Opinion / Columnist
Mutasa hits hard times - the scourge hardening Zanu PF resolve to rig 2018 elections
11 Jul 2017 at 09:35hrs | Views
Didymus Mutasa with Daily News reporter Fungai Kwaramba
"Aiva madziva avamazumbuko!" So, goes the Shona adage! The more appropriate translation is the present case will have to be "Yesteryear's untouchable demigods are today's paupers!"
"Zimbabwe's first Speaker of the National Assembly Didymus Mutasa who held many Cabinet posts before he was fired from Zanu PF in 2015, at the height of the party's infamous purges, has hit hard times as he is struggling to send his children to school and servicing huge debts including $70 000 owed to Zesa," reported the Daily News.
How the mighty have fallen; the proud and pompous, humbled! What I found laughable about the whole sorry story is that our pauper may have been booted out of Zanu PF but the stupid habits he learnt from the party have stayed with him.
"What is troubling me the most though is how it accrued to that amount because that is what could accrue to the Rusape local authority for a whole year and one wonders how all that accrued for one person?" Mutasa told the reporter with, judging from the accompanying photograph, was a straight and innocent face.
Comrade Mutasa when you were in Zanu PF you thought yourself a demigod, like your colleagues in the party, you rod roughshod over the rest of us ordinary mortals. You got all you wanted absolute power, looted wealth and political influence. You where the godfather of Manicaland and anyone, anyone at all who dare challenge you, Zanu PF or President Mugabe's power and authority you crashed him/her like a bug.
Your debts mounted because it was easy to spend money hand over fist without a second thought because it was even easier to get even more money. Ease come ease go! It never ever occurred to you wherever the money was coming from, it might run out one day. Well, it has now!
As for the damaging effect of the regime's mismanagement and corrupt, you were too busy enjoying the benefit of the gravy train lifestyle to even notice the growing scourge of poverty and despair spreading like a dark shadow over the nation. Even when povo complained about their suffering and the need for change, you and your friends in Zanu PF considered calls for regime-change treason and dealt with it accordingly!
"I am not rich because unlike others, I did not even steal a pen when I left government and all that I was supposed to leave behind was properly accounted for.
"You are probably one of the first people that I have told my problems and one of the greatest ones is honesty," he added.
Yes Comrade one of your greatest problem has always been your insatiable greed and your shameless abuse of your position of power and trust in pursuit your selfish interests. Of course, you are rich, you have farms, houses, cars and many other assets. You could be even richer if you had managed your looted wealth judiciously.
Mutasa is whinging about his economic hardship and yet there are millions of ordinary Zimbabweans who have absolutely nothing and are now living in grinding abject poverty. The type of poverty that kills; decades of poor housing, hard work for very like return, poor food, poor health care, poor everything, has taken its heavy toll they are susceptible to disease and death.
It is hard to feel sorry for Comrade Mutasa, even if his economic situation should mean he too is living in grinding poverty; he brought this upon himself because of his insatiable greed for power and loot. It is the millions of ordinary Zimbabweans living in grinding poverty one feels sorry for, they are the innocent victims of the corrupt and tyrannical Zanu PF dictatorship.
"We pray sooner or later that they (Zanu PF) will change or some other authority will come into power and change the situation for the better," continue Mutasa.
"I am so fascinated by a certain Kenyan professor, Lumumba, who says there is need for the Magufulinisation of the African continent and I think he is right especially looking at Zimbabwe because there is too much corruption."
Ever since the day he was booted out of Zanu PF he has, for the first time, admitted that Zanu PF – the Zanu PF he left - was corrupt and the need for change. Like all the others who were booted out of the party with him, he has never admitted to being corrupt himself.
Indeed when Mutasa, Mujuru, Rugare Gumbo and many other booted out of the party in 2014/2015 form their own party they claimed they are the best qualifies to end the Zanu PF corruption and bring good governance. All they wanted was to get back on the gravy train as quickly as possible so they could resume the looting from where the left off. Thank God, the people saw beyond the feigned public sympathy and refuse to trust these seasoned crooks.
Comrade Mutasa and most of his fellow ex-Zanu PF friends are facing economic hardships, some may well have sunk to grinding poverty level already; this is what they feared and hence why they fought like wild cats to retain power. Zimbabwe's economic meltdown is now so bad that there are still too many ruling elite still left in Zanu PF, even after the Mujuru "load shedding", this is why the factional fighting in the party is still a fierce and furious as ever.
Zanu PF members may be fighting each other over the control of the party but when it comes to national elections they will unite because they all know that their economic and political situation will be even worse if Zanu PF was completely kicked out of power. So come the national elections next year, Zanu PF vote rigging and thuggery will go into overdrive if necessary, just to make sure the party retains power!
These saying the opposition can win next year's election with no reforms in place to stop Zanu PF rigging the vote are naïve. Zanu PF look at Comrade Mutasa's, pompous demigod humbled by growing poverty, and they know, if they do not win the elections, they will be like him or worse. You can bet, they will be fighting like devils next year to make sure Zanu PF remains in power.
The 37 years of corrupt and tyrannical Zanu PF misrule has left millions of ordinary Zimbabweans destitute and the case for meaningful political change and economic recovery is self-evident. The irony is the consequences of the decades of misrule has the Zanu PF worried sick of their own economic situation giving up power is even harder than ever!
