen after the eagle that has just snatched one of her chicks. Everyone knows MDC leaders and their supporters will be taking part in the flawed and illegal elections on Monday with no credible, clean and verified voters’ roll.
By high noon our demonstrative mother hen oppositions will all be holding the usual press conference to protest how “Zanu PF stole the elections!”
What the international election observers must understand is that there are many ordinary Zimbabweans who understand the need to implement the democratic reforms as the pre-requisite for holding free, fair and credible elections. These Zimbabweans understand the futility of participating in these flawed elections and are demanding that these elections must be declared null and void.
What Zimbabwe wants is a chance to revisit the raft of democratic reforms agreed at the onset of the 2008 GNU and make sure the reforms are implemented this time.
Every thinking Zimbabwean out there acknowledges that the nation has have many golden opportunities to end the country’s economic and political poverty but has wasted them all. Our political leaders, on both sides of the political divide, failed to see and seize the opportunity for change because their ghetto mentality got the better of them. These 30 July 2018 elections are not free, fair and credible and thus offers another golden opportunity for the nation to finally dismantle its present failed political system, the international community can help us get there.
Zimbabwe will never hold free and fair elections as long as we have an opposition, stuck in their ghetto mentality, who believe they can win rigged elections!
Mr Mwonzora, you are right to say these elections are not going to be free, fair and credible but, if the truth be said, how many times have you been warned this would happen as long as no democratic reform are implemented. MDC has refused to listen to advice and dragged the nation into these flawed and illegal elections out of greed.
ReplyDelete"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 (2013) elections," admitted David Coltart, former MDC senator and minister in the GNU, in his recent book.
"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 and all the opposition politicians who have dragged the nation into these elections cannot pretend they are not responsible for this mess!
“To this end, we note the signing of the Peace Pledge by the political parties on 26 June, under the auspices of the National Peace and Reconciliation Commission. We welcome their commitment to promote a climate of peace and tolerance, accept the results of elections, or challenge the results through the due process of law, refrain from inducing fear in citizens, campaign against all forms of violence and intimidation and resolve disputes through dialogue,” reads the UN Statement.
ReplyDeleteWhat is disappointing here is that the UN even allowed itself to be easily hoodwinked! The policing of the law and order is the responsibility of the Police and not some voluntary body with no power and authority to investigate, arrest and bring before the court of law all those who break the law. The Police in Zimbabwe have failed to carry out their set task because the ZRP, like many other State institutions, has been corrupted and compromised by Zanu PF. Instead of carrying out the democratic reforms to give the Police and the other institutions their independence free of political interferences Zanu PF opted to set up this voluntary body of political parties signing a pledge to keep the peace. This is just absurd for words!
FIREBRAND MDC-T national youth chair Happymore Chidziva has vowed the main opposition’s youth wing will not accept a poll outcome that does not declare party leader Nelson Chamisa as the winner.
ReplyDeleteHe was speaking moments before the MDC Alliance leader delivered his keynote speech at a star rally in Gweru on Sunday.
MDC has been warned that without reforms Zanu PF will rig the elections. It is of course foolish of MDC to expect to win rigged elections, worse still, to threaten violence if they fail.
These elections should not have taken place without implementing the reforms; MDC has been warned on this matter on countless occasions. It is unacceptable that MDC should be dragging the nation even deeper into the abyss by threatening violence.
What we need is for these elections to be declared null and void because they were not free, fair and credible – not because MDC lost. We need to go back to the reforms of 2008 and make sure they are implemented.
THE Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) has ruled out chances of postponing next Monday’s national elections, insisting it was all systems go despite complaints by opposition parties that the ground was not yet level for a free and fair contest.
ReplyDeleteThe opposition parties are being naïve, to say the least! What meaningful changes can they expect to be implemented now, a few minutes before midnight! The opposition have been warned that with no reforms in place, there is no chance of holding free, fair and credible elections.
What the ordinary Zimbabweans must do now is boycott everything to do with these flawed elections because any participation will be seen as giving credibility to the process. The people must start demanding that these elections be declared null and void, now and not after the elections are rigged!
