"We need unity of purpose to rediscover past glory" argue Mutema - going in the wrong direction N Garikai

There is nothing wrong with unity but how many times have we seen the call for unity abused to justify stifling all meaningful debate and democratic competition? Indeed, I would go so far as to say Zimbabwe is in this economic and political mess; with unemployment a nauseating 90% and political paralysis because politicians on both sides of the political divide are incompetent and corrupt; because we have stifled democratic competition under the pretext of unity!

“Zimbabweans should start realising the riches that comes with a united rather than a divided nation. We are only as strong as we are united, as weak as we are divided,” wrote Brightface Mutema in Bulawayo 24.

“Elections have come and gone, let us now girdle our loins and contribute towards nation building. This is no longer the time to continue holding on to political differences at the expense of the economy. For how long can we allow the elections hang over to get the better of us?

“The current economic quagmire being experienced in the country should not divide the nation but requires all the brains that are in-order to rediscover the lost economic mojo. There is no way that we can expect a knee jerk economic turnaround when other elements amongst us are the devil's advocates.”

To start with, the argument that the refusal by some of us to accept President Mnangagwa and his junta regime as the winner of the 30 July 2018 elections is in any way slowing down the economic recovery much less stopping the nation “rediscovering the lost economic mojo” is a nonsense. This is just the usual Zanu PF propaganda designed to silence everyone for fear of being accused as the one causing disunity and jinxing the flow of the mojo. This has worked well for the party since it has given it ready-made scapegoats for its failures.

We all know how Zanu PF has blamed the western imposed sanctions for all the nation’s economic problems, for example. Whilst the party has dismissed MDC leaders are utterly useless individuals, “puppet of the West”. And yet when it comes to the sanctions Zanu PF portrays the western leaders as the puppets and MDC leaders as the puppeteers.

We must not allow ourselves to be bamboozled by Zanu PF, its apologists and some misguided individuals out there who too believe there is nothing to be gained talking about the recent elections. These were not you run of the mill elections; President Mnangagwa and his Zanu PF junta rigged the elections.

The root cause of Zimbabwe’s economic meltdown is because investors have shied away from the country because of its status as a pariah state ruled by incompetent, corrupt and vote rigging thugs. By rigging the July 2018 election Mnangagwa has just reaffirmed that Zimbabwe is still a pariah state ruled by thugs.

In other words Zimbabwe’s economic difficulties are not a result of Zimbabweans failing to unity behind Zanu PF but rather a result of the country failing to attract the much need foreign investment and financial assistance because the country is a pariah state.

The American and all the other western democracy have all dismissed the July elections as rigged and investors and lenders took note. This Zanu PF regime is illegitimate and we, Zimbabweans would be foolish to ignore that fact because there is no hope of any meaningful economic recover without first ending this curse of pariah state.

 Nelson Chamisa is trying to take advantage of Mnangagwa’s political and economic fix by claiming that he, Nelson Chamisa can solve his illegitimacy by publicly endorsing Mnangagwa as the winner, after his palm is appropriately “greased”. That is nonsense, of course, because legitimacy comes from winning the mandate to rule by winning the majority votes in a free, fair and credible elections.

Chamisa has also claimed to “have the key to unlock the economy”. Again that too is nonsense. The investors know that MDC were nothing but window dressing in the last GNU and will be even worse now if Zanu PF was to include them in the present regime.

Zanu PF leaders have already proven beyond all reasonable doubt that they are incompetent and corrupt and have been taking the nation in the wrong directions. But because they also rigged the elections they, as the government of the day have decided what direction the nation went. We are in this political and economic mess because we have wasted the last 38 years going in the wrong directions.

“Unity of purpose is needed more than before. In unity the country can rediscover its past glory,” continued Mutema.

“Truly the Zimbabwean economy will reboot if we all pull in the same direction without linking everything to politics but will definitely crumble if we continue to sabotage the new status quo”

The direction a nation goes does not depend on “all pulling in the same direction” but what those in positions of power and authority, in government, decide. So we are not in this economic and political mess because for the last 38 years we have not been united and pulling in the same directions but because Zanu PF has been dragging us in the wrong direction!

Uniting behind an illegitimate Zanu PF dictatorship will NOT bring about the economic recovery because investors will not want to do business with in pariah state. Zanu PF is taking us in the wrong directions and it is folly to unite and pull going in the wrong direction!

Unity of purpose is important but first people must question what that purpose is and even then still continue to question during implementation to be absolutely certain you are going in the right direction at all times.

What good is it to the nation to be 100% united and pulling in the same directions when that takes us in the same direction we have come these last 38 years? Taking us deeper and deeper into economic poverty and political despair!