"Modern NRZ will increase freight from 2.8 to 4.5 m tonnes by 2023" - pariah state's vision 2030 mirage N Garikai

 The National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) is being upgraded in line with President Mnangagwa vision of creating an upper middle-income economy by 2030.

"We are working on installing modern electro systems that we saw in Indonesia and China so that we do away with the current system,” Advocate Martin Dinha, NRZ Board Chairman, told Sunday News.

"The new system will be a high voltage system that will operate on the railway line and it will be very dangerous for anyone who would want to tamper with it because the whole railway line will be live at any given time," 

NRZ’s 2020-2030 strategic plan will “transform NRZ into a modern railway system and move from the 2,8 million tonnes per year carrying capacity achieved last year and to 4,5 million tonnes by 2023, reach an apex of 6 million tonnes by 2025 and up to 12 million tonnes by 2030.”

The country spent millions of dollars on the overhead electrical system in the early 1980s and it was supposed to last 80 years, at least. The system was in service for less than 20 years and it started coughing blood. The vandals stole the copper conduct, delivering the coup de grace to the system. 

A high-voltage third-rail system, NRZ is proposing, is all very well in countries where there is no unauthorised access on the rail track by humans or animals. Other than in marshalling yards like Dabuka, most of NRZ’s rail network is accessible to man and beast 24/7. The live third-rail will have to be carefully shielded to prevent electrocutions. 

President Mnangagwa has said by 2023 Zimbabwe generating enough electrical power to meet the nation’s energy needs with surplus for export. So why is NRZ building solar farms to meet its own electricity power needs? It should focus on its core function of providing the nation with any efficiency and reliable rail transport service for goods and passengers - something it is clearly failing to do at present. 

NRZ has 10 locomotives in service out of fleet of 67! This is wilfully inadequate for nation with a 4 313 km rail network!  

In 2019 there was a big song and dance over the launch of joint venture between NRZ and a group of private investors to supply locomotives, wagons, coaches, etc. needed to kick start the railway service to its former pre-independence glory. The President officiated at the handover of the first batch of locomotives. 

None of the new locomotives were ever used because the had the wrong rail gauge! How anyone missed something as obvious as that, beggars believe! The joint venture has since been dropped, the millions of dollars of public money spent has been written off and we move on - a very familiar tale in post-independence Zimbabwe. 

Right now, Zimbabwe is in the middle of the corona virus pandemic with no exit strategy. The country needs to vaccinate 10 million people to reach head immunity and so far government has sourced enough vaccines for 500 000. Whereas other nations like SA are set achieve head immunity by the end of this years, Zimbabwe will be luck to do so by the end of 2022!

The country’s public education and health care services have all but collapsed after decades of being starved of funds. 

So where is Zimbabwe getting the money to bankroll these ambitious NRZ project when the nation has no money to buy corona virus vaccines and failing to pay teachers and nurses a living wage, etc.?

IMF, WB and most other international financial institutions have long stopped giving Zimbabwe any financial assistance because Zanu PF government are known for being wasteful, corruption and for failing to repay the debts. Even the Chinese, “our all-weather friend” as Mugabe called them, have largely stopped loaning money to Zimbabwe for exactly the same reasons - wasteful, etc.

Ever since the Zimbabwe’s independence in 1980, the country’s economy has been in decline because Zimbabwe is a pariah state ruled by corrupt, incompetent and murderous thugs who have rigged elections to stay in power. And as long as the country remains a pariah state there will be no meaningful economic recovery. None! 

But of course, Zanu PF has never acknowledge the country’s relentless economic decline and the ruins. As far as the party is concerned, it promised the nation “Mass prosperity!”, “Gutsva ruzhinji!” It has not delivered mass prosperity yet but it is on the right track!

Zimbabwe was a middle income nation in 1980 and is one of the poorest nation today. It is only the few ruling elite who are filthy rich and doing so at the expense of the millions of our people are now living in abject poverty. The party will insist mass prosperity for the majority is only round the corner.  

We are going to have “a modern NRZ will be moving 4.5, 6.0 and 12.0 million tonnes by 2023, 2025 and 2030 respectively, up from the present tonnage of 2.8 million!” This is just one pixel of the Zanu PF’s cloud cuckoo land collage!