@ Zuze
ReplyDelete“It is, therefore, an open secret that no election time has ever been free of Mugabe’s ghost. The rigging, long claimed by those in the opposition, has been, at times subtle and sometimes as blatant as seen by the voters roll having names of people who died years ago,” you rightly say in one breath.
“Zimbabweans deserve a rule of the people by people. I do not write to prop up either of the main contenders in the presidential election, but write that the desires and the yearnings of the people of Zimbabwe be recognised,” you say in the next breath.
“Zimbabweans have suffered oppression for a long time. I write that if there be anyone or some force bent on sabotaging or subduing the will of the people, may it not overcome.”
How naïve! The thugs who have been rigging elections to keep Zanu PF and Mugabe is power are still running the show. These elections are being held with not even one democratic reform in place, just as in 2013, and there is growing evidence the elections are being rigged. ZEC has failed to produce a credible, clean and verified voters’ roll only someone who is naïve would still expect these elections to be free, fair and credible!
@ Tshuma
ReplyDelete“The real reason why Zec will not release the biometric voters’ roll is simply that within hours of such release, there will be enough evidence from the contents of the biometric voters’ roll to stop the elections from being held. Even our clearly partisan courts will not be able to allow the elections to proceed after being presented with the evidence of such an audit,” you said.
You 100% correct but that is exactly the reason why SADC advised MDC not to go into any elections without first implementing the democratic reforms designed to give such bodies as ZEC their independence.
“I therefore appeal to SADC, Zimbabwean churches, all political parties, civil society and fellow Zimbabweans to use these last few days to support all demands for an audit of the biometric voters’ roll to ensure that the true will of the people of Zimbabwe prevails on the 30th of July,” you continued.
Well there is a surprise! SADC leaders advised MDC not to take part in these flawed elections and now that it is clear Zanu PF is rigging these elections you expect SADC to step in and sort out the mess! Chamisa said “MDC has stringent measures to stop Zanu PF rigging the elections!” Ask him to finally get off his back side and implement the stringent measures. He has had the last five years to implement them but no doubt they are so powerful he only needs hours before the voting day for them to work their magic!
SADC and the rest of the world should just watch and learn from Mr bullet train Chamisa! Watch and learn!
“The normalisation of relations with the rest of the world is the key takeaway in these elections so that we are not seen as a pariah state anymore,” Jabangwe, who is also president of the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI), told AFP on a tour of his factory.
ReplyDelete“We have lost too much time with the politics. It’s now time to develop the economy.
“When the rest of the economy is functioning and everyone has money to buy what they want, we also benefit.”
Given that Zanu PF is blatantly rigging these elections, Mr Jabangwe can kiss goodbye the thought that Zimbabwe can be anything else but a pariah state the day after voting. The elections are being held with no credible, clean and verified voters’ roll for Pete’ sake; only someone who is really naïve would expect these elections to be free and fair.
How did someone so naïve get to be CZI President, is what I would like to know!
The Zimbabwe Republic Police have turned down applications by the MDC Alliance to hold a series of protests against the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) over electoral reforms.
ReplyDeleteWhilst one would want the right of every Zimbabwean to be honoured at all times, one has to agree with the Police in this case that MDC Alliance just want to hold these demos for no other rational reason than that they have nothing better to do.
There is no way anyone in their right mind would believe that ZEC or anyone can implement any meaningful reforms now, just days before the elections. MDC leaders have had five years during the GNU to implement the reforms and they failed to get even one reform implemented. Since the end of the GNU they have had four years, 11 months and 3 weeks to get the reforms implemented and still they failed.
The MDC leaders have been talking about being ready to die for free and fair elections. This sounds like someone will now do anything including disturbing the peace so they can be arrested – anything to attract attention and steal some limelight just to remain relevant! We want rational leaders and not these desperados!
MDC leaders are corrupt and incompetent, they sold-out on democratic reforms they should just ride into the political sunset and not drag the nation down another political dead end!
