Confusion reigns supreme in Zimbabwe.
Confusion is when one says this, the other says that and the third says
something else which is neither this nor that in a matter as simple as 1 + 1 =
2.
”The people that bear the brand of the crisis are chiefs and pastors,
who are with the citizens in communities," said Motsi, a theologian and
peace-building expert,” reported Bulawayo 24.
“He added that traditional leaders and the church must come forward
" … and say they are tired of politics and political parties; they want
people to speak and be heard".
“Explaining the effects of an elitist dialogue, Motsi said the latest
move by Mnangagwa cannot be separated from the Lancaster House talks in 1979. "What
we have had in Zimbabwe so far are elites' meetings from the Lancaster House,
agreement of Unity Accord to the Government of National Unity (GNU), it was
never inclusive.
"It never included the people of Zimbabwe. There were people who
went there on behalf of the citizens. That is not what we are talking about
when we talk about the national dialogue," Motsi said.
The spirit is willing but the intellectual is weak and hence the
confusion.
Yes the Lancaster House constitution, the Zanu PF-PF Zapu Unity Accord,
the 2008 to 2013 GNU, etc. have all failed to deliver the free, just and
prosperous Zimbabwe we have all been dying for, literally too. But these
initiative have failed not because the process that brought them about were not
“inclusive”.
There was a big song and dance about the 2013 constitution on how it was
the people’s constitution because a lot of time, energy and treasure was poured
into the outreach programmes. The programmes were supposed to give ordinary
Zimbabweans a chance to say what they wanted to see in the new constitution. A
foolish notion because how can someone with no clue what the constitution is,
what was wrong with the Lancaster House constitution, etc. be expected to draft
one.
In the end the outreach programmes ended up as a theatrical farce with
Zanu PF and MDC supporters drowning each other out with demands coming from the
leaders. The parliamentary committee that drafted the new constitution
completely ignored the wishes of the common people and the leaders themselves.
“President Mugabe dictated the new 2013 constitution!” boasted Paul
Mangwana, the Zanu PM and co-chair of the committee that drafted the document,
soon after its approval in the March 2013 referendum. Of Course, Mangwana was
right.
The new constitution has too failed to deliver the basic freedoms, human
rights including the right to free and fair elections and even the right to
life. The events of 1st August 2018 and the orgy of violence in January 2019
was a grime reminded that Zanu PF will not hesitate to beat, rape and even
shoot to kill to impose its de facto one-party dictatorship.
It was Thomas Jefferson and a handful of others who drafted America’s
constitution and it has served that nation well for nearly three hundred years.
Zimbabwe’s 2013 constitution had all the outward appearance of an inclusive
people’s constitution, approved by 95% in the ensuing referendum, and yet
failed to deliver free, fair and credible elections.
The moral of the story is: it is the quality of the people involved in
the drafting of the constitution or make-up of the GNU that matters. When
quality has been seen to be lacking the temptation is to go for quantity, that
will is just foolish because quantity is never a substitute for quality.
Zimbabwe is in this economic and political mess because for the last 38
years the country has been ruled by incompetent, corrupt and murderous Zanu PF
thugs. Zanu PF blatantly rigged last year’s elections thwarting all hope of
meaningful political and economic change. The country’s economic meltdown is
set to get worse because it is impossible to conduct meaningful economic
activities in a pariah state.
The way forward is for the nation to appoint an interim administration
composed of quality people. The administration will then be tasked to implement
the democratic reforms and strengthen the country constitution and state
institution to restore the individual freedoms and rights including the right
to free and fair elections.
Zanu PF rigged last year’s elections and therefore the party have no
electoral mandate to govern. The party must be told in no uncertain terms that
it must step down and all attempts to resist must be seen for what it is - Zanu
PF’s continued resolve to hold the nation to ransom.
Those people who are proposing a national dialogue in which Zanu
PF is included are refusing to accept that the regime rigged last year’s
elections or, if they are, are trying to appease the regime. It is 38 years of
trying to appeasing Zanu PF that landed the nation in this mess. We will never
get out of the mess by doing the same things that landed us there.
Besides, if Zanu PF and MDC leaders are granted a role in the national
dialogue they will curve for themselves a role in the interim administration.
That administration will be doomed to fail just as all the other initiatives
these political leaders were involved in have failed. Zanu PF and MDC leaders
have already proven beyond all reasonable that they are corrupt, incompetent
and utterly useless. What else do they have to do to finally convince us that
they are NOT the quality leaders to take the nation forward.