"Mnangagwa is responsible for my recall" claimed Biti - shot yourself in the foot, yet again P Guramatunhu

 A few days ago the Speaker of Parliament, Jacob Mudenda, announced that Tendai Biti and four other legislators elected under the MDC Alliance (MDC A) but from the People Democratic Party (PDP) had been recalled by the PDP. 

The recall itself came as no surprise to anyone who has followed the mud-crab dance of Zimbabwe opposition politics. 

MDC A is a coalition of six or so political parties including PDP, MDC-Ncube and MDC-T led by Morgan Tsvangirai whose primary purpose was for the partners to maximise on the opposition vote by fielding one candidate in all the 2018 electoral races. For convenience, the candidates called themselves MDC A although they each belonged to their individual party, MDC A was not a political party. 

To muddy the waters, MDC-T led by Nelson Chamisa following Tsvangirai death in February 2018 started calling itself MDC A whilst a break-away faction led by Thokozani Khupe retained the MDC-T name. 

Chamisa called an MDC A congress in Gweru in May 2019 to which all MDC A members from other partners attended and were elected to key positions in the MDC A - the coalition had morphed into a political party. 

One would have thought that Tendai Biti and his PDP crowd and Welshman Ncube and David Coltart and their MDC-Ncube, the three are all lawyers, would have had the common sense to convene their own party congress to formally dissolve the party or transplant it lock, stock and barrel to be MDC A. They did no such thing. 

Tendai Biti was elected MDC A VP with Welshman Ncube as the other VP. David Coltart was elected MDC A Treasurer General. Other PDP and MDC-Ncube members were elected into key position in the MDC A party. 

So Tendai Biti and all the other former PDP members who joined the MDC A after the May 2019 congress crossed the floor and could no longer call themselves PDP members and therefore were subject to recall by PDP. David Coltart and all the other MDC-Ncube legislators, can too be recalled by the old MDC-Ncube, if it still exists. 

Tendai Biti’s reaction to the recall is to blame Zanu PF! Biti was the chair person of the Parliament's Public Accounts Committee (PAC) and he is adamant the recall was a calculated move by Zanu PF to stop the corruption undercover by the committee coming out.

"We had those (PAC) reports ready and my recall is to make sure these issues to do with corruption are not brought before Parliament. We will convene as a party and make sure we come up with a collective decision. Remember, we contested elections not under the PDP, but under the MDC Alliance," Biti said.

"Yesterday (Tuesday), they prevented me from moving a motion on Chilonga displacements in Parliament. Tomorrow (today), I was supposed to present a report on Zinara (Zimbabwe National Road Administration), and on Monday, we were supposed to cross-examine ZESA on (Kudakwashe) Tagwirei's Dema deal and Wicknell Chivhayo's Gwanda solar project. In a few weeks' time, we were going to table the issue of land barons in Harare. So the cartels and Mnangagwa are responsible for this recall.”

An old woman is always uneasy when dry bones are mentioned in a proverb; so goes the old adage. 

Yes the PAC reports Biti’s committee was going to release were going to embarrass Mnangagwa and company, old woman and dry bones, but we should not go over board on this. Zanu PF has a thick skin!

Over the years there have been numerous stories and reports from the Willowgate scandal, to Mugabe’s admission the country was being swindled out of US$ 15 billion dollars in diamond revenue, etc. Zanu PF has used its political dominance to take the sting out of all these adverse reports. No doubt it would have done the same in this case. 

The bottom line is Zanu PF did not engineer the recall of these MDC A legislators. The sheer incompetence with which Tendai Biti and his fellow MDC A leaders have handled the transition from MDC A coalition to MDC A political party has created a lot of chaos and confusion. It is former colleagues in the old parties who are recalling the MDC A legislators. Zanu PF has taken advantage of the situation. 

Tendai Biti is nothing but a noisy Chihuahua barking at a marauding elephant, to hear the bark one would think the Chihuahua going to eat the the elephant alive! Zanu PF is not going change because of what Biti says no more than the marauding elephant is going away because it fears being eaten alive with the Chihuahua. 