Themba Mliswa is one of those people talks too much and is completely sold to the school of thought that if you cannot dizzle with brilliance then buffle with bull! In a country where many provincial hospital have no working ambulances it is dishearten that each and every Zanu PF's 20 or so MPs, 8 or so senators, Zanu PF provincial leaders, etc. should each be furnished with brand new off-the road vehicles. The indifference of our political leaders to the suffering of the ordinary people is truly shocking!
ReplyDeleteMliswa can witter all he likes about the post November coup political environment being better that the Mugabe days but what matters here is whether these elections are free, fair and credible. They are not!
How can an election process with no free public media, that has failed to realise a credible, clean and verified voters' roll, in which the ruling party has billions of dollars of looted public wealth to bankroll its vote-rigging and vote-buying scheme; etc. be free and fair? Just because Mr Mliswa is a thug in his own right and therefore is used to all the political thuggery and trickery it does not mean this is the Zimbabwe we want.
These elections should have never taken place, not without implementing the democratic reforms first. Whilst there is very little the ordinary Zimbabweans can do to stop the circus, what we can and must do is have nothing to do with this charade. Our participation, be it by attending any rallies or queuing to vote, still be seen as approval of the process. We must focus all our energy on demanding that the elections be declared null and void.
The only sure way the nation is going to have free, fair and credible elections followed by a competent government is by making sure all the democratic reforms designed to dismantle the Zanu PF autocracy are implemented!
"Well the simple answer is that Morgan Tsvangirai and his MDC friends, just like povo out there, too did not have a clue what the democratic reforms were, much less how they were going to be implemented."
ReplyDeleteAs much as I hate to admit it even to myself, it is true that Morgan Tsvangirai and his corrupt and incompetent MDC friends did not have a clue what the democratic changes the nation was dying for were. They called their party the Movement for Democratic Change just to capture the mood of the nation and the time (copy-cat of Zambia's 1990 Frederick Chiluba's Movement of Multi-party Democracy). For all the wasted opportunities to deliver democratic changes MDC has become an oxymoron on par with North Korea calling itself the Democratic Republic!
Even if Chamisa and his friends were to win next Monday, benefiting from the Zanu PF vote rigging juggernaut's failure to go into overdrive. It is no secret that the Police and CIO, for one thing, have not played their usual role in securing a Zanu PF landslide victory at all cost. Until last November's military coup the two security sectors were Mugabe and G40 loyalists through and through. The Army was loyal to Mnanganga and the Lacoste faction. So, Zanu PF is not a united party going into these elections. What matters is that a Chamisa government will implement some token reforms, nowhere near enough to guarantee free, fair and credible election.
So, if we are serious about implementing the democratic reforms and put this nation on a firm footing for a healthy and functional democratic system we will be better off biting the bullet and appoint an interim administration tasked to implement all the reforms and then hold fresh elections.
What is crystal clear here is that Zanu PF is rigging these elections. No one, not even the Chinese and Russians would dare pretend an election in which there is no credible, clean and verified voters' roll can ever be judged free and fair!
ReplyDeleteWhat every thinking Zimbabweans is expecting from the international election observers is for them to condemn these flawed and illegal elections. Declaring them null and void will allow Zimbabwe to revisit the raft of democratic reforms agreed at the onset of the 2008 GNU and make sure the reforms are implemented this time!
@ Noble Ngara
ReplyDeleteWhat are you wittering about Democracy and rule of law! Since when has ED and the junta cared about any of that stuff? When the stage the coup last November they certain did not care about rule of law then! The junta is blatantly rigging these elections and anyone who pretend the junta will have any qualms about rigging the elections when it staged a coup 8 eights ago is naive!
The international community can see these elections are being rigged and they are going to declare the whole shooting match null and void!
@ Solomon
ReplyDeleteChamisa and his MDC friends have lied that they "have stringent measures to stop Zanu PF rigging the elections." Everyone can see Zanu Pf is rigging these elections. Chamisa is threatening to have these vigils just as a desperate throw of the last dice to remain relevant when he is not! I totally agree with the Elders that MDC should shut up and not waste anyone's time and space! No one can ever expect an reform or anything to change now, just days before voting!