Zimbabwe is in serious economic and
political mess and there are many who have taken to shouting “Don’t panic! Don’t
panic!” only to help spread the panic!
“Ideally, the key thing is to
establish ways of making positive contributions rather than criticising without
proffering solutions,” argued News Day stoically, only to muddy the water its
proffered “solution”.
“However, Mnangagwa must not wish
Chamisa away. He’s a potent opposition political leader, who was voted by
nearly half of the voting population and space must be created for him if the
country is to achieve its economic goals or Mnangagwa’s 2030 vision.
“It does not make sense for that matter — be it Mnangagwa,
Zanu PF, Chamisa or the MDC — to deny the legitimacy question or insist that
sanctions on Zimbabwe should remain when other leaders, like South African
President Cyril Ramaphosa, are arguing Zimbabwe’s case at meetings with other
key Western economic block demanding that they should lift the embargo against
the country.”
It is disappointing that some many people are still confused
about the sanctions particularly those whose principal task is to inform and
educate the populous. If the Rabbi of Rob is at sea then so too are his
followers!
Zimbabwe’s economic meltdown was not caused by the sanctions
but rather by the criminal waste of human and material resources through gross
mismanagement and rampant corruption. How can any nation sustain, much less
prosper, a $15 billion revenue haemorrhage from diamond industry alone especially
a nation like Zimbabwe whose GDP is a mere $10 billion.
The corollary is equally true; it is naïve to expect the
country to register any meaningful economic recovery until the nation is cured
of the cancerous tumours of mismanagement and corruptions. And the medicine to
cure the cancer is to implement the democratic reforms and hold free, fair and
credible elections.
It was President Mnangagwa and his Zanu PF junta who corrupted
the country’s democratic institutions; hence the need to now implement the
reforms; to imposed the de fact one-party dictatorship and consolidate the party’s
iron grip on absolute power. Implementing the reforms will dismantle the party’s
patronage system which is central to its retaining a tight grip on power but
also the root cause of the mismanagement and corruption; hence the reason the
party has resisted implementing reforms and holding free and fair elections.
The Americans have gone to town explaining the linkage
between holding free, fair and credible elections and the lifting of sanctions.
3 million Zimbabweans in the diaspora were denied the vote, there was no free
public media, the regime failed to produce something as basic as a verified
voters’ roll for Pete’s sake, etc. The conclusion is self-evident, Zanu PF failed
to hold free and fair elections and therefore why should the sanctions be
lifted?
It is bad enough that reporters in News Day are still, after
all these years of the issue being discussed at length, failing to get their
heads round the sanctions debate; it is a great national tragedy that someone
as esteemed and political powerful as Cyril Ramaphosa, President of the
Republic of South Africa, is himself lost at sea too.
In 1986 a number of nation imposed economic sanctions on
Apartheid ruled SA, just as sanctions on white ruled Rhodesia. The majority of
blacks in SA and Rhodesia supported the imposition of the sanctions as a
necessary measure to force meaningful political change. So President Ramaphosa
believed sanctions were necessary to end white tyrannical rule but not
necessary to end black tyrannical rule?
It is no secret that SA is not exactly a model nation with a
booming economy and everything running smoothly; the country has blundered from
pillar to post from one corruption scandal to another. Yes, SA is nowhere near
the political and economic mess one sees in Zimbabwe; still there is plenty for
South Africans to start worrying about.
On
the issue of lifting sanctions on the Zanu PF vote rigging thugs, President Ramaphosa
is hopelessly out of touch with reality.
@ Mandaza
ReplyDeleteExactly a year on since the coup, the evidence speaks for itself: it is back to the future (things from the past are being currently recycled, while packaged as though they are something new).
As internal events in Zanu-PF now show, for this is a situation beyond retrieval; the party is facing an inexorable end in the final analysis even though it may appear that it has recovered and will renew itself. The tensions and looming potential clashes between Mnangagwa and one of his deputies, Constantino Chiwenga, cannot be taken lightly.
