“Trump to add more names on Zimbabwe sanctions list!” screamed the headlines in Bulawayo 24!
YES! YES! I scream back, static ecstatic with in delight!
The sanctions list needed revisiting for five good reasons:
- to counter Zanu PF arrogance and misinformation.
"While the United States has been the top provider of humanitarian and development aid to meet the needs of Zimbabwe's people, the government of Zimbabwe has implemented a misinformation campaign blaming the country's woes on targeted sanctions programs implemented by the United States," the two senators said.
In 2015 the late Robert Mugabe shocked the nation when he admitted the country was being “swindled out of US$15 billion in lost diamond revenue alone”. This after decades of denying corruption was rampant and blaming the country’s economic woes on sanctions. The best the regime has ever done was account for a few million dollars a year lost because of sanctions. Mugabe’s admission forced the regime’s propaganda into silence but not for long.
When it was clear Mnangagwa’s “Zimbabwe is open for business!” mantra had failed to bring the flood of investors and there was no economic recovery; the regime reverted back to blaming the sanctions. Last year the Zanu PF regime even managed to collar the other SADC countries to join it in blaming the sanctions for the country’s woes.
No one in there right mind should therefore be surprise that the Americans have decided enough is enough.
- To assess the effectiveness of the sanctions and fine tune them
It is no secrete that sanctions have had little effect on the targeted Zanu PF leaders. The leaders have flouted the travel ban by having plane loads of delegates to every UN conference, for example. Another example, it was discovered last year that some banks had been business with the individuals and entities on the sanctions list.
Sanctions work but only if they are rigorously enforced.
"Given the developments in Zimbabwe over the last two years, we urge you to consider enhancing the tools at your disposal, including the use of targeted sanctions, to incentivise changes in behaviour by the government of Zimbabwe,” the Senate U.S. Department of the Treasury.
- The third reason in to add new names to the sanctions list.
"An update to the list of the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons list should incorporate a balance of new designations with appropriate removals,” said the senators.
The ongoing factional fighting in Zanu PF has resulted in large numbers of leaders being booted out of the party and replaced by new faces. The new sanctions list must reflect the chaos and musical chairs taking place in the party.
There are two new groups of individuals that must be added to the sanctions list. First to be added on the list are the MDC opposition leaders. It is a matter of historic record that the MDC have sold out to Zanu PF by failing to implement the democratic reforms and then by participating in flawed and illegal elections and thus giving the illegitimate Zanu PF regime some modicum of credibility.
Second on the list are the seemingly apolitical individuals like Professor Mthuli Ncube, Minister Coventry, Trevor Ncube and his fellow members on the President Advisory Council. They all know that Zanu PF rigged the 2018 elections. They knew that by working for the regime they will undermine the efforts to end the dictatorship; they did this regardless for selfish reasons.
There is no deny that Zimbabwe’s economic and political crisis is a lot worse today than it was back in 2003; unemployment has soared to from 50% or so to 90%, poor health and education services then have all but collapsed, etc. The Americans, the EU and the UN have had to step in to feed 8 million Zimbabweans who would otherwise be facing starvation.
The Zanu PF government of President Mnangagwa has paid lip service to economic and political reforms, to the food shortages, etc. All the regime cares about is how to retain its dictatorial carte blanche political powers so it can remain in office and continue the looting of the nation’s resources.
The targeted sanctions were necessary to rein in Zanu PF leaders tyrannical rule back in 2003. The economic and political situation in Zimbabwe today is a lot worse than it was back in 2003, Zanu PF leaders’ arrogance and greed has increased in leaps and bounce. Now we need to impose the mother of all sanctions on these Zanu PF thugs before the regime drag the whole nation over the edge into the abyss!
Ramaphosa tells Donald Trump to keep his America
ReplyDeleteI wish I had any confidence in President Ramaphosa ; I do not! Mnangagwa blatant rigged the July 2018 elections in Zimbabwe and President Ramaphosa was the only leader I know who was foolish enough to give the result his thumbs up!
