"After 38 years of blundering from pillar to post, we have a chance of resetting our dysfunctional political system. The question is Do we have the vision to see the opportunity and the resolve to seize it?" you asked.
Tragically, the answer to that has to be: No, we do not have the vision to see the dysfunctional political system. How can we then fix something we do not see as broken and so we are destined to continue to blunder from pillar to post.
Whilst the country's worsening economic situation has touched everyone in the land; the filthy rich ruling elite have suffered the inconvenience of the pot-holes on the public roads and having to shoe off so many people begging for help. The 75% of the population now living in abject poverty, they are at the coal face, they may not know how and why the country is in a mess but they have sure suffered the consequences of the economic chaos and political tyranny.
The people can see things are not right but have no clue why much less what to do about it. They are no wiser than an animal caught up in a drought, it is starving to death because there is no grass to eat and water to drink. The tragedy here is that human beings should consider themselves to be as helpless as a dum animal especially when their problem is a man-made problem and thus within their power to solve if only they applied themselves!
If Zimbabweans have any knowledge of why the country is in such a political and economic mess then it is very superficial, potato skin deep. And it is this lack on understanding of what is going on that has allowed politicians from both sides of the divide to exploit the people for their selfish political gain. Soon after independence in 1980, Robert Mugabe and his Zanu PF thugs set out to establish the de facto one-party dictatorship we have suffer under these last 38 years. He rode roughshod over the people denying them their freedoms and rights including the right to a meaningful say in the governance of the country and even the right to life.
The easy with which Zanu PF contemptuously impose its dictatorial will on the nation called into question how much the people had understood what the war of liberation was about and their role in it. Yes povo played a key role, but was that because they had no choice as contrast to fighting for something they believed in - freedom, liberty, one-man one-vote, a fair share of the nation's wealth, justice, etc. If it had been the latter then why did they allow Mugabe to brush them aside like bugs and deny them all these things?
The ease with which Mnangagwa and the war veterans mobilised the people to demonstrate against Mugabe to pressure Mugabe to resign showed just how little the people understood. Whilst the people had been fighting to end the Zanu PF dictatorship for decades they fall for the crumbs Mnangagwa offered them. He offered to remove Mugabe and a few around him but otherwise left the dictatorship untouched. Some people had argued to "give Mnangagwa a chance!"
When Mnangagwa blatantly rigged the recent elections, that should have forced everyone to open their eyes and see Zanu PF for what it is - the party of corrupt, vote rigging and ruthless thugs. Sadly, the blatant vote rigging has not even registered in many people's minds!
Even the corrupt and incompetent MDC politicians have been quick to exploit the people's ignorance. The people risked life and limb to elect Tsvangirai et al into power on the understanding they would bring about the democratic changes the nation was dying for. MDC has just celebrated its 19 year anniversary and yet the party has failed to implement even one democratic change. Not even one!
Indeed, it is true that Zanu PF dragged the nation into this political and economic hell-hole but it is MDC that has helped Zanu PF keep us in the hole for the last two decades. MDC leaders have had many, the best falling during the 2008 GNU, opportunities to implement the democratic changes to end Zanu PF dictatorship but wasted them all.
It is MDC leaders who have kept us stuck in the hell-hole by participating in these flawed elections ignoring all warning not to until reforms are implemented.
Still it is the people themselves who are ultimately to blame here because they failed to elect competent opposition leaders to implement the reforms, etc.
The very fact that both MDC and ZanuPF still continues to enjoy very significant public support regardless of the mountain of evidence of the leaders are corrupt, incompetent and even mass murderers speaks volume of just how naive and gullible Zimbabweans are. As much as one would want to see Zimbabweans happy, prosperous and masters of their own destiny the tragic reality is says the nation will continue to blunder from pillar to post until they finally put on their thinking cap on!
The party has always received additional funding from such activities as former Minister Jonathan Moyo using state money to bankroll party activities, from the wholesale looting taking place in Marange, etc. What we can say here is that the taxpayer will pay these former minister salaries and allowances directly or indirectly.