If Zimbabweans are serious about ending corruption, we must demand democratic reforms leading to the holding of free, fair and credible elections. Free, fair and credible elections is more than just a basic human right; it is the alpha, omega and everything in between of good governance. 

Tendai Biti and his MDC friends sold out on the golden opportunity to implement the reforms during the 2008 to 2013 GNU. And since the GNU debacle they have participated in flawed elections giving legitimacy to Zanu PF for the sake of a few gravy train seats Zanu PF offered as bait. MDC leaders are hoping the nation will never notice the barking Chihuahua will never end the Zanu PF dictatorship, corruption and povo’s long suffering! 

“Mnangagwa is responsible for my recall to stop PAC corruption reports coming out!” Yeah right! How about admitting, you shoot yourself in the foot! 

"Vaccination will help achieve vision 2030" said Mnangagwa - this is idiotic "Kurotomoka!" N Garikai

 "The National covid-19 Vaccination Programme will further guarantee a Zimbabwe that continues on its course to achieve Vision 2030. We are determined to emerge out of this pandemic with greater capability to play a more effective role towards peace, harmony and prosperity within the comity of nations,” said President Mnangagwa after receiving the second batch of Sinopharm vaccines.

“My administration is confident that this vaccination intervention will greatly contribute to our country's realisation of herd immunity. We are making steady progress in the fight against the pandemic and in the on-going National COVID-19 Vaccination Roll-out Programme.”

Vision 2030 is not just wishful thinking but idiotic! “Kurotomoka!” as one would say in Shona.

Mnangagwa’s “Zimbabwe is open for business!” mantra has failed to attract the much hoped for investors because everyone could see the country was still a pariah state ruled by corrupt and incompetent thugs. If anyone still doubted the country had not change since the November 2017 military coup all doubt evaporated when Zanu PF blatantly rigged the July 2018 elections. 

By the end of 2019 it was clear the Zimbabwe economy was still in serious trouble. The corona virus outbreak has made the bad economic situation even worse. 

A November 2019 World Bank report said 34% of Zimbabwe’s population was living in extreme poverty; i.e. they could not afford one decent meal a day let alone other basic necessities such as education for the children and health care. 

The economic disruption caused by the corona virus in the last year alone must have pushed the number living in extreme poverty to 40%. The country has been slow in procuring the corona virus vaccine and will be very luck to get enough vaccines for 10 million by June 2022. By then the number of Zimbabweans living in extreme poverty will be 50% plus! 

The country’s education and health care services have all but collapsed. Decades of under funding had taken their toll and the corona virus delivered the coup de grace. 

NRZ has 10 out of 67 working locomotives. How the mighty have fallen! NRZ had over 50 electric locos plus four times as many diesel ones in the 1980s! Many other big companies are in similar rot and decay. 

Zimbabwe’s economy shrink by a staggering 50% in the period 2000 to 2008 under the double whammy of collapsing agricultural sector and the regime’s money printing crazy that saw inflation rate soar to 500 billion percent. 

Vision 2030 is about Zimbabwe attaining middle income status. To achieve that Zimbabwe’s economy will have to grow by 25% plus every year! An impossible feat considering this will be happening in a country with very poor infrastructure, a poorly educated and sickly labour force governed by corrupt and incompetent leaders! Yeah! Mnangagwa arikurotomoka!

"I'm disappointed with ZESA" Biti tells Gata to his face - still, it's Chihuahua barking at marauding elephant P Guramatunhu

 ZESA Holdings executive board chairperson Sydney Gata yesterday struggled for answers after he was cornered by the Tendai Biti led Public Accounts Committee to explain how the parastatal secured a US$35 million loan from the Afreximbank without parliamentary approval.

Besides the opaque US$35m loan deal, the committee also questioned the awarding of the Gwanda solar project to Wicknell Chivayo, PME transformer deal as well as Sakunda Holdings' Dema Power project.