Whatever economic hardship Comrade Mutasa and his Zanu PF friends face after losing power they only have themselves to blame for it because it was their decades of misrule that brought it about. The need for meaningful political change must be pursued with a sense of purpose and urgency because something must be done to end the economic suffering Zanu PF brought upon the nation.
"Zimbabwe's first Speaker of the National Assembly Didymus Mutasa who held many Cabinet posts before he was fired from Zanu PF in 2015, at the height of the party's infamous purges, has hit hard times as he is struggling to send his children to school and servicing huge debts including $70 000 owed to Zesa," reported the Daily News.
How the mighty have fallen; the proud and pompous, humbled! What I found laughable about the whole sorry story is that our pauper may have been booted out of Zanu PF but the stupid habits he learnt from the party have stayed with him.
"What is troubling me the most though is how it accrued to that amount because that is what could accrue to the Rusape local authority for a whole year and one wonders how all that accrued for one person?" Mutasa told the reporter with, judging from the accompanying photograph, was a straight and innocent face.
Comrade Mutasa when you were in Zanu PF you thought yourself a demigod, like your colleagues in the party, you rod roughshod over the rest of us ordinary mortals. You got all you wanted absolute power, looted wealth and political influence. You where the godfather of Manicaland and anyone, anyone at all who dare challenge you, Zanu PF or President Mugabe's power and authority you crashed him/her like a bug.
Your debts mounted because it was easy to spend money hand over fist without a second thought because it was even easier to get even more money. Ease come ease go! It never ever occurred to you wherever the money was coming from, it might run out one day. Well, it has now!
As for the damaging effect of the regime's mismanagement and corrupt, you were too busy enjoying the benefit of the gravy train lifestyle to even notice the growing scourge of poverty and despair spreading like a dark shadow over the nation. Even when povo complained about their suffering and the need for change, you and your friends in Zanu PF considered calls for regime-change treason and dealt with it accordingly!
"I am not rich because unlike others, I did not even steal a pen when I left government and all that I was supposed to leave behind was properly accounted for.
"You are probably one of the first people that I have told my problems and one of the greatest ones is honesty," he added.
Yes Comrade one of your greatest problem has always been your insatiable greed and your shameless abuse of your position of power and trust in pursuit your selfish interests. Of course, you are rich, you have farms, houses, cars and many other assets. You could be even richer if you had managed your looted wealth judiciously.
Mutasa is whinging about his economic hardship and yet there are millions of ordinary Zimbabweans who have absolutely nothing and are now living in grinding abject poverty. The type of poverty that kills; decades of poor housing, hard work for very like return, poor food, poor health care, poor everything, has taken its heavy toll they are susceptible to disease and death.
"We pray sooner or later that they (Zanu PF) will change or some other authority will come into power and change the situation for the better," continue Mutasa.
"I am so fascinated by a certain Kenyan professor, Lumumba, who says there is need for the Magufulinisation of the African continent and I think he is right especially looking at Zimbabwe because there is too much corruption."
Ever since the day he was booted out of Zanu PF he has, for the first time, admitted that Zanu PF – the Zanu PF he left - was corrupt and the need for change. Like all the others who were booted out of the party with him, he has never admitted to being corrupt himself.
Indeed when Mutasa, Mujuru, Rugare Gumbo and many other booted out of the party in 2014/2015 form their own party they claimed they are the best qualifies to end the Zanu PF corruption and bring good governance. All they wanted was to get back on the gravy train as quickly as possible so they could resume the looting from where the left off. Thank God, the people saw beyond the feigned public sympathy and refuse to trust these seasoned crooks.
Comrade Mutasa and most of his fellow ex-Zanu PF friends are facing economic hardships, some may well have sunk to grinding poverty level already; this is what they feared and hence why they fought like wild cats to retain power. Zimbabwe's economic meltdown is now so bad that there are still too many ruling elite still left in Zanu PF, even after the Mujuru "load shedding", this is why the factional fighting in the party is still a fierce and furious as ever.
Zanu PF members may be fighting each other over the control of the party but when it comes to national elections they will unite because they all know that their economic and political situation will be even worse if Zanu PF was completely kicked out of power. So come the national elections next year, Zanu PF vote rigging and thuggery will go into overdrive if necessary, just to make sure the party retains power!
These saying the opposition can win next year's election with no reforms in place to stop Zanu PF rigging the vote are naïve. Zanu PF look at Comrade Mutasa's, pompous demigod humbled by growing poverty, and they know, if they do not win the elections, they will be like him or worse. You can bet, they will be fighting like devils next year to make sure Zanu PF remains in power.
The 37 years of corrupt and tyrannical Zanu PF misrule has left millions of ordinary Zimbabweans destitute and the case for meaningful political change and economic recovery is self-evident. The irony is the consequences of the decades of misrule has the Zanu PF worried sick of their own economic situation giving up power is even harder than ever!
Whatever economic hardship Comrade Mutasa and his Zanu PF friends face after losing power they only have themselves to blame for it because it was their decades of misrule that brought it about. The need for meaningful political change must be pursued with a sense of purpose and urgency because something must be done to end the economic suffering Zanu PF brought upon the nation.
Source - Patrick Guramatunhu
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