"US$ 40k to MPs is loan and above board" - a bikini statement, revealing a lot but concealing the essential W Mukori

 

Prosper Mutseymi, CCC MP chief whip’s gallant and defiant denial the US$40 000 was a loan and not a bribe can best be described as bikini – revealed a lot but concealed the essentials. Let’s unpick it.  

"On Tuesday, the CCC hosted a parliamentary caucus convergence in Harare to look at things affecting Zimbabwe, we discussed the much-published US$40 000 loan granted to Members of Parliament (MPs). What I want to say is that the US$40 000 loan is above board and it's not a donation," said Mutseyami.

"The loan is, therefore, not a surprising Executive instrument, but one that went through due process of appropriation and it's provided for in the Constitution of the country and it's not a donation and it is above board."

Rumour has it that Mnangagwa wanted to give the US$500 000 and US$350 000 bribe to his ministers and deputy ministers and was forced to extend it to MPs shut them up! And the proposed bribes were approved by cabinet and sailed through parliament.

Of course, there is no constitution provision to allow bribes and corruption but then there is no constitutional provision to allow rigged elections, military coup, etc., etc. When the 2017 military coup happened – surprise! High Court Judge George Chiweshe said the coup was “justified, legal and constitutional!”

"Over the years, different loans have always been provided for Parliament. Most common of these loans have been vehicle loans of US$55 000 up to US$60 000 in some cases depending on the portfolio the honourable member holds," continued the CCC chief whip.

"Loans have always been repaid, where there have been defaults. Parliament has instituted legal proceedings and court records are public. In some cases, vehicles have been seized at tollgates like for myself, honourable Chalton Hwende and honourable Caston Matewu.”

Of course, he is being very economical with the truth! He knows that many of these loans are never repaid. A few years ago, parliament approved a bill writing off US$3 billion of Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe unpaid loans to the ruling elite. Morgan Tsvangirai never paid back the US$4 million for the Highlands mansion. And Mutseyami should say how much of the car loan he, Hwende and Mtewu had repaid before they were recalled as MP!

“Parliament plays a critical role of making laws for the good order of Zimbabwe. However, as the third arm of the state, its most important function is that of holding the executive to account and more importantly demanding accountability over the use of Zimbabwe's resources,” argued Mutseymi, finally getting to the jest of the matter.

“Despite this important role, the executive has over decades systematically debased and weakened the role of parliament. Parliament has been underfunded and parliament has been treated as a constitutional inconvenience by an executive that is not accountable and is not prepared to be held to account.”

Of course, parliament is feeble and utterly useless as are all the other state institutions like Police, Judiciary, etc., etc. Zimbabwe is a de facto one-party dictatorship in which the state president holds dictatorial powers and uses the patronage system, the bribes, to hold everyone beholden to him.

The people of Zimbabwe realised in the late 1990s that as long as Zanu PF continued to enjoy these dictatorial powers including the carte blanche powers to rig elections nothing will change. Nothing! The nation needed implement democratic changes to end the Zanu PF dictatorship.

The people of Zimbabwe have risked life and limb to elect now late Morgan Tsvangirai and his MDC/CCC friends into power on the promise the party would implement the democratic changes the nation was dying for.  They had their golden opportunity to implement the reforms during the 2008 to 2013 GNU. They failed to implement even one reform because Mugabe saw to it that they were received all the trappings of holding public office including these bribes disguised as loans.  

If the good life had blinded the MDC leaders from the seriousness of their folly in failing to implement even one democratic reform during the GNU the political reality of Zanu PF blatantly rigging the 2013 elections brought them crashing back to earth. And yet, even then they would not do the right thing and boycott the elections because they were content with the few gravy train seats Zanu PF was giving away as bait.

“The worst aspect for me about the failure to agree a coalition was that both MDCs couldn’t now do the obvious – withdraw from the (2013) elections,” confessed Coltart in his Book, The Struggle Continues 50 years of Tyranny in Zimbabwe.

“The electoral process was so flawed, so illegal, that the only logical step was to withdraw, which would compel SADC to hold Zanu PF to account. But such was the distrust between the MDC-T and MDC-N that neither could withdraw for fear that the other would remain in the elections, winning seats and giving the process credibility.”

In an interview Isaac Mugabi in 2015 Tendai Biti too condemned the follow of participating in these flawed elections to give Zanu PF legitimacy.

 “Look, you can't keep on participating in flawed electoral processes that serve to give big benefits to dictators such as Robert Mugabe. Mugabe has perfected the art of winning elections. So it will be very foolish for the opposition to continue legitimizing these sham elections which don't deliver. This country will go through a serious economic crisis in 2020 caused by Zanu PF. And yet, this is the only country where a government doesn't perform, it is encouraged by a super majority in parliament,” said Tendai Biti.

“So, you can't continue subjecting Zimbabweans to processes where their hopes just get crushed.”

And yet that is exactly what these MDC leaders have been doing participating in elections so flawed that MDC failed to win power even after polling 73% of the votes in the March 2008 election. It is interesting to note that Tendai Biti attended the press conference addressed by Mutseyami and, no doubt, would not have cared to be reminded what he said in 2015!

The bottom line is Zimbabwe is a pariah state presided over by a dictator dolling out bribes to the ruling elite to buy their blind loyalty to his continued rule. People like Mutseyami, Biti, Coltart, Chamisa all know MDC wasted its golden opportunity to implemented reforms during the GNU and that without reforms the Zanu PF dictatorship will remain in power.