This is just a bit of theatrical drama and no one enjoys it more than the opposition MPs like Tendai Biti, Themba Mliswa, Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga, etc.; they consider is as proof they are doing a splendid job as oppositions MPs. They are positioning themselves ahead of the opposition park hunting for the few gravy train seats Zanu PF has been giving away since the 2013 elections.

Zanu PF got itself into trouble with SADC and AU for blatantly cheating and using wanton violence in the 2008 elections. The party was forced to go into the 2008 to 2013 GNU whose primary purpose was to implement a raft of democratic reforms to restore the individual freedoms and rights including reforms to ensure future elections were free, fair and credible.

The task of implementing the reforms fall to Morgan Tsvangirai and his MDC friends. Mugabe and his Zanu PF cronies hated having to share power with the MDC but what they dreaded the most was having the reforms implemented and strip away the party’s carte blanche dictatorial powers that had kept the party in power ever since the country’s independence in 1980.

As President in the GNU, Mugabe saw to it that MDC leaders were pampered and denied nothing the gravy train had to offer. They were given ministerial limos, very generous salaries and allowances, a US$4 million mansion for Tsvangirai, etc., etc. With their snouts in the feeding trough, the MDC leaders forgot about the reforms and deaf to anyone reminding them of the need to implement reforms.

Indeed, the odd occasion the MDC leaders said anything during the GNU, it was to take turns in singing the praises of Robert Mugabe. Tendai Biti described Mugabe as “unflappable father of the nation and fountain of all wisdom”! Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga was in such awe she was “speechless”.

MDC leaders failed to implement even one democratic reform in five years of the GNU. Not one! And hence the reason the nation is still stuck with this corrupt, incompetent and tyrannical Zanu PF dictatorship.

Mugabe and his Zanu PF cronies realised during the GNU that they can keep their dictatorial powers and rig elections and will avoid the GNU sin-bin as long as the party got the opposition to participate in elections. And so, ever since the 2013 elections, the party has offered a few gravy train seats plus a share of the annual Political Party Finance Act pay out as bait. Bait the likes of Tendai Biti, Nelson Chamisa and everyone in the MDC plus many, many others in the opposition camp have found irresistible.

Of course, everyone in the opposition camp participating in these flawed and illegal elections, ZEC has even failed to produce something as basic as a verified voters’ roll, KNEW Zanu PF was rigging the elections and that by participating they are giving legitimacy to the regime.

Zanu PF’s vote rigging powers are limitless, having no verified voters’ roll alone offers an infinite ways one can rig the vote; and so the party is guaranteed to win 2/3 or so majority plus the presidency. With it clear majority Zanu PF is enjoying absolute power and riding roughshod over the people, denying them their freedoms and rights, much as the party had done before the 2008 GNU.

Tendai Biti and others in the opposition leaders, lucky enough to have won the few gravy train seats would want the nation to believe their presence in parliament is making a world of difference to the way Zimbabwe is governed. They are justifying why they participated in the July 2018 elections and why they must participate in the 2023 elections even though Zanu PF will rig those elections too!

"I'm disappointed with the management of Zesa for failing to appear before this committee on a matter which they knew they had to answer on specific matters, especially the matter of the 2019 forensic audit report,” said Tendai Biti.

"We express disappointment that Zesa did not come armed with the relevant personnel that was present at that time to help answer the committee's specific questions.”

Dr Sydney Gata was appointed the first GM of ZESA soon after its formation in the late 1980s for no other reason other than that he was Robert Mugabe’s brother-in-law. Gata had to divorce his wife to marry Mugabe’s sister and the appointment was delayed when he was suspected of dragging his feet over the divorce.

Gata’s tenure as ZESA’s GM was marked by gross mismanagement, rampant corruption and abuse of office. By the time Gata finally left ZESA, the parastatal was in a real mess. It beggars belief that Gata was ever allowed back to work for ZESA. He considers himself a part of the Zanu PF ruling elite and hence the reason he is back at ZESA – this is a political appointment and merit has nothing to do with it!

Other than express his “disappointment” with the criminal waste of human and material resources at ZESA, there is very little else Tendai Biti and his parliamentary committee can do about it. Tendai Biti is nothing but a Chihuahua barking at a marauding head of elephants, they will not interrupt their feeding because they fear of being eaten alive by the Chihuahua!

