The Zanu PF regime is beginning to feel the heat generated by the
country’s worsening economic meltdown. However, instead admitting that
the party has no solutions to end the economic hardships it is resorting to its
tried and tested dirty tactic of blaming others for its own failures.
In his latest article “Sanctions must go: Zimbabwe's 2019 clarion call”
Elijah Chihota, a seasoned Zanu PF apologist, is back to blaming sanctions for
all Zimbabwe’s economic ills. The article is full of the usual garbage but does
not answer any of the following key points:
1.
The Americans went
to town on what Zanu PF needed to do in the 30 July 2018 elections to make sure
those elections are free, fair and credible including ensuring Zimbabwean in
the diaspora had the vote, the public media was free to all political players,
the authorities produced a verified voters’ roll, etc. Do these things and the
sanctions will be lifted, they told Mnangagwa.
Chihota never the elections demands much less that
Zanu PF failed to hold free, fair and credible elections.
Only an first class idiot with no idea of the
critical importance of free, fair and credible elections as the prerequisite
for good governance would want the sanctions lifted under these conditions.
2.
“While, United
Refineries Chief Executive Officer, Busisa Moyo also took to the micro blogging
site, Twitter stating that "I am yet to meet a single businessman worth
his salt who is pro-sanctions. We have spoken out against this and so has
Steve_Hanke. Sanctions should also be a crime against humanity in the near
future at the International Criminal Court (ICC) because they are equally
brutal to issues they purport to address,” you quoted.
How many Zanu PF
leaders, so-called independent minded business leaders, etc. supported sanction
against the white colonial regime? And rightly so too, because we all accepted
that achieve meaningful political change it was necessary to make some
sacrifices. Why are sanctions against a vote rigging tyrannical black regime “a
crime against humanity” but sanctions against an oppressive white regime are
not?
3 3. Blaming Zimbabwe’s economic meltdown on the
sanctions imposed by the west is a myth. The Zimbabwe economy was already in
serious trouble as can be seen from the two five years Economic Structural
Adjustment Programmes of 1990 and 1995. The programmes failed to revive the
economy because Zanu PF did not implemented the agreed reforms.
Indeed, President Mugabe and his regime publicly
denounced IMF and WB, blaming them for the country’s economic mess. The
two financial institutions had no choice but to stop giving Zimbabwe financial
assistance because it was not servicing its loans and soon the rest of the
world followed suit. By the time the Americans and other western nations
imposed the sanctions in December 2001, none of the international financial
institutions and banks were giving Zimbabwe any more financial help. Not even
China has been giving Zimbabwe and financial assistance for the same reason -
failure to service and/or repay past debts
4 4. Whatever adverse
effect sanctions have had on the Zimbabwe economy it is nothing compared to the
damage caused by corruption and other causes. In 2016 the then President Robert
Mugabe admitted Zimbabwe was being swindled out of US$15 billion in diamond
revenue alone.
Why is it that Zanu PF propagandists and apologists
like Chihota have written many, many articles calling for the lifting of
sanctions but have never said a single word about Zanu PF’s failure to deal
with the cancer of corruption! They are quite happy to see the wholesale
looting of the nation’s resources continue and, of course, the blatant vote
rigging which is making it all possible.
We should not forget that Mnangagwa and his Zanu PF junta blatantly
rigged last year’s elections confident the regime’s “Zimbabwe is open for
business!” will open the flood gates for the local and foreign investors and
lenders. Not knowing that by blatantly rigging the elections the regime send
out a clear message that Zimbabwe was still a pariah state ruled by corrupt and
vote rigging thugs. No one in their right mind would want to invest in a pariah
state!
The worsen economic situation has the Zanu PF regime in total panic. The
regime has failed to come up with solutions to end the shortages of cash,
foreign currency, fuel, medicine, etc. And now it is facing escalating civil
servant strike and other social unrest.
We must also remember that the root cause of Zimbabwe economic meltdown
is the nation’s failure to remove this corrupt, incompetent and tyrannical Zanu
PF regime from office. The party has rigged elections to stay in power. The 38
years of gross mismanagement and rampant corruption have taken their heavy toll
on the nation.
The need for Zimbabwe to come up with solutions to end the economic
meltdown are great and urgent because the economic situation of 75% of
population living on US$1.00 or less a day is morally, socially and politically
unsustainable.
It is as clear as day that Zanu PF have no clue what is required to revive
the nation’s economy. The party rigged last year’s elections and so it has no
mandate to govern. The only way forward is for the party to step down to allow
the nation the time and space to implement the democratic reforms necessary for
free, fair and credible elections.
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