Opinion / Columnist
'I have right to be minister,' says new Minister P Shiri - for once, let povo decide
06 Dec 2017 at 06:32hrs | Views
One must hold public office out of a sense of duty, to provide a valuable service to the commonwealth, and not out of self-indulgence, entitlement and greed.
"When I was in the military I was under (the) ministry of defence, which is part of government and who says military should never be politicians," new Minister of Agriculture and Lands and former Air Marshall, Perrance Shiri, told reporters after he was sworn-in.
"I am Zimbabwean, I have got every right to participate in the country's politics," he said.
Yes, Minister Shiri, you are a Zimbabwean and you have every right to participate in the country's politics but not to abuse your position for selfish gain?
Can you deny that you have been a member of the notorious Joint Operations Command (JOC), the Junta comprising yourself, other top brass members of the security services and headed by former President Mugabe and assisted by now President Emmerson Mnangagwa. In being a member of the Junta you have played your part in the planning or/and execution of treasonous acts of politically motivated vote rigging and acts of violence including murder for sole purpose of establishing and retaining the de facto one-party, Zanu PF, dictatorship. You have also taken part in the wholesale looting of the nation's wealth for selfish gain and to bankroll the dictatorship's no-regime-change mantra.
Minister Shiri, we both know that the coup that toppled Robert Mugabe was unconstitutional and therefore an act of high treason. What did you know of the coup? You can be certain of one thing; the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, will come out one of these fine days!
As Air Marshal, you were duty bound to act in a none-partisan manner and yet you have not done so selfish reasons of securing your own position in the Zanu PF ruling elite. As a member of the Zanu PF ruling elite you have lived a life of opulent luxury and comfort when the overwhelming majority wallowed in abject poverty and heart breaking misery.
Do you know that 90% of the people are unemployed and 72.3% live on US$1.00 or less a day? Zimbabwe now has the singular honour of being the poorest nation in Africa.
Do you know that opulent excessed of the few ruling elite is the root cause of the abject poverty of the majority? This situation is socially, morally and politically reprehensible and cannot be allowed to continue.
You, Minister, and your friends in the Zanu PF dictatorship have rigged past elections to keep yourselves, your families and cronies in power for selfish reasons. This must stop if we are ever going to end the misery of poverty this political system has condemned the majority of our people.
The country is schedule to hold parliamentary and presidential elections next year and there must be no question about the elections being anything other than free, fair and credible.
The people's right to free and election is sacrosanct, Zanu PF has usurped that right; it must be restored by implementing all the democratic reforms agreed in the 2008 Global Political Agreement. Zimbabwe is in this political and economic mess today because the nation has been stuck with an incompetent and corrupt regime.
The nation could to remove Zanu PF from office these last 37 years because the party rigged the vote. You, Minister Shiri have played your part in the vote rigging.
In the next elections, it is the people of Zimbabwe in a free, fair and credible elections who will decide who will rule the country. The demand for free, fair and credible elections is not negotiable!
Let me be perfectly blunt with you, Minister Shiri; it is clearly necessary to be blunt because the decades of unearned and excessive luxuries have atrophied your brain, you cannot see what is blatantly obvious - that the Zanu PF dictatorship has failed and it must be completely dismantled. Your right to be Minister, so you can continue to loot, is the antithesis the rights of millions of povo to free elections and right to life itself!
Let me, repeat so there is no room for misunderstanding; next year's elections must be free, fair and credible. The days of you and your Zanu PF buddies rigging elections are over, Minister Shiri!
"When I was in the military I was under (the) ministry of defence, which is part of government and who says military should never be politicians," new Minister of Agriculture and Lands and former Air Marshall, Perrance Shiri, told reporters after he was sworn-in.
"I am Zimbabwean, I have got every right to participate in the country's politics," he said.
Yes, Minister Shiri, you are a Zimbabwean and you have every right to participate in the country's politics but not to abuse your position for selfish gain?
Can you deny that you have been a member of the notorious Joint Operations Command (JOC), the Junta comprising yourself, other top brass members of the security services and headed by former President Mugabe and assisted by now President Emmerson Mnangagwa. In being a member of the Junta you have played your part in the planning or/and execution of treasonous acts of politically motivated vote rigging and acts of violence including murder for sole purpose of establishing and retaining the de facto one-party, Zanu PF, dictatorship. You have also taken part in the wholesale looting of the nation's wealth for selfish gain and to bankroll the dictatorship's no-regime-change mantra.
Minister Shiri, we both know that the coup that toppled Robert Mugabe was unconstitutional and therefore an act of high treason. What did you know of the coup? You can be certain of one thing; the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, will come out one of these fine days!
As Air Marshal, you were duty bound to act in a none-partisan manner and yet you have not done so selfish reasons of securing your own position in the Zanu PF ruling elite. As a member of the Zanu PF ruling elite you have lived a life of opulent luxury and comfort when the overwhelming majority wallowed in abject poverty and heart breaking misery.
Do you know that 90% of the people are unemployed and 72.3% live on US$1.00 or less a day? Zimbabwe now has the singular honour of being the poorest nation in Africa.
Do you know that opulent excessed of the few ruling elite is the root cause of the abject poverty of the majority? This situation is socially, morally and politically reprehensible and cannot be allowed to continue.
You, Minister, and your friends in the Zanu PF dictatorship have rigged past elections to keep yourselves, your families and cronies in power for selfish reasons. This must stop if we are ever going to end the misery of poverty this political system has condemned the majority of our people.
The country is schedule to hold parliamentary and presidential elections next year and there must be no question about the elections being anything other than free, fair and credible.
The people's right to free and election is sacrosanct, Zanu PF has usurped that right; it must be restored by implementing all the democratic reforms agreed in the 2008 Global Political Agreement. Zimbabwe is in this political and economic mess today because the nation has been stuck with an incompetent and corrupt regime.
The nation could to remove Zanu PF from office these last 37 years because the party rigged the vote. You, Minister Shiri have played your part in the vote rigging.
In the next elections, it is the people of Zimbabwe in a free, fair and credible elections who will decide who will rule the country. The demand for free, fair and credible elections is not negotiable!
Let me be perfectly blunt with you, Minister Shiri; it is clearly necessary to be blunt because the decades of unearned and excessive luxuries have atrophied your brain, you cannot see what is blatantly obvious - that the Zanu PF dictatorship has failed and it must be completely dismantled. Your right to be Minister, so you can continue to loot, is the antithesis the rights of millions of povo to free elections and right to life itself!
Let me, repeat so there is no room for misunderstanding; next year's elections must be free, fair and credible. The days of you and your Zanu PF buddies rigging elections are over, Minister Shiri!
Source - zsdemocrats.blogspot.co.uk
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