War veterans' leader Andy Mhlanga told the committee the war veterans have been left out when government adjusted salaries for the civil service.
ReplyDelete"The matter of war veterans salary increment has been on the table for a long time and the money we are earning is about ZWL$650, which is less than US$30 per month and that money does not help us to take care of our needs.
Zimbabwe is a pariah state and as long as this remains the case there will be no meaningful economic recovery. It is hard to feel sorry for the war veterans now languishing in abject poverty like the rest of us since many of them were the willing tool in Mugabe and Mnangagwa’s tyrannical hands. They built the Zanu PF dictatorship and now they are paying dearly for their folly. It is a great pity that millions of others are having to pay the price too.
The long and short of the judgment is that Chiwenga abused his position, and self-helped himself, which is not permissible at law.
ReplyDeleteMore worrying is the fact that Chiwenga is a whole Vice-President and took oath to uphold the Constitution - not some sections, but the whole of the supreme law.
In other jurisdictions, his suitability for office would be under scrutiny.
There can be no better way than conclude in Justice Dube-Banda's own words: "There cannot be in a constitutional democracy a law for the powerful and a law for the weak. It is in such instances that this court must come to the rescue of the weak and down trodden.
"It is in such instances that this court must stand firm and apply the law without fear or favour.”
It is great that Justice Dube-Banda did “come to the rescue of the weak and down trodden” in this case. Sadly, this is not the norm especially in those cases in which the very destiny of the nation rest. Zimbabwe is in this economic and political mess because Zanu PF thugs have blatantly rigged the elections and yet again and again the judiciary has turned a blind eye.
Of course the court officials who have presided over the nomination process to kick-off elections have all known that the voters’ roll they were using was not verified, a legal and common sense requirement, and they have all pretended not to notice.
Our judiciary is as corrupt and utterly useless as all the other state institutions hence the reason Zimbabwe is a banana republic!
FORMER Cabinet minister Jonathan Moyo has sensationally declared that Zimbabwe will be plunged into bloodshed.
ReplyDeleteWriting on the microblogging website Twitter, Moyo said, "For keen students of Zimbabwean history, this February is threatening to replace November as the month of momentous events!”
The economic situation in Zimbabwe has become so intolerable it is unsustainable, everyone is on the edge; anything can happen taking the whole country over the edge.
When Mnangagwa took over from Mugabe following the November 2017 military coup he was cocksure his “Zimbabwe is open for business!” was going to revive the economy, end the economic hardship and the nation was going to live happily ever after. Sadly, he failed to honour his promise to end corruption, hold free and fair elections and all the other practical things to prove Zimbabwe was no longer a pariah state. By failing to end corruption, hold free elections, etc. Mnangagwa confirmed the country was still a pariah state and therefore not open for business, not yet.
The economic situation is now even worse than it was in 2017 when the coup to remove Mugabe took place. The country’s political system of rigged elections does not allow for orderly change of government and so the nation awaiting yet another chaotic and violent change.
NEW kid on the political scene, the People's Party (PP) fronted by former Tourism minister Walter Mzembi has been dealt a body blow after one of its top executives, Vince Musewe, pulled out hardly a month after the formation of the opposition grouping.
ReplyDeleteMusewe, who had been appointed as the party's secretary for research and economic affairs, resigned just a few weeks after his appointment, saying the risk benefits were not worth his while.
Party secretary-general Lloyd Msipa confirmed the fallout which he said was driven by Musewe's desire to get paid for holding the post.
"We are looking for membership not mercenaries; this is a people's project and we could, therefore, not pay him for belonging to the party," Msipa said.
The big surprise was having someone like Walter Mzembi as leader, it is like bringing a skunk in the house!
@ Lulama
ReplyDelete“But even if they are sanctioned.....they are living luxury life they steal our resources and sell it to black market ...innocent people are getting poor and poorer...... Africa plz help Zimbabwe we are going to die.”
Zimbabwe’s public health care is all but dead; people are dying as we speak of easily treatable diseases!