Zanu PF blatantly rigged last year’s elections, the regime failed to
produce something as basic as a verified voters’ roll for Pete’s sake. Whilst
we can agree to differ on many things it is nonsensical that we should differ
on something as fundamental and straight forward as what constitutes free, fair
and credible elections!
Confusion has ruled supreme in Zimbabwe for the last 38 years and if we are
ever to banish it, we really need to stamp out this culture of always seeking the
easy and quick painkiller type-solutions and instead strive for the more
elusive cure.
Yes pastor Motsi you can be invited to the inclusive dialogue and even
given the platform to shout “we are tired of politics and political parties” to
Mnangagwa and Chamisa. That will not dismantle the Zanu PF dictatorship nor
stop Zanu PF rigging 2023 elections!
Chamisa had the opportunity to flag that ZEC had failed to release some of the V11 forms giving a summary of what each candidate's vote count at some of the polling station. He claims to have won 2.5 million votes and yet failed to produce the V11 forms to account for that figure. Chamisa's claim to have won last July's elections is just as nonsensical as Mnangagwa's own claim.
ReplyDeleteThe people of Zimbabwe should just concentrate on getting Zanu PF to step down from office and ignore both Mnangagwa and Chamisa's claims as the whole election process was so flawed and illegal to ever produce a legitimate result. The nation's top priority is to make sure the necessary reforms are implemented before the next elections in 2023!
In February 2019, Zimbabwe’s inflation rate shot up to 59.4% from 56.9% in January. In December 2018, it was 42.09%.
ReplyDeleteForeign currency shortages and a thriving parallel market for Forex have been blamed for the steep rise in inflation in Zimbabwe, while shortages of some commodities have also seen prices creeping up.
However, Ncube is cautiously optimistic that inflation will fall down to 10% by the end of the year.
Even if inflation misses the 10% target by a wide margin what are the people going to do about it? Nothing! Ncube knows that and hence his arrogant disregard of the consequences of his policies. The challenge for this nation is to restore the people’s democratic power to hold the government of the day to account and hence the reason the nation must demand that Zanu PF steps down because the party rigged last July’s elections. Zanu PF has no mandate to govern.
Real economic recovery will only happen when the nation has a competent and democratically accountable government. As long as Zimbabwe remains a pariah state ruled by corrupt and vote rigging thugs. It is most unfortunate that the country has a pompous Finance Minister who believes he can do anything!
While the country’s new leadership has made mistakes, including a crackdown on demonstrators in January that reportedly killed at least 17 people, “it is far, far better than Zimbabwe’s government was under Mugabe,” Rubin said.
ReplyDeleteBallard will work “to encourage a re-examination of Zimbabwe by the State Department with a view to establishing the best possible bilateral relationship with the United States and facilitating the restoration of Zimbabwe’s membership in good standing in the community of nations,” according to the firm’s contract.
“I’d rather they work with us than with the Chinese, who don’t care at all about human rights,” Rubin said.
What Mr James Rubin has conveniently forgotten, the fat cheque from Mnangagwa made him forget, is that Mnangagwa was Mugabe’s chief enforcer and therefore it is nonsense to pretend one can separate this Mnangagwa regime from that of Mugabe.
Beside, one has to ask what is it Mr Rubin is looking for him to judge one “far, far better” than the other. Zanu PF blatantly rigged the 2013 elections and never followed that up with anything near the wanton of violence of 1st August and of last two weeks of January 2019.
What a sanctimonious hypocrite you are Mr Rubin, you are advocating that America should work with Zimbabwe regardless the latter’s appalling human rights record and has the chutzpah to disparagingly dismiss the Chinese “who don’t care at all about human rights!” Only a first class idiot like you would fail to see the contradiction! Just take the thirty pieces of silver and spare us the hypocrisy!
Zimbabwe to gain from continued cooperation with China. Sure the same way a tick continues to gain with its continued cooperation with a cow! China helped Zanu PF rig elections to keep the corrupt and tyrannical regime in power for its selfish benefit in that Zimbabwe has traded with China to the exclusion of many other nation to the benefit of China not Zimbabwe. China has certainly benefited from the looting of Zimbabwe's wealth!
ReplyDelete@ Cross
ReplyDelete“Reforms to our democracy give us some hope that the next elections will be free and fair. Our 2013 Constitution is being implemented, albeit slowly.
The military junta that has governed the country for the past two decades with a democratic facade dominated by a dictatorship under former President Robert Mugabe has been substantially dissolved, new leadership appointed and significant downsizing and reform of the security services undertaken in a very short time.