Tendai Biti and the winners of the few gravy train seats would want the nation to believe they will ultimately prevail and end the corrupt and tyrannical Zanu PF dictatorship, the Chihuahuas will drive away the elephants. The nation was foolish to believe this nonsense in 2013 and again in 2018. Time will tell if the nation will be hoodwinked once again and be dragged into yet another utterly meaningless elections process on the pretext the opposition will wig the rigged elections and finally end the corrupt and tyrannical Zanu PF dictatorship!

"Get vaccinated now!" commanded Mnangagwa, on low uptake of Sinopharm vaccine - he still doesn't get it N Garikai

 

“As at yesterday, only 36 283 frontline workers had been vaccinated with Sinopharm against a target of 100 000 people, with the majority said to be sceptical of the efficacy of the drug donated by China,” reported News Day.

To reach head immunity, Zimbabwe must vaccinate 10 million out of its 15 million population. The fact that it is struggling to get the first 100 000 to come forward to take the vaccine speaks volumes of the public’s confidence in the Sinopharm vaccine being offered. The vaccine has yet to be approved by WHO.

Zimbabwe accepted Sinopharm vaccine because it was a free gift.

There are many other vaccines with WHO seal of approval on the market. Zimbabwe should have sourced and paid for these vaccines. It seems the country is totally reliant on free vaccines? You accept whatever you are given, beggars are not choosers.

Why are we a nation of beggars?

The country is losing US$1.2 billion per annual to gold smugglers. Two weeks ago, the nation learned V P Chiwenga unveiled his new “White House” mansion.  

“The cost of the new house runs into millions of dollars. The source of Chiwenga's wealth remains a mystery,” reported The News Hawk.

“The breath-taking property was constructed in recent months by Chinese nationals who fitted it with the latest technology to bolster the security-conscious vice-president's safety.

“Dubbed "the White House", the awe-inspiring double-storey mansion has a spectacular structure and the finest finishing; transcendental decorative texture and optics all built by the Chinese.”

Of course, we know the source of VP Chiwenga’s wealth, his close relationship with the Chinese dates back to his days in the army. The Zimbabwe Defence Forces; together with the Police, CIO and a few others; was one of the institutions to be issued the diamond mining concession in Marange and Chiadzwa.

The concession allows the holder and their partner, the Chinese in this case, to mine for diamonds and share to spoils without ever declaring their earnings or paying any tax – no wonder the concessions have been dubbed “Open licence to loot!”

VP Chiwenga and the top brass in the army were the beneficiaries. And when he retired from the army to become VP arrangements were made to make sure he continued to receive his share of the looted wealth.

VP Chiwenga is doubling up as Minister of Health and therefore is aware the country has been slow in purchasing the corona virus vaccines, assuming it has bought any, ostensibly because it did have the money. And yet he was splashing millions of dollars, most of it in foreign currency, on “latest technology and finniest fittings” for his mansion.

"Covid-19 vaccines have been delivered to Zimbabwe. These vaccines help minimise risk of infection and are being administered all over Zimbabwe free of charge. So, get vaccinated now,” argued President Mnangagwa.

“This is our stand against covid-19. Together, we will conquer. Get vaccinated now."

He simply does get it!  

Zimbabweans are as keen as anyone else the world over to get the corona virus jab but not so keen to get this Sinopharm vaccine only because it is yet to get WHO approval. Meanwhile, government should be offering the people the other approved vaccines!

Zimbabwe is a wealthy nation; just needs to stamp out corruption and other wasteful activities; and should not be rely on begging, especially on critical matters like the corona virus vaccines. Why are these common-sense arguments so alien and incomprehensible to this Zanu PF regime!!!!

It is the stuff of nightmares to have a corrupt, incompetent and utterly useless government during good times but when there is a crisis like the corona virus pandemic the nightmare becomes a catastrophe of Biblical proportion. Zimbabwe will be very lucky to reach the 10 million head immunity on donated vaccines by end of next year, 2022. Until then, the country will be susceptible to a one wave after another of the corona virus outbreak and God knows the economic and human price we will pay with each pass.

