Opinion / Columnist
Grace Mugabe created the biggest Vampire State in Africa
22 Nov 2017 at 13:27hrs | Views
The most remarkable aspect of Mugabe's rule was the rapid deterioration of the institution of government. "Government," as we know it, does not exist in Zimbabwe anymore based on our common understanding that a government must be "of the people, by the people, and for the people." Zimbabwe stopped caring about the needs of the people. The former government totally divorced itself from the people; those in power used it to fleece the people. Dishonesty, thievery, and embezzlement pervaded the public sector. This created a cascade effect where public servants embezzled state funds, and high-ranking ministers were on the take. Government then became irrelevant to the people.
What we had in Zimbabwe was a vampire state - a government hijacked by gangsters, crooks, and scoundrels who use the machinery of the state to enrich themselves, their cronies, supporters, and members of their own ethnic, or racial groups, and to exclude everyone else. It was an apartheid-like system based on the politics of exclusion. Poor Zimbabweans are poor because they did not belong to that charmed circle. The richest in Zimbabwe are the ruling vampire elites and government ministers. And the chief bandit is Grace Mugabe.
Grace Mugabe is the mother of all vampire first ladies. Between 2008 and 2017, more than US$50 billion in diamond revenue flowed into Zimbabwean government coffers, but much of it was looted by none other than the vampire lady. She usurped presidential powers from her husband and she suck the economic vitality out of Zimbabwe for self-enrichment. Thievery became an insurmountable obstacle to the country's economic development. It has been reported the Mugabe family are holders of a $5 billion account in Singapore, bought a $2 billion Island in Hong Kong, won the Masvingo road dualization contract, and own property worth more than $20 billion.
In addition to the loot, Grace created a mafia-like bazaar in which his scoundrels could pillage at will. She seized and monopolized both political and economic power to advance her own selfish and criminal interests, not to develop the economy, and caring less about the poor. Her overarching obsession was to amass personal wealth, gaudily displayed in fabulous mansions stretching from Cape Town to Geneva. Helping the poor, promoting economic growth, or improving the standard of living of their people became an anathema to her.
Mnangagwa, if he is serious about re-establishing a government in Zimbabwe, must go after the loot that Grace and her scoundrels stole. I understand General Chiwenga is cautioning against retribution but recovering stolen government money is not retribution. If we recover $10 billion from Mugabe and his cronies, the country will be off to a flying start. If our solution is to race with our empty bellies to the west for aid when one person owes us billions then we will be condemned. Grace has our money and it should be recovered for the development of the country. All we need is to ensure that the recovered money creates jobs and fix roads not re-looted!
What we had in Zimbabwe was a vampire state - a government hijacked by gangsters, crooks, and scoundrels who use the machinery of the state to enrich themselves, their cronies, supporters, and members of their own ethnic, or racial groups, and to exclude everyone else. It was an apartheid-like system based on the politics of exclusion. Poor Zimbabweans are poor because they did not belong to that charmed circle. The richest in Zimbabwe are the ruling vampire elites and government ministers. And the chief bandit is Grace Mugabe.
In addition to the loot, Grace created a mafia-like bazaar in which his scoundrels could pillage at will. She seized and monopolized both political and economic power to advance her own selfish and criminal interests, not to develop the economy, and caring less about the poor. Her overarching obsession was to amass personal wealth, gaudily displayed in fabulous mansions stretching from Cape Town to Geneva. Helping the poor, promoting economic growth, or improving the standard of living of their people became an anathema to her.
Mnangagwa, if he is serious about re-establishing a government in Zimbabwe, must go after the loot that Grace and her scoundrels stole. I understand General Chiwenga is cautioning against retribution but recovering stolen government money is not retribution. If we recover $10 billion from Mugabe and his cronies, the country will be off to a flying start. If our solution is to race with our empty bellies to the west for aid when one person owes us billions then we will be condemned. Grace has our money and it should be recovered for the development of the country. All we need is to ensure that the recovered money creates jobs and fix roads not re-looted!
Source - Sam Wezhira
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