On the economic front, if I was on the International Monetory Fund team responsible for Zimbabwe, I would regard our new Finance minister Mthuli Ncube as something of a miracle worker. He fixed our massive fiscal deficit in six weeks, he has followed a systematic and controlled programme of reform which has gradually liberalised our economy and has now floated our currency. Next will be a new monetary management system and a new local currency under sound control.
The latest measures have unlocked the very considerable potential in our export industries and I am certain that this will lead to strong growth in the near future associated with lower inflation and rising incomes after a period of painful adjustment and austerity.
You say you want to give British PM Theresa May a prize for being stubborn, you certain deserve one for being political naïve. Mangagwa has just blatantly rigged the recent elections and has used wanton violence to beat, rape and kill the people into submission. Only someone who is really naïve would still hold out the country is moving in the right direction and even expect the next elections to be free, fair and credible.
If there is to be any hope of Zimbabwe holding free, fair and credible elections in 2023 we must push hard and never tire to force this Zanu PF dictatorship to step down well before 2023. We need to appoint an interim administration that will be tasked to implement the democratic reforms necessary for free and fair elections.
Mr Eddie Cross and his fellow MDC leaders had the golden opportunity to implement the reforms during the 2008 to 2013 GNU, they failed to get even one reform implemented. Not one! We must now get these reforms implement a.s.a.p. and not allow ourselves to be side-track by day-dreamers like Cross!
@ Jacob Mafume
ReplyDeleteIf the truth be said the nation is caught between a rock and the deep blue sea; caught between Zanu PF and MDC Alliance, for both are corrupt and incompetent.
“It is a high-level manifestation of a nation in crisis (collapsed health service). Mnangagwa and his cabal must humble themselves and accept failure. They must apologise for failing the Zimbabwean people and concede to the convening of an urgent dialogue Zimbabweans cannot continue to lose lives unnecessarily. The statement released by the doctors makes this point. They state that lives are being lost while doctors watch because there are no consumables required to do the work,” you said.
You are right Zanu PF leaders have failed the nation, we have known this for decades now, and the nation has risked life and limb not to get Zanu PF thugs to apologize but to have them removed from office. The country had the golden opportunity to implement the democratic reforms designed to stop Zanu PF rigging elections during the 2008 to 2013 GNU. Sadly, not even one reform was implemented in five years.
It was you Mafume and your fellow MDC leaders who sold-out on reforms and failed to get even one reform implemented. You have never acknowledged your betrayal much less apologize for it. The nation is stuck with this incompetent, corrupt and murderous Zanu PF regime because of you, your sanctimonious hypocrite!
@ The National Abu Dhabi
ReplyDeleteCorruption, poverty and unemployment are still rife but transformative work is under way
“We want to build a Zimbabwe we are proud of.” So said Emmerson Mnangagwa in an exclusive interview with The National. The Zimbabwean president acknowledged what a tall order that was, however, admitting: “We are almost two decades behind in terms of economic development”. Indeed, Zimbabwe’s government still has much to do to extricate the country from the quagmire of poverty, corruption, unemployment and violence that marked the 30-year rule of Robert Mugabe.
Less than 18 months on from being sworn in as president after a bloodless coup, Mr Mnangagwa’s challenges are manifold. While he is anxious to return Zimbabwe to its former glory as the breadbasket of Africa, decades of misrule have resulted in deep-seated frustration and a lack of financial resources. An amnesty for stolen funds has recouped $825 million in three months but, as Mr Mnangagwa admits, the difficulty is in fighting a corruption so deeply embedded that even government officials cannot tell who is tainted. It was for those allegations of “an everyday abuse of entrusted power” and human rights abuses that the US administration decided in January to extend sanctions on Zimbabwe for another year. Nor is it easy to escape the fact that Mr Mnangagwa was once part of the very regime that brought Zimbabwe to its knees
But change is afoot. Last year’s elections were the most peaceful since 1980. Work is under way to crack down on mismanagement and, more importantly, to restore trust in power among a disenchanted population. Mr Mnangagwa will be keenly aware that while his Zanu-PF party won a decisive parliamentary majority, he is only in power by a narrow margin. A new pricing mechanism that uses a unified currency will go partway to rectifying financial woes. Transparency is also vital on the road ahead. There is a long way to go and Mr Mnangagwa’s recognition of the many obstacles to peace is a critical first step to achieving his aim of “a policy of re-engagement so that again Zimbabwe can be embraced in the community of nations”. That can only be to the greater good – for all Zimbabweans.
It is refreshing that Mnangagwa is now admitting “the difficulty is in fighting a corruption so deeply embedded that even government officials cannot tell who is tainted”. He is corrupt himself and so are all those around him and hence the reason he cannot end corruption, he will have to arrest himself and his whole cabinet!