MDC wasted chance for free elections; for another chance, first povo must finally open their eyes P Guramatunhu

 At the heart of Zimbabwe’s economic mess and political paralysis; the nation is stuck with a corrupt, incompetent and tyrannical ruling party and an equally corrupt and incompetent opposition; is the people’s failure to understand what is going on and to act appropriately.

During the 2008 to 2013 GNU most Zimbabweans failed to understand that the primary purpose of the GNU was to implement the raft of democratic reforms to ensure future elections are free, fair and credible. And not a repeat of the blatant cheating and wanton violence by Zanu PF of the 2008 elections. 

The task of implementing the reforms were left to Morgan Tsvangirai and his MDC friends. Mugabe bribed the MDC leaders with the trappings of high office; the ministerial limos, the generous salaries and perks, a US$4 million mansion for Tsvangirai, etc., etc. With their snouts in the feeding trough, the MDC forgot about the reforms for five years. 

The ordinary Zimbabweans were not aware the GNU was about implementing the reforms and so failed in their sacred duty of ensuring MDC leaders did not take their eyes off the ball. Even now with the benefit of hindsight, many Zimbabweans still fail to grasp the true purpose of the 2008 GNU and therefore the seriousness of the MDC leaders’ betrayal. 

Ever since the 2008 to 2013 GNU Zanu PF has learned that it can keep all its dictatorial powers including the carte blanche powers to rig elections; instead of the blatant rigging, the party is a lot more subtle and astute. 

In the March 2008 vote, Zanu PF was forced to step in and ordered ZEC to stop announcing the results when it became clear the party was losing. The party ordered a recount that lasted six weeks. It was clear the party was cooking the figures; blatantly cheating. The party has since rejigged its vote rigging juggernaut to ensure the system delivers a Zanu PF majority. 

Instead of 84% Mugabe got in the 2008 run-off Mnangagwa won the July 2018 elections with the wafer thin majority of 50.8%. The narrow winning margin is meant to underline this was a credible race! 

Zanu PF was very careful to keep its thugs on a short lead throughout the election campaign period to stop the repeat of the wanton violence of 2008. The party reminded the voters they will be punished if the party lost the elections, this was project harvest fear. 

But by far the most subtle move Zanu PF has done since the 2008 to 2013 GNU was to entice the opposition to participate in the elections even when it was clear Zanu PF was rigging the elections. What is most intriguing about it is the opposition are aware by participating they are giving the flawed process “credibility”! 

“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,” wrote David 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.”

There is no denying that by participating in the flawed elections the opposition are giving the process credibility and, by extension, the vote rigging Zanu PF regime legitimacy. 

Nelson Chamisa and his MDC A friends’ claim that Mnangagwa lacks legitimacy must be dismissed with the contempt it rightly deserves. It was none other than Chamisa himself who claimed MDC A would stop Zanu PF rigging the elections. 

“MDC A has stringent measures to stop Zanu PF rigging the elections!” boasted Chamisa just before the 2018 elections. 

Chamisa and his opposition friends participated in the July 2018 elections, knowing Zanu PF was rigging the elections but did it regardless for the sake of the few gravy train seats and a cut of the Political Party Finance Act budget allocation. Chamisa et al are gearing to participate in the 2023 elections; their greed has the better of them. 

No doubt, the opposition will claim to have foolproof strategies to guarantee them winning rigged elections. And no doubt the naive and gullible electorate will once again believe the nonsense and be sucked into participating and perpetuate the Zanu PF dictatorship. 

The 2008 to 2013 GNU offered the country the best chances ever to implement the democratic reforms after SADC and AU refused to endorse Zanu PF as the legitimate winner of the blatantly rigged 2008 national elections. Zanu PF learned the lesson to hide all evidence of cheating and violence and has the opposition in its deep pockets, they will participate in all elections regardless how flawed the process. 

We need to implement the democratic reforms, the pre-requisite for free, fair and credible elections, for good governance and, most urgent of all, for ending the economic mess and political paralysis. The country’s economy is in ruins and millions are now living in abject poverty; the nation is standing on the edge of the precipitous abyss; we must implement the reforms now!