ReplyDeleteThis is more about Zanu PF's factional political infighting than about fighting corruption; if the G40 faction had prevailed on the 15 November 2017 it would be Mnangagwa and his loyalists who would be facing the music right now. Corruption is still a serious problem in Zimbabwe, we have yet to arrest the first person responsible for the $15 billion looted from Marange and recover one dollar. There simple explanation for this is those responsible for loot are from both G40 and Lactose factions and Mnangagwa knows that he cannot go after the G40 members without implicating himself and his own supporters! So nothing has been done and the looting continues!
ReplyDeleteFINANCE minister Mthuli Ncube has indicated that the 2019 national budget would reduce budget deficit to 4% of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2019, and subsequently to 2,4% in the following year.
ReplyDeleteBudget expenditures over the period January to September 2018 amounted to $6,3 billion, against the planned $4,1 billion. Resultantly, expenditure over-runs of $2,2 billion were incurred, mainly due to over-expenditure on capital and net lending, employment costs and interest on debt.
This is all wishful thinking! Whilst other Finance Minister before have been responsible for taxing the private sector to death many of them closed throwing millions of workers out of work; Minister Mthuli Ncube could not do the same and so he has gone after the pittance vendors are earning. His 2% tax on all electronic transactions will hit the vendors hard and no doubt put hundreds of thousands of them out of the informal sector! Minister Ncube has just “fired” hundreds of thousands of vendors!
Before Minister Ncube’s appointment as Minister of Finance 75% of the population lived on US$1.00 a day, now they the same dollar will have to last them two or three days! Interestingly enough the Minister has just assured the MPs and other ruling elite that they will get their new cars and all the usual generous perks!
Chamisa Nearly Kidnapped – WHAT ARE THEY TRYING TO ACHIEVE?
ReplyDeleteThis is tragic, this is a regime that has failed to address the nation's problems and is now resorting to the same default setting of using brutal violence!
“We will be demonstrating against corruption, state capture, and the refusal of government to implement devolution. We will demand a serious redress of the problems of poverty and misery to which our people have been consigned,” wrote Douglas Mwonzora.
ReplyDelete“The recent monetary policy has among other things led to the failure of our people to access healthcare facilities.”
This is about as vague as the Zanu PF promise for freedom, liberty and justice during the armed struggle. As we all know after independence Mugabe and Zanu PF imposed the one-party dictatorships as if that was exactly what the party had promised all along.
MDC has always promised to bring about democratic change, as the party’s own name implied, but after 19 years on the political stage the party cannot even point out to even one democratic change it has delivered.
MDC leaders are exploiting the suffering people who are desperate for meaningful change to push for wishy-washy changes for selfish political gain. The only demands the people must make is for Zanu PF to step down to allow the appointment of a new administration that will be tasked to implement the democratic reforms ending with the holding of free, fair and credible elections.
Both MDC and Zanu Pf failed to implement the reforms during the 2008 GNU and therefore cannot be in the new admin.
We need to pressure Zanu PF to step down but for the purpose of implementing all the reforms and not for the purpose of getting MDC leaders back on the gravy train!
@ Caleb2011
ReplyDeleteWhat did MDC accomplish when they were in office during the GNU? The choice is not between Zanu PF and MDC but between good governance and the mediocre government of corrupt and incompetent politicians! If all we accomplish is remove Zanu PF to replace it with MDC then we really have a serious problem of lack of imagination and ambition!
The soldiers are hungry and angry for good reason too - they are facing the same economic hardship as the rest of su povo. In a country where 75% are living on US$1.00 or less a day is no surprise that the rank and file soldier will find himself/herself caught up in the tide of rising abject poverty. The only meaningful way to address the country's worsening economic situation is for the country to hold free and fair elections and exorcise the pariah state curse.
ReplyDeleteHaving rigged the recent elections the only way out now is for Zanu PF to step down, the regime is illegitimate and whilst it remains in office Zimbabwe will never be anything but a pariah state.
Emmerson Mnangagwa if you do not arrest Chiwenga… we are going to support Chiwenga to remove you, said MDC Vice President Morgan Komichi.
ReplyDeleteThere is a real danger of people being sucked into support one faction in Zanu PF’s dog-eat-dog factional wars only for people to lose sight of their own agenda. A year ago people supported Mnangagwa’s military coup only to replace one dictator for another.