By blatantly rigging last year’s elections Mnangagwa confirmed that Zimbabwe was still a pariah state ruled by corrupt and vote rigging thugs. The flood of investors he has hoped to attract with his “Zimbabwe is open for business!” clarion call has never materialized and never will. Investors do not do business in a pariah state the economic and political they will need to negotiate otherwise are not worth it.
Anyone who thinks that Zimbabwe will ever achieve any meaning economic recovery whilst the country remains a pariah state is naïve!
The FreeZim Congress leader just like the MDC-Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa have decided to snub the earlier calls by President Mnangagwa for an all-political parties dialogue, by both describing the process as compromised.
ReplyDeleteIt is all very well for these pompous opposition members to now pontificate about Zimbabwe having a no leader when they are the ones who got us into this mess in the first place. Chamisa, Busha, Noah Manyika, Nkosana Moyo, Tendai Biti, David Coltart, etc., etc.; they all knew that Zanu PF would rig the 2018 elections because not even one meaningful reform to stop that had been implemented. They all took part in the elections even when ZEC failed to produce a verified voters’ roll for Pete’s sake.
By participating the opposition gave the flawed and illegal election process the modicum of credibility which is Mnangagwa’s only claim to remain in office.
These opposition sell-outs are now snubbing Mnangagwa’s call for dialogue; what does that matter when they participated in the flawed and illegal elections?
The tragedy in Zimbabwe is that we have no quality leaders in both Zanu PF and the opposition. What the nation need right now is an opportunity to reset the button, completely dismantle the present rotten and autocratic political system and replace it with a health and functional democratic system. Both Zanu PF and opposition leaders do not want that to happen because they know they will not survive democratic scrutiny and competition. They are fighting had to keep the dictatorship or be it with a few tinkering to suit their own selfish agenda.
This is gutter journalism by the state media. They are quoting the wages in dollars knowing fully well government has quoted the workers' wages in US$ but paid them in RTGS$. Government has since accepted the exchange rate of RTGS$:US$ has dropped from 1:1 to 2.5:1 and so the grade B1 worker who was paid US$441 in January 2019 will receive RTGS$ 570 or US$ 228 in April 2019. So instead of the article informing the reader it is deliberately misinforming and misleading the reader!
ReplyDelete|If someone like pastor Motsi cannot make up their mind whether last July's elections were rigged or were free, fair and credible or worse still do not even know what constitute free and fair elections what contribution will they make in the search for democracy? "Vana Motsi ndivo vanachawadza muto!" (People like Motsi are there to dilute everything with quantity with no quality!) as one would say in Shona.
ReplyDeleteThe drafting of the new 2013 constitution was an example where a golden opportunity was lost in search for political correctness and political gimmickry. Zanu PF wanted the outreach programme and would have never allowed it to be any other way just as another way of wasting time. If these political dialogue was ever to take place Pastor Motsi can be certain that Zanu PF would want people like him to attend, the less he knows about anything the better as far as Mnangagwa is concerned. He is no interested in bring about democratic change but to bring about as much confusion as he can!
Pastor Motsi you should not be concerned about those who know what they are talking about, the "elitists", but those who do not know what they are talking about.
@Ndazi
ReplyDelete“You said ZANU rigged elections in 2018. However, you went further and said ZANU PF and MDC are useless, corrupt blah-blah. What you didn't explain is that they rigged the election in which you were supposed to be the winner? If MDC is also useless whom the whole world believed to have given ZANU a run for their money, who else is relevant here?”
You clearly got the wrong end of the stick my friend. The whole world condemned the 2018 elections because the whole process was full of irregularities, flaws and illegalities. “The final results as announced by the Electoral Commission contained numerous errors and lacked adequate traceability, transparency and verifiability. Finally, the restrictions on political freedoms, the excessive use of force by security forces and abuses of human rights in the post-election period undermined the corresponding positive aspects during the pre-election campaign. As such, many aspects of the 2018 elections in Zimbabwe failed to meet international standards,” wrote the EU Observer team, for example.
The election observers could not believe anyone could be so foolish as to participate in an election without something as basic as a verified voters’ roll! MDC gave “Zanu PF a run for their money” when Zanu PF alone knew who was on the voters’ roll, how they voted, how many times they voted, etc.!
In claiming to have won the elections both Mnangagwa and Chamisa are making complete fools of themselves. How can you claim to be the winner when the result cannot be traced, verified and has numerous errors? By stubbornly maintain that they have won regardless of the flaws and illegalities the two are only reminding the world how incompetent and corrupt they are and why they cannot be trusted to move the nation out of this mess.