Opinion / Columnist
Mugabe sets stall in SONA - he will NEVER give up power even at the price of total economic collapse
26 Aug 2015 at 15:08hrs | Views
When President Mugabe gave the hurriedly arrange State of the Nation Address yesterday it was to set his stall: Zimbabwe's economy may be in total meltdown, still he is not going to implement any of the essential political or economic reforms because doing so will weaken his grip on political power. If failing to implement the reforms means total economic collapse, then so be it; he is NOT implementing any reforms, period!
President Mugabe must have sensed the growing unease within SADC with Zimbabwe's worsening economic situation and how it is dragging the whole region into the gutter with it. No doubt he has been working overtime to smooth over any ruffled feather but President Ian Khama left him in no doubt that all his attempts were a waste of time.
President Khama, who is the new SADC chairman, made it clear his top priority will be to rid the region of dictators who cling on to power like binnacles to rocks. President Mugabe returned from the SADC meeting seething with anger and his speech yesterday was his reply to his critics inside and outside his own party Zanu PF, Zimbabwe, SADC and beyond; Mugabe is superglued to State House!
By the late 1970s it was clear that Ian Smith was losing the civil war, he was smart enough to a negotiated settlement instead of fighting to the bitter end. In 1965, Smith had vowed there would be "no black majority rule, not in a 1000 years!" He was smart enough to know swallowing his pride and accepting black majority rule after a negotiated settlement was better for him, the white and the country than to have thousands killed and millions made to suffer and have black majority rule rammed down his throat.
Sadly President Mugabe does not have the same common sense as Smith; he is determined to see the nation's economy totally collapse forcing millions into a life of abject poverty. He is already way on his way to accomplish this already given unemployment is already 90% and 2 million are already living in abject poverty.
Of course the consequences of total economic collapse are just to ghastly to even contemplate, we will have to redouble our efforts to force President Mugabe to step down so the essential economic and political reforms can finally be implemented and end this man-made economic meltdown. It will not be easy because in President Mugabe we have a corrupt and utterly ruthless tyrant who does not care about anyone else and never did.
It is moments when one is forced to admit what a formidable adversary we face in President Mugabe that one deeply regrets the countless chances during GNU to remove him which were all wasted. Now with President Mugabe poised to drag the nation into hell, is Morgan Tsvangirai going to have his Judas Iscariot moment of comprehension.
"Then Judas, His betrayer, seeing that He had been condemned, was remorseful and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, saying "I have sinned by betraying innocent blood." Matthew 27:3-4.
It would be good if Tsvangirai would give up his $4 million Highlands mansion, his price for betraying the nation and doing nothing about implementing the reforms. Judas was so remorseful he hanged himself but I do not see Tsvangirai or any of his MDC friends ever doing that. Indeed they are out campaigning to be elected back into office; having President Morgan Tsvangirai would be as outrageous as having Saint Judas Iscariot!
President Mugabe must have sensed the growing unease within SADC with Zimbabwe's worsening economic situation and how it is dragging the whole region into the gutter with it. No doubt he has been working overtime to smooth over any ruffled feather but President Ian Khama left him in no doubt that all his attempts were a waste of time.
President Khama, who is the new SADC chairman, made it clear his top priority will be to rid the region of dictators who cling on to power like binnacles to rocks. President Mugabe returned from the SADC meeting seething with anger and his speech yesterday was his reply to his critics inside and outside his own party Zanu PF, Zimbabwe, SADC and beyond; Mugabe is superglued to State House!
By the late 1970s it was clear that Ian Smith was losing the civil war, he was smart enough to a negotiated settlement instead of fighting to the bitter end. In 1965, Smith had vowed there would be "no black majority rule, not in a 1000 years!" He was smart enough to know swallowing his pride and accepting black majority rule after a negotiated settlement was better for him, the white and the country than to have thousands killed and millions made to suffer and have black majority rule rammed down his throat.
Sadly President Mugabe does not have the same common sense as Smith; he is determined to see the nation's economy totally collapse forcing millions into a life of abject poverty. He is already way on his way to accomplish this already given unemployment is already 90% and 2 million are already living in abject poverty.
Of course the consequences of total economic collapse are just to ghastly to even contemplate, we will have to redouble our efforts to force President Mugabe to step down so the essential economic and political reforms can finally be implemented and end this man-made economic meltdown. It will not be easy because in President Mugabe we have a corrupt and utterly ruthless tyrant who does not care about anyone else and never did.
It is moments when one is forced to admit what a formidable adversary we face in President Mugabe that one deeply regrets the countless chances during GNU to remove him which were all wasted. Now with President Mugabe poised to drag the nation into hell, is Morgan Tsvangirai going to have his Judas Iscariot moment of comprehension.
"Then Judas, His betrayer, seeing that He had been condemned, was remorseful and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, saying "I have sinned by betraying innocent blood." Matthew 27:3-4.
It would be good if Tsvangirai would give up his $4 million Highlands mansion, his price for betraying the nation and doing nothing about implementing the reforms. Judas was so remorseful he hanged himself but I do not see Tsvangirai or any of his MDC friends ever doing that. Indeed they are out campaigning to be elected back into office; having President Morgan Tsvangirai would be as outrageous as having Saint Judas Iscariot!
Source - Patrick Guramatunhu
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