Indeed, the Zanu-PF of Mugabe is markedly different from the Zanu PF of Mnangagwa which not only lacks internal cohesion but is deeply divided over an unresolved leadership issue arising from the coup, its dynamics and conflicting expectations of its architects, hence the Mnangagwa-Chiwenga battle so soon after the coup.
While we will leave this for time to tell, the signs of a cracking edifice with collapsed pillars around it and a gradually sinking foundation are there for all to see. This is the reality of Zanu-PF now, which has been crumbling since its 2014 congress that dumped Joice Mujuru and scores of other high-profile party leaders.
It was always a fallacy; a misleading notion, to have expected anything new from a man who has been part and parcel of the very system and leadership that is largely clueless on the economy, given to institutionalised profligacy, endemic corruption and unbridled patronage.
For the structural foundations of the economic malaise are almost synonymous with the political imperatives of the securocratic state: violence or the threat of it and, therefore, the need for a bloated state operations designed less in relation to the functions and operations of an average or normal government than, the objective of less policing regulating and intimidating its citizens; and the legacy of patronage, through which the party and state are conflated in a laager of self-defence and self-preservation, but at inordinate cost to the focus, and at the expense of prospective and potential investment in production, economic development and wealth creation for the country.
So, in the meantime, it is back to the future, the persistence of only the illusion that a military state can reform, politically and lead the much-needed economic recovery and growth.
As appears more likely, only mass protests on a national scale might rescue the situation and herald the beginnings of a new era; or, as remains still remote, the emergence of an enlightened leadership within the establishment itself, courageous enough to cure the coup and return Zimbabwe to constitutional and democratic governance, push for meaningful economic and social reform and re-engage the international community to rescue Zimbabwe.
So far Mnangagwa has failed to measure up to such a task and expectations; it is most unlikely that he will ever live up to that, although he still has a window of opportunity to redeem himself and save the nation.
You are right, Mnangagwa has “failed to measure up to the task expectations” of the new democratic dispensation he eulogises endless about without a clue what it means. I agree Mnangagwa has just repackaged the same corrupt, vote rigging and tyrannical Zanu PF and is trying to sell it off as something new, different and better!
Emmerson Mnangagwa is a corrupt, incompetent, vote rigging and murderous thug. He was never going to hold free and fair elections because he feared that he would never stand the heat of close democratic scrutiny especially with his checked track record. He thought he could get away with a fudged election but clearly no one was fooled. He has since resorted to what he knows best brutilising everyone into submission. We are in for a rough ride!
ReplyDeleteHowever, Germany is still sceptical about fully engaging Zimbabwe on the economic front.
ReplyDeleteThe Germans are not yet convinced that the reforms undertaken by the Mnangagwa government are genuine and far-reaching. A spokesperson for the Germany Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development had this to say:”The implementation of political and economic reforms by the Zimbabwean government is a prerequisite for the resumption of bilateral development cooperation.”
Uwe Kekeritz, the opposition Green party’s parliamentary spokesman for development cooperation is also unconvinced by the Zimbabwe government’s appetite for reforms. He added
”I do not see genuine political change with regards to the development of democratic structures. There are still many questions remaining with regards to human rights Development assistance should be resumed, but in close cooperation with the civil society, as far away from the government as possible. dw.com
This will land like a hammer blow on the heads of the Zanu PF leaders and apologists; they have been trying to sell the nation the idea that President Mnangagwa’s “Zimbabwe is open for business!” clarion call was bearing fruit.
The Americans have already said Zimbabwe has not change and hence they will not do business with a pariah state and now the Germans. Where Germany goes the rest of EU will follow.
The only other big player left is the Chinese but Mnangagwa know they will only be coming to Zimbabwe to loot just as they are already doing in Marange. Mugabe booted the Chinese out of Marange angry at their refusal to bankroll his wasteful habits. The Chinese helped Mnangagwa rig 30 July 2018 elections and within weeks they were back in Marange! The Chinese are NOT going to bankroll Mnangagwa’s corrupt and incompetent regime.
So, without the much need direct foreign investment all hope of any meaningful economic recovery are dead in the water!