We, Zimbabweans are our own worst enemy. Everyone with any democratic credentials condemned the July 2018 elections as a farce and would have gone to refused to recognised this Zanu PF regime as the legitimate government. They did not because all Zimbabwe’s opposition parties participated in the flawed and illegal elections, knowing fully well that with no reforms in place Zanu PF would rig the elections. That took the sting out of any outsiders rejecting Zanu PF’s legitimacy, if the people of Zimbabwe accept as free, fair and credible elections in which the authorities failed to produce something as basic as a verified voters’ roll why should outsiders complain!!!!
MDC leaders are no long fighting for free, fair and credible elections and the sooner the ordinary Zimbabweans accept that political reality the sooner we can take up the fight ourselves!
THE Political Actors Dialogue (Polad), a consultative forum set up by President Emmerson Mnangagwa for 17 losing 2018 presidential election candidates, has said the economic sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe are not the solution.
ReplyDeletePolad members met United States of America ambassador to Zimbabwe Brian Nichols on Tuesday to discuss the country's economic and political situation.
They all participated in the 2018 elections knowing fully well that with no reforms in place Zanu PF will rig the elections. They also knew that Zanu PF would give away a few gravy train parliamentary seats and a share of the cash from the Political Party Finance Act and these were what they were after. The formation of POLAD and all its generous funding has been a bonus. And now they are all singing for their supper.
Zimbabwe’s opposition leaders including MDC leaders are no long interested in delivering free, fair and credible elections in Zimbabwe as we can see. They are sell-outs and must be treated accordingly!
@Lulama Kwangu Skhosana
ReplyDelete“Wilbert Mukori ZANU knows that powerful people who can strike every day like Sudanese are out of country seeking for better life.....that's y they doing like that ....all those people who are in in South Africa most of them are young and strong ....I do bealive if they are all in Zimbabwe we was going to strike until we win ...but because they are few people at home they police will always overpowering people.”
Before people go on strike everyone should know what the strike is for and not just vague ideas about democratic change, ending corruption, reviving the economy, etc.
People have risked life and limb to elect MDC leaders into power on the understanding they will deliver the democratic changes the nation was dying for. Beyond the slogan “Chijna! Change! Guqula!” many party leaders like Morgan Tsvangirai, worse still party supporters, did not have a clue what these changes are much less how they would be implemented. And even to this day, with all the benefit of hindsight, many people still have no clue what the reforms are and that MDC leaders sold out in failing to get even one reform implemented.
Until there is a clear narrative of where we are. where we want to go and how we are going to get there. We can have millions on the street on strike but to no avail. Indeed the unscrupulous ones will only hijack the public for their selfish purposes as happened in November 2017 in support of the military coup.
Anyone, at home or in the diaspora can articulate the narrative of where we are going. I have not heard any such narrative yet; we are not ready for change! It may well be we are destined to blunder from pillar to post as we have done these last 40 years!
"The situation in the country is unsustainable because it is those in government who are making it ungovernable where in other countries it is those who are outside government who foment conflict.
ReplyDelete"When you deny people their freedoms, when you actively foment anarchy and chaos, you become an enemy of the people.
"President Mbeki told me that there is shared concern and shared anxiety in the region and on the continent (about Zim) … and he should be coming back here anytime soon," Chamisa added.
It is all very well Chamisa accusing Mnangagwa of fomenting anarchy and chaos when it is MDC that wasted the golden opportunity to implement the reforms to end the Zanu PF dictatorship. If MDC had not participated in the flawed and illegal 2018 elections and thus giving the process the modicum of legitimacy Mnangagwa would have been forced to implement the reforms and the country will not still be under dictatorial rule!
THE opposition MDC leader Nelson Chamisa yesterday had his planned clean-up campaign stopped by police in Chitungwiza, with the law enforcement agents advising him to instead join President Emmerson Mnangagwa's nationwide clean-up initiative normally held in the first week of each month.
ReplyDeleteThe campaign was scheduled for Unit L in Chitungwiza, but armed police barricaded the area early in the morning and ordered MDC supporters to disperse before the arrival of their leader.
