There are many reasons why Africa is a continent dogged by poverty, war,
corruption, disease, bad governance, etc., etc. One of the many reasons this is
so is our inability to pay attention to detail. We have debated the issue of
economic sanctions, for example, thousands of times and will, no doubt, be
spending many, many more man-years of time, space, sweat and blood without ever
being any wiser. How can we ever be any wiser when none of what is
said make sense!
“Why do you put sanctions, if someone is wrong leave him and he will
fail by his own mistakes? Why do you put sanctions if you know you are right
and somebody is wrong?” argued President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda.
“That’s means we are not sure if the man is wrong. Otherwise if he is
wrong let him fail by his own his mistakes.
“If you put sanctions you are just aiding someone to use them as
scapegoat for his own failures. I appeal to those who are imposing sanctions on
Zimbabwe to lift those sanctions.”
The Americans went to great length to explain that they will lift the
sanctions imposed on the Zanu PF leaders and entities with strong links to the
party if the 2018 elections were free, fair and credible. The Americans even
went on to spell out some of the things they would want to see happen; allow
Zimbabweans in the diaspora the right to vote, free public media, a transparent
and legal electoral process, etc. None of these things happened. Zanu PF failed
to produce something as basic and fundamental for free, fair and credible
elections as a verified voters’ roll, for Pete’s sake.
If President Museveni is “not sure” the July 2018 elections were NOT
free, fair and credible, it is so because he is refusing to see what is before
his own eyes.
Of course, Zanu PF is using sanctions as scapegoat for the regime’s own
failures. It is no secret that Zimbabwe adopted the two five-year Economic
Structural Adjustment Programme (ESAP) in 1990 to 95 and 1995 to 2000 because
the country’s economy was in a real mess already. The regime could not blame
the sanctions then because they were imposed in 2001!
“Why do you put sanctions if you know you are right and somebody is
wrong?” The sheer stupidity of that question beggars belief! Surely, surely
there is nothing wrong with an outsider telling us denying our own people their
basic freedoms and rights including the right to a meaningful say in the
governance of our country and even the right to life! As an ordinary Zimbabwean
citizen whose has felt the heavy boot of the Zanu PF dictatorship on one’s neck
these last 39 years, of course I am grateful to the outsider for his concern
for my welfare. I am equally outraged by the breath taking stupidity and indifference
of mine fellow African brothers and sisters to what Zanu PF has been doing in
Zimbabwe.
Of course, the western nations will ignore President Museveni’s call to
have the sanctions lifted with the contempt it rightly deserve. Of course the
western nation have every right to decide who they will trade with and under
what terms.
“I don’t agree with those who say Africa is weak. In 1960s, we were
weaker than we are today but we were able to work together and support the
struggle for freedom in southern Africa and succeeded,” continued President
Museveni. said the Ugandan leader who took power after a protracted rebellion
in 1986.
“We worked for the liberation of Zimbabwe, Mozambique, South Africa and
Angola Namibia supported by socialist countries but our great effort was ours.”
What he did not say is that all independent African countries then, with
the exception of those under tyrannical black rule, supported the imposing of
UN sanctions on the colonial regimes in Zimbabwe, Mozambique, etc. The
sanctions were considered necessary in ending white colonial oppression but
they are now considered unnecessary in ending BLACK oppression!
President Museveni seized power in Uganda in 1986 and he since ruled
that country with an iron fist. He has never held free, fair and credible
elections and it is little wonder he saw nothing wrong with Mnangagwa doing the
same in Zimbabwe. Indeed, he is in Zimbabwe supporting a fellow corrupt and
vote rigging tyrant.
Whilst African leaders did unite in the fight to end white colonial
oppression, they have not done the same when a fellow African leader has become
an oppressor. Suddenly they all had problems defining what an oppressor is!
Mnangagwa said Zimbabwe’s last year elections were free, fair and
credible. President Cyril Ramaphosa of S A has said the elections “went well!”
It is not that these leaders do not know what constitutes free, fair and credible
elections. They know. They are being vague, deliberately, so anything goes.
An elephant is an animal with four legs; so a rat, a lizard any animal
with four legs will pass for an elephant. Little wonder the AU, SADC
and all the other African organisations have all become popular exclusive clubs
of dictators, tyrants and despots!
President Yoweri Museveni, we in Zimbabwe know that Mnangagwa rigged the
elections, he is a corrupt and murderous thug, we know that the country’s
economic meltdown will only get worse as long as the country remains a pariah
state.
@ A T Kadada
ReplyDelete“Have sanctions brought us to where we are as a nation or it is a scapegoat by the Zanu pf led government?
“The economy started a spiral down long before ZIDERA came into effect. When warvets, like soldiers of fortune, demanded gratuities that would bring the Zim dollar crashing sanctions were not in place. A myriad of things have brought Zimbabwe to this present day situation chief among this being corruption by Zanu pf from the former President to the lower level Zanu pf structures,” you said.
Well this is a breath of fresh air after decades of foul smelling Zanu PF propaganda. You have not only said sanctions are a scapegoat but given compelling evidence why that is so.
Zanu PF propaganda would insist the sanctions caused the Z$ to crash and pretend the war vets gratuities, the corruption, the mismanagement, collapse of the agricultural sector, etc. played no part. Indeed, Zanu PF propaganda is geared to say the Zimbabwe economy was robust and thriving until the day the sanctions were imposed.
During the 2008 to 2013 GNU when Z$ was scrapped, the price control lifted and the regime eased on the corruption for fear of scrutiny, etc. the economy did record a 12% growth rate after decades of negative growth. The sanctions were still in place during that period; proof the sanctions were not the root cause of the economic meltdown. Zanu PF propaganda machine has airbrushed the GNU period out of the narrative!
It is gratifying that there are people out there who are now willing to confront and confound Zanu PF propagandists and apologists with facts and tell off the regime. Thanks Kadada for reminding the emperor in no flattering terms that he is naked!
@ Tawanda Manjoni
ReplyDelete“Here is why Mnangagwa's claim of ignorance doesn't wash. He knows no other job but being a Cabinet minister. He was part of the senior hierarchy of government from independence in 1980. He was State Security minister, so the omni-present spooks must have been advising about how corrupt the civil bureaucracy was getting over the years. Unless he was busy with other things,” you said.
“What was Mnangagwa doing as VP not to know that corruption is such a big issue in Zimbabwe? For starters, corruption trackers such as Transparency International were religiously milling out reports on the huge extent of graft in this country, local civil society and other watchdogs were doing the same and even the war vets were hollering about it. Wasn't he listening? If not, how come he started talking about corruption as if his political future hung on that?”
You nailed it there my brother, Mnangagwa knew the nature and extend of corruption in Zimbabwe. How could he fail to know when he is up to his eyes in the wholesale looting that is now the norm in Zimbabwe. But most significant of all, Mnangagwa will not and cannot up-root corruption because he cannot up-root himself.
“But that's not what will make people start thinking that he is a clever guy and vote him into office again,” you said.
Well there you are wrong, the people of Zimbabwe did not vote for Mnangagwa last year. He rigged the elections. The whole country’s state institutions, ZEC, Police, Judiciary, etc. are Zanu PF departments in all but name. They are all corrupt to the core and committed to keeping Zanu PF in power at all cost.
Mnangagwa is the godfather of corruption and he will not last a day as president if he tried to end corruption.