Zanu PF has blamed sanction for all the country's economic ills but this was a scapegoat to draw attention away from the real cause which are mismanagement and corruption. It is disappointing that a leading newspaper like News Day would still believe the sanctions lies! News Day is becoming more and more like The Herald!
ReplyDelete@ Daily News
ReplyDelete“When military tanks rolled over into town and the end of the Mugabe era became nigh, Zimbabweans thought the flushing of the disastrous regime down the chambers of history would soon lead to bliss. And yet for the majority of citizens, it has remained the prophetic adage of “so near and yet so far”, you said.
Those who thought the November coup would bring about change were naive and gullible and deserve all the buckets of disappointment they have had to drink the last 12 months. One had only to look at the individual spear heading the coup - the same corrupt and murderous thugs who have ruled the country with an iron fist were taking over - to see nothing good was ever going to come out.
Zimbabweans have had many opportunities to end the Zanu PF dictatorship, the best coming during the GNU, and has wasted them all because they were naive and gullible. Worse still, they have learnt nothing from their past mistakes and so are destined to repeat the same mistakes over and over again.
“Mnangagwa has to go back to the drawing board, clear all illusions he may have of what Zimbabweans expect and start working towards making people’s lives better,” Daily News concluded.
“The people want nothing short of immediate relief from all problems birthed in the Mugabe era. All they want is to live again!”
QED. You have learnt nothing all these years! After 38 years of Zanu PF misrule one would think the penny has finally dropped - you accept that Zanu PF leaders are corrupt and incompetent. You have not learned and hence the reason you expect Mnangagwa, of all people, to get you out of the mess!
The nation has paid dearly for its failure to learn from past mistakes; Zimbabweans are now the poorest people in Africa and Zimbabwe is now accepted as the byword for nation incapable of self-governing. The nation is sinking in its own human waste and literally too!
@ Vigil
ReplyDeleteIn the face of fierce opposition, Mrs Thatcher forced through sweeping changes which paved the way for strong economic growth. President Mnangagwa obviously sees himself in the same light.
‘Like Thatcher we are not afraid of taking tough and at times painful decisions’, he writes. ‘As she used to put it, there is no alternative.’
Poor, poor Mnangagwa he does not understand that Mrs Thatcher forced through tough but sound economic reforms which many British agreed were necessary hence the reason they voted for her and her party. Mnangagwa’s reforms are voodoo and thus will bring a lot of economic pain but no gain! It is little wonder he rigged the elections because there was no way he was going to win the elections, even running against the corrupt and incompetent Nelson Chamisa.
Zimbabwe’s economy will never recovery as long as the nation remains a pariah state ruled by corrupt, incompetent, vote rigging and murderous thugs. The only way out of this mess is for Zanu PF to step down to allow the country to hold free and fair election and thus end the dictatorship!
I will bet my bottom dollar that President Cyril Ramaphosa was one of the black leaders who supported 100% the imposition of sanctions on apartheid ruled SA as a necessary sacrifice to bring about great good for the nation.
ReplyDeleteThere is no doubt that the majority of Zimbabweans have suffered greatly under the de facto one-party, Zanu PF, dictatorship. There is no doubt that the sanctions are a peaceful alternative to street protests or military coup - which are the only alternatives left now - to force Zanu PF to hold free, fair and credible elections and thus end the nightmare of the pariah state. President Ramaphosa did not need anyone to tell him Mnangagwa rigged the recent elections.
Given all these historic facts it is shocking that President Ramaphosa still managed to come up with the foolish conclusion and called for sanctions to be lifted. I agree given the seriousness of the situation in Zimbabwe and the dire consequence of political instability to the country and the region it is shocking that someone like President Ramaphosa would still make such a monumental blunder.
There have been numerous opportunities for SA to help end the political and economic mess in Zimbabwe but time and time again the opportunities have all been wasted. First it was Thambo Mbeki with his "crisis, what crisis" stupid remark followed by the "quite diplomacy". President Zuma did not do any better as he failed to support President Ian Khama of Botswana in rein in Mugabe and to force the corrupt and incompetent MDC leaders to implement the reforms. And now we have President Ramaphosa making the stupid call on the sanctions issue.
