ED's cabinet will be his downfall, as Tsvangirai tipped to win 2018 elections with 58%

Nothing is moving on the ground. For now let's give him 100 days to prove that things are moving.

For me I'm beginning to doubt everything because, we have Chombo behind bars is he the only one who looted Government funds? We have Chipanga behind bars is he the only Zanu PF functionary who misused state funds and resources? What about those that looted Government coffers but they attended the cabinet meeting yesterday? Was the "operation restore legacy for 3 people only? So the army intervened because of three people only? Where Zimbabweans used in this process to clean up their mess?

So many questions are going unanswered and I urge the President to take a strong consideration that he should have a state of the nation address to answer some of these questions.

As analysts we have studied the situation on the ground and it is most likely to be a tight contest in 2018 as Tsvangirai is predicted to win with an outright majority, analysts warn.

There is a lot of grumbling on the ground and people had hopes pined on ED only to discover that there is nothing that has changed. Governance is not only about winning elections but it is all about development and economic reforms.

You see what Zanu PF seems not to see is that those wide celebrations which were witnessed on that Saturday was not about them but it was about the welfare of people.

It was not about Chiwenga, ED or Zanu PF but it was all about the people of Zimbabwe. I think ED clearly got the message from the people when he appointed a cabinet that is not wanted by people and he went ahead to impose himself on the people, you see Zimbabweans are very funny they seem not to see anything but I for see that 2018 elections will be a protest vote.

People raised issues that were never addressed, but alas the President went ahead to do the opposite.

Why would the H.E go ahead to appoint people like Obert Mpofu, Sibusiso Moyo, Chinamasa, Supa Mandiwanzira and yet these are the same people who brought Mugabe down.

You remember very well that Supa abused 200 000 that belonged to POTRAZ and nothing happened to him, he remained in the cabinet so what it means is that ED endorsed what he did.

People had high hopes on ED after inauguration thinking that the atmosphere will change only to discover that we are back to square one. So long ED is protecting these people who looted our economy nothing is likely to change. We need economic reforms in this country.

How is the President going to address the issue of corruption so far, I've been listening to all his address he never pointed out corruption, he never talked about reforms all he is saying is we want the economy to grow.

Mr President how does the economy grow when people who looted marange resources are still hanging around on the Zim cabinet? As we speak money for toll gates is not accounted for, money for roadblocks are nowhere to be seen so what exactly is he talking about when he talks of economic recovery? The current cabinet does not represent the majority but it is all about themselves, in other words we fought for them, people risked their lives on that very Saturday so that people can feast in that cabinet, so who cares no one? With the current statistics on the ground Tsvangirai is likely to win the presidential race with 58% analysts warns Zanu PF.

You see the problem is the people surrounding ED from the recent confusion that happened on Saturday over the appointments of ministers you can clearly tell that ED is never prepared to listen to the voice of the people.

For now I will focus on the issue of what is likely to come out in 2018 but so far people are not happy with the current mess.

Why including soldiers in the cabinet when we have so many technocrats on the ground, we have people like Mayor Wadyajena who are really capable, we have the likes of Luxon Zembe who can deliver best results but I'm surprised he stuck to his guns that he wanted Chinamasa on the ground why? People have several questions over the Chinamasa mantra.

Why would someone bring such a cabinet filthy of people who have been looting before, who have human rights issues as well, we have also people in the cabinet who are on the wanted list in foreign lands over dirty deals and this is the cabinet we have.

We have to be realistic, international partners are expressing concern over the current cabinet composed of questionable characters, and there is outrage over these appointments.

We don't need a psychiatrist to tell us that ED may have a tough time ahead of watershed elections. The electorate is watching.

From the day the cabinet was appointed, most people have expressed disappointment and they are registering to vote in huge numbers.

Urban areas it is likely Tsvangirai will return all the seats and he may even penetrate some rural areas which has been a challenge to him before.

Given the node that Matabeleland has been hostile to Zanu PF before during Mugabe's era, it will even be worse considering the issue of Gukurahundi when ED was the security Minister.

There are a lot of dynamics which are likely to take place in 2018. For now I don't see any meaningful change between now and June. ED lost the plot when he appointed wrong people in the Government. It is never late to address the issue.

Situation on the ground is campaigning for Tsvangirai and it favors the MDC as the party that is likely to win presidential elections in 2018.

Tinashe Eric Muzamhindo writes in his personal capacity as the Head of Southern Institute of Policy Analysis and Research – SIPAR TRUST, which is responsible for policy Analysis and Research. He is also an academic and researcher. He holds a BA, M.A from Solusi University, and he also holds a Masters of Development Studies from University of Lusaka, Zambia. He is currently enrolled at University of Kwazulu Natal University in South Africa (PHD in Development Studies). He can be contacted at southerninstitutepar@gmail.com