If any of the reforms are ever to see the light of day, it is up to the people of Zimbabwe themselves to finally open their eyes and see Zanu PF leaders for what they really are - corrupt, incompetent and murderous thugs who will rig the next elections and continue to deny them a meaningful say in the governance of the country. 

The people must also finally open their eyes and see the MDC leaders and the rest in the opposition camp for what they really are - corrupt and incompetent opportunists who will participate in flawed elections for a share of the spoils of power with Zanu PF. 

Zimbabweans must demand the implementation of the democratic reforms before the 2023 elections and totally reject the nonsense of winning rigged elections. After 41 years and counting of rigged elections we must have free, fair and credible elections; we know the reforms required to achieve that and demand that the reforms must be implemented. 

"Zanu PF greed is on steroid, will not give up power" said ZCTU - know enemy well but ignorant yourself P Guramatunhu

 

My beef with Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) leaders, as with many other civic organisations in Zimbabwe, is why they have remained doggedly loyal MDC leaders even in the face of the overwhelming evidence of MDC leaders have sold-out!

“It is expected that government will say there is no crisis (in Zimbabwe); the abusers will see peace because they are benefitting but their victims will be saying they cannot breathe,” said ZCTU President Peter Mutasa, at a gathering to commemorate 11 March 2007 “Save Zimbabwe”.

The country still needs saving today, more so now than ever! The economic and political crisis is worse as the Zanu PF dictatorship behind it has become more subtle.

“One thing that is central to this debacle is that they are not just defending political power, they are on steroids in terms of primitive accumulation, they are defending economic gains, their diamonds, gold claims, land; they are defending their ill-gotten wealth,” continued Mutasa.

“They will not hand it over easily. If you think they are rich, they think they are not yet rich, if you think they are millionaires, they want to be billionaires. If you think they are billionaires, they want their kids to be millionaires. If you think their children are now billionaires, they want their grandchildren to be billionaires too.”

True, Zanu PF leaders’ hunger for absolute power and wealth is insatiable. But so too is the MDC leaders’ hunger for power and wealth. Indeed, it was this weakness that Mugabe exploited to render MDC, as instruments of democratic change, utterly useless.

Mugabe bribed Morgan Tsvangirai and his fellow MDC leaders during the 2008 to 2013 GNU, with the trappings of power; the ministerial limos, the very generous salaries and perks, a US$4 Highlands mansion for Tsvangirai, etc., etc. In return, the MDC leaders throw all democratic reforms out of the window; they knew Mugabe did not want the dictatorship dismantled and they obliged!

“We have no choice, it is a generational call, we need to be persistent, government is not going to give it on a silver platter,” concluded the ZCTU leader.

Zimbabwe has remained stuck in this man-made economic and political crisis not because the people have not been persistent and wanted their freedoms and basic human rights handed to them in silver platters. The people have risked life and limb, over 500 were murdered by Zanu PF thugs in the 2008 election alone, for democratic change.

Zimbabweans have been let down by the men and women they elected to bring democratic change – MDC leaders.

“Know the enemy and know yourself; in a hundred battles you will never be in peril. When you are ignorant of the enemy, but know yourself, your chances of winning or losing are equal. If ignorant both of your enemy and yourself, you are certain in every battle to be in peril.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War

It is shocking that ZCTU leaders like Mutasa have failed to see MDC leaders for whom they really are – corrupt, incompetent, sell-outs and utterly useless, an hinderance in the fight for a just and democratic Zimbabwe.

Ever since the 2008 GNU debacle, MDC leaders have been running with the povo hare and hunting with the Zanu PF hounds. And to keep counting MDC leaders as reliable partners in fighting for a just and democratic Zimbabwe is naïve, to say the least.

Among the audience listening to Mutasa was MDC Alliance leader, Nelson Chamisa.

MDC have been on the political stage for 20 years, 5 of which in the GNU, and have failed to implement even one democratic reform. They have been participating in flawed and illegal elections giving Zanu PF legitimacy and thus perpetuating the dictatorship. Recognising MDC leaders as sell-outs is not just an art of war, as Sun Tzu put it, but common sense.