Cry the beloved Zimbabwe, SA and SADC! With utterly corrupt, incompetent and useless string of leaders like Mugabe, Mnangagwa, Tsvangirai, Chamisa, Zuma, Ramaphosa, etc. it is little wonder there is so much suffering and death in our country!
Zimbabwe's Consul General in South Africa, Mr Henry Batiraishe Mukonoweshuro explained that the Zimbabwe exemption permit is valid from January 2018 to December 2021.
ReplyDelete"It allows Zimbabweans to study, work and carry out their private businesses in South Africa and it is only eligible to holders of the 2014 special dispensation permits which had 250 000 applicants," he said.
Zimbabwe was very lucky that so many Zimbabweans were able to leave the country and find gainful means to earn a living. We should have used the last four years to sort out the mess in the country and get the nation working again. We failed to do so, unemployment is still a nauseating 90% and the future prospects are frightening.
The regime rolling out more austere economic measures such as the 2c in every dollar tax imposed on all electronic transactions of $10 or more. The tax is aimed at those in the informal sector many of who are living on US$1.00 or less a day. The regime has done nothing to end corruption and by rigging the 30 July 2018 elections the government has chased away would-be investors. There is no chance of any meaningful economic recovery.
After the Christmas holiday there will be a new wave of Zimbabweans who will be leaving the country to escape abject poverty, with or without the legal paper work. It is heart breaking that so many people should find themselves in such an intolerable possible and, worst of all, all because of the insatiable greed of the few filthy rich ruling elite!
Reports coming from the prison are that he (Kadungure) facilitated the release of 50 prisoners who were failing to raise various amounts for bail ranging from $20 to $500.
ReplyDeleteThis story underlines the shocking level of poverty that the great majority of ordinary Zimbabweans are facing today. Who would want to spend even one minute is Zimbabwe’s jail if they can help it especially given the inhuman conditions in these prison. And yet many are spending days, months and even years - given the slow and chaotic way workings of the country’s justice system - because they could not raise $20!
In a country in which 75% of the population now live on US$1.00 or less a day $20 is a fortune. No one would starve for 20 days to raise their own bail much less ask someone else to do the same for them!
How is it possible that in the face of such heart-breaking poverty people like Kadungure have amass a whole fleet of limos worth millions of dollars, mansions, etc.
There is definitely something wrong with our present political system since it has made a few filthy rich at the expense of the overwhelming majority who are filthy poor! There is a crying need to dismantle the de facto dictatorship and replace it with a democratic system of government in which everyone would be given an opportunity to prosper but not at other people’s expense!
@ Mandaza
ReplyDeleteAs in most such historical precedents in Africa or elsewhere, the term “false start” is a retrospective evaluation of an act usually premised on the necessity for change or revolution, and the associated and implicit expectations that tomorrow has to be better than today.
In the case of Zimbabwe’s coup of November 14/15 2017, the euphoric claims on the part of its architects and apologists, and even the expectations of a new dawn of political emancipation and economic prosperity, have been the subject of controversy, claims and counter-claims, from the very onset.
I agree in Africa we have had more than our fair share of “false starts” in which our expectation of “tomorrow has to be better than today” have shot up only to come crashing down again sometimes in a matter of a few weeks as happened following Zimbabwe’s 15 November coup. The explanation why this is so is simple enough - our expectations were based on nothing more substantive than wishful thinking!
Of course, it was naive to expect Mnangagwa, Chiwenga and the rest of the coup plotters to hold free, fair and credible elections. They had just risk their own lives to wrestle power from Mugabe, they were not going to risk losing it to someone else.
Besides they are the ones who had implemented all Zanu PF’s vote rigging and wanton violence activities to guarantee Zanu PF electoral victory in the past, they were not going to suddenly decide to play by the rules when the stakes for losing the elections were Mount Everest high.
Mnangagwa and his cronies were not going to lose political power if they lost the elections; they knew the risk of the military coup being reopened was real and they would be in deep, deep trouble.