In a country with a nauseating 90% unemployment rate the country’s leaders should be concerned with employing as many cleaners on a permanent basis and pay them a living wage thus creating employment opportunities and allow individuals to earn a decent living.
These clean-up campaigns are just a gimmick because these once a month cleaning sessions do not cover the whole country and, even if they did, cleaning once a month is hardly adequate!
The nation is face very serious economic and political challenges that need addressing. Why are those elected to address these challenges wasting time making a big song and dance sweeping the street because they will not pay someone a living wage to sweep.
Mnangagwa and his Zanu PF cronies are stupid but not that stupid not to see that the country is sinking deeper and deeper into this hell-on-earth. They will never admit it, of course, but they really have no clue how to revive the Zimbabwe economy.
ReplyDeleteThe one thing Mnangagwa and his cronies will not be found wanting is their resolve to retain the dictatorship and absolute power at all cost. Since the fiasco of the blatant cheating and wanton violence in the 2008 elections Zanu PF has learned it can continue with the blatant cheating and wanton violence as long as the opposition participate in the contest. And hence Zanu PF has since the 2013 elections allowed the opposition to win a few seats, enticing bait.
Zanu PF will amend the constitution to give the leader of the opposition "Leader of Opposition" title complete with cabinet member salary and allowances. Shadow cabinet ministers will similarly be honoured and rewarded. The bait for the opposition will be even more enticing and irresistible!
Chamisa and his MDC friends are calling “for the implementation of comprehensive reforms to avoid another disputed elections” and drawing red-lines they will not cross to contest the 2023 elections. Nearer the elections, they will cross these red-lines even with not single reform implemented. They will find the pull of driving a new ministerial limo and all the other perks too power to resist!
We know Chamisa and his MDC friends are corrupt, incompetent and have sold-out big time in the past and are selling-out right now. And we cannot afford to let them continue selling out with impunity! I agree 100% Chamisa and a select few of his MDC friends must be added to the sanctions list, just to send a clear message those who are selling-out are not going to get away with it!
The like of Minister Mthuli Ncube know they are working for a vote rigging and tyrannical regime. Of course, they should be punished same as their tyrannical masters. “Wadziya moto wembavha, imbavha!” (Those who freely choose to associate with thugs are thugs!) As one would say in Shona.
Mnangagwa was cocksure his "Zimbabwe is open for business!" mantra was going to revive the country's economy. It is over two years since the military coup that propelled Mnangagwa into the presidency and his mantra is dead in the water; Mnangagwa now knows that he really has nothing to offer. He is in exactly the same position Mugabe was just before the 2017 coup, a sitting duck with nothing to justify why he should be there for one more day!
ReplyDeleteThe Malawian Constitutional Court sitting in Lilongwe has dismissed Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) argument that monitors were supposed to come and testify themselves in court on electoral irregularities and illegalities.
ReplyDeleteIt is very sad that decades after independence we are still failing to hold free, fair and credible elections!
Zanu PF Youth League leaders Godfrey Tsenengamu and Lewis Matutu have named and shamed controversial businessman Kuda Tagwirei as the leader of a cartel responsible for Zimbabwe’s economic woes.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking in an explosive press conference, the two ZANU PF Youth Leaders did not want to directly associate their press conference to the ruling party.
When all is said and done we always come back to the issue of bad governance. Why is it that those in positions of power and authority have done nothing to end the gross mismanagement and rampant corruption that has destroyed the country's economy? And, most important of all, why have we allowed those in positions of power and authority to remain in power for 40 years allowing the country to go to the dogs?
Zanu PF blatantly rigged the July 2018 elections to deny the people the power to remove the party from office, just as the party has rigged elections in the past.
To stop the corruption and mismanagement we must first stop the vote rigging!
Zanu PF must step down to allow the appointment of an independent body, free of the party's corrupting influence, to implement the democratic reforms necessary for free, fair and credible elections. This is the only way out of the economic and political mess we find ourselves stuck in!