In the long run, people usually get what the deserve, we got the disappointment we rightly deserved with Mnangagwa rigged the recent elections because we were naive, period!
IN 1944, my good friend, the late Nobelist Friedrich Hayek (1899-1992), published Road to Serfdom. It immediately became an international sensation.
ReplyDeleteSteve H Hanke, Economist
In it, Hayek argued that government interventions into markets, whether they be via regulatory mandates or the outright taking of private property, will lead to an initial failure. In short, they will be counterproductive.
In an attempt to correct its initial errors, the government then does more of the same, only in greater detail.
Further disappointments will lead to still more far-reaching and detailed interventionist measures, until socialism and a state of total tyranny are reached.
Such is Hayek’s Road to Serfdom, a road that Zimbabwe has taken. The pilot who took this road was Robert Mugabe.
Zimbabwe’s descend to Serfdom has to be one of the most rapid in human history and we collected a number of world records along the way; at 500 billion per cent had the highest inflation rate for a nation not fighting a war, our few filthy ruling elite are some of the richest individuals in the world who amassed their wealth in double quick time and cannot say where it came from, Robert Mugabe must be the best travelled leader of all time, etc., etc.
In 30 years Zimbabwe dropped from one of the top five richest country in Africa to the poorest country in Africa!
One would think that leaders like Mnangagwa learnt the lessons from Mugabe’s mistakes but alas no, he got into power and has been pursuing the same voodoo economic policies such as command agriculture with the same disastrous consequences!
@ Matshazi
ReplyDeleteMnangagwa is portrayed as an innocent victim throughout the book, who seems preordained to rule, until the villains Mugabe and his Zanu PF G40 faction, whom Ndlovu seems to paint as having evil motives, get onto the scene to try to torpedo a predestined succession plan.
My first major impression of the book that it is a hagiography. It seeks to crudely manipulate the succession narrative and do some publicity work for Mnangagwa, while scratching the surface and doggedly narrating a weighted or biased account of events throughout the convoluted story.
Any book on Mnangagwa that portrays him “as an innocent victim” is bound to fall flat on its face because no one will ever believe such a blatant lie.
David Coltart’s recent book too has been largely dismissed as trash because it glossed over his and his fellow MDC leaders’ betrayal of the people during the 2008 to 2013 GNU, for example.
Read most book by Zimbabweans about the events during the war of liberation and they are distortions and exaggerations making a mockery of the truth.
We need more books but please we want the truth and not fiction dressed up as historic accounts.
When Mnangagwa said "Zimbabwe is open for business!" there were some green shoots to make one believe him. He scrapped Mugabe's obnoxious black empowerment act compelling foreign investors to sell 51% of their business to blacks, for example.
ReplyDeleteWhen he promised to hold free, fair and credible elections only the very naive and gullible believed him. Within weeks of making the promise, he was distributing new vehicles to Chiefs; every one knew this was a down payment to the Chiefs for them to continue play their usual role of intimidating rural voters and force them to vote for him and Zanu PF. Mugabe had already promised the Chiefs the bribe and Mnangagwa was just honouring that promise.
When Mnangagwa and his coup plotters said the coup was about "Restoring legacy!" they did not spell out what that legacy. They did not need to spell it out, it was obvious. Mugabe was set on course to handover power to his wife, Grace, and those around her, the G40; and Mnangagwa and all the other coup plotter who had shared power with the tyrant up to that point were being booted out. Operation restore legacy was about wrestling power from Mugabe and restore it back in the hands of Mnangagwa and the coup plotter.
The coup was about restoring Zanu PF's dictatorial power back in the hands of the thugs who had worked hard and committed so many crimes including cold blood murders to establish and retain the dictatorship all these years. The promise to revive the economy, open up the democratic space, etc. these were all add-ons, sugar coating, to make it easier for the common people to swallow the bitter pill - the reality that the dictatorship was not going to be dismantled.
"Zanu PF ichatonga! Igotonga!" (Zanu PF will rule! And rule!) was the promise Mnangagwa and his junta friends made to each other and vowed to honour and meant it!