Opinion / Columnist
Mapfumo is spot-on, Tsvangirai sold-out on reforms but sadly he is still leader
17 Apr 2016 at 18:45hrs | Views
"People no longer have anyone to stand with. They (Zanu PF) bought Tsvangirai. Tsvangirai joined the money brigade. Here the Americans did not give him money because of his ways. So whom should the people follow? There is no one who genuinely stands for the people in Zimbabwe," Thomas Mapfumo, Mukanya, told Nehanda Radio.
Mukanya is spot-on, Tsvangirai and his fellow MDC friends sold-out during the GNU there is a mountain of evidence to prove it.
MDC were supposed to implement a raft of democratic reforms and draft a new democratic constitution to ensure the next election, the July 2013 elections, are free, fair and credible. SADC, the guarantor of the GPA, did their best to remind MDC to stick to the set task but MDC paid no heed. MDC failed to implement even one democratic reform in five years of the GNU. The only thing they did was to draft a new constitution only to make a dog's breakfast of that!
"Zimbabwe also needs a new constitution," wrote Trevor Ncube in a recent article. "The current document is the outcome of horse-trading between Zanu-PF and the two MDC factions. It fails to lay a strong foundation of the rule of law, strong national institutions, transparency and accountability. And, of course, the sanctity of life and respect for private property must find full expression."
In the article, Ncube described the opposition as "pedestrian".
In fact Ncube was being very generous here because the horse-trading was actually one way; Mugabe got all he wanted – absolute power – and MDC got nothing. Mugabe "dictated" the new constitution the Zanu MP Paul Mangwana boasted. He was the co-chairperson of the parliamentary committee appointed to draft the constitution.
Instead of admitting the new constitution was weak and feeble MDC leaders came out in full force and campaigned for a yes vote in the March 2013 referendum. They assured the nation the new constitution would deliver the people's freedoms and rights including the right to free and fair elections. Tsvangirai even claimed the new constitution was an "MDC child"!
The people of Zimbabwe believed the MDC lies and without even having the common sense to take time off to study the proposed constitution, they approved it with a whopping 95% yes vote. New constitution failed its very first acid test a few months later as the promised free, fair and credible elections did not materialize. Mugabe blatantly rigged the elections!
"MDC vadzidza kudya vanyerera!" was cynical remark from one Zanu PF permanent secretary during the GNU. (MDC leaders have learnt to enjoy the gravy train comforts without rocking the boat!) He was comment on why, years into the GNU, MDC had still done nothing to implement the democratic reforms.
Soon after the formation of the GNU Mugabe had seen to that Tsvangirai and his MDC friends were given all the gravy train comforts they could ever wish for; the tyrant threw in the $4 million Highlands mansion for Tsvangirai. MDC leaders showed their appreciation of Mugabe's generosity by kicking the democratic reforms into the tall grass.
Of course MDC leaders sold-out; if being bribed with mansions and gravy train comforts in return for doing nothing about the reforms is not selling-out then what is!
Thomas Mapfumo is wrong to say the people have no leader; a number Zimbabweans still follow Tsvangirai and the other MDC factions, not as many as those followed MDC before the elections but still a number of people have remained faithful to Tsvangirai.
Whilst Mukanya and Ncube can see Tsvangirai as the "sell-out" and "pedestrian", respectively, leader he is sadly there are still many Zimbabweans out there who do not. Even with the benefit of hindsight, there are many Zimbabweans who will never see Tsvangirai and his MDC friends for the breathtakingly corrupt and incompetent individuals they are because they are programmed to follow leaders without ever asking any questions even in the face of a mountain of evidence of the leader's incompetency!
Zimbabwe's struggle for democratic change, freedom, justice and human dignity has been a tale of taking one or two steps forward and the nation has a big song and dance to celebrate meanwhile the nation's leader "join the money brigade" to indulge themselves dragging the nation ten or more steps backwards. It is very sad and tragic that these leaders are dragging the nation backwards but what making the whole situation a double tragedy is that the people themselves take forever to notice they are being conned!
It is bad enough that Zimbabweans risked life and limp to vote for a pedestrian and sell-out person like Tsvangirai once or twice but to do so a third and fourth time is sheer folly. People get the government they deserve and we cannot say we do not deserve this corrupt and incompetent Zanu PF dictatorship compete with its coterie of equally corrupt and incompetent MDC opposition.
Mukanya is spot-on, Tsvangirai and his fellow MDC friends sold-out during the GNU there is a mountain of evidence to prove it.
MDC were supposed to implement a raft of democratic reforms and draft a new democratic constitution to ensure the next election, the July 2013 elections, are free, fair and credible. SADC, the guarantor of the GPA, did their best to remind MDC to stick to the set task but MDC paid no heed. MDC failed to implement even one democratic reform in five years of the GNU. The only thing they did was to draft a new constitution only to make a dog's breakfast of that!
"Zimbabwe also needs a new constitution," wrote Trevor Ncube in a recent article. "The current document is the outcome of horse-trading between Zanu-PF and the two MDC factions. It fails to lay a strong foundation of the rule of law, strong national institutions, transparency and accountability. And, of course, the sanctity of life and respect for private property must find full expression."
In the article, Ncube described the opposition as "pedestrian".
In fact Ncube was being very generous here because the horse-trading was actually one way; Mugabe got all he wanted – absolute power – and MDC got nothing. Mugabe "dictated" the new constitution the Zanu MP Paul Mangwana boasted. He was the co-chairperson of the parliamentary committee appointed to draft the constitution.
Instead of admitting the new constitution was weak and feeble MDC leaders came out in full force and campaigned for a yes vote in the March 2013 referendum. They assured the nation the new constitution would deliver the people's freedoms and rights including the right to free and fair elections. Tsvangirai even claimed the new constitution was an "MDC child"!
The people of Zimbabwe believed the MDC lies and without even having the common sense to take time off to study the proposed constitution, they approved it with a whopping 95% yes vote. New constitution failed its very first acid test a few months later as the promised free, fair and credible elections did not materialize. Mugabe blatantly rigged the elections!
"MDC vadzidza kudya vanyerera!" was cynical remark from one Zanu PF permanent secretary during the GNU. (MDC leaders have learnt to enjoy the gravy train comforts without rocking the boat!) He was comment on why, years into the GNU, MDC had still done nothing to implement the democratic reforms.
Soon after the formation of the GNU Mugabe had seen to that Tsvangirai and his MDC friends were given all the gravy train comforts they could ever wish for; the tyrant threw in the $4 million Highlands mansion for Tsvangirai. MDC leaders showed their appreciation of Mugabe's generosity by kicking the democratic reforms into the tall grass.
Of course MDC leaders sold-out; if being bribed with mansions and gravy train comforts in return for doing nothing about the reforms is not selling-out then what is!
Thomas Mapfumo is wrong to say the people have no leader; a number Zimbabweans still follow Tsvangirai and the other MDC factions, not as many as those followed MDC before the elections but still a number of people have remained faithful to Tsvangirai.
Whilst Mukanya and Ncube can see Tsvangirai as the "sell-out" and "pedestrian", respectively, leader he is sadly there are still many Zimbabweans out there who do not. Even with the benefit of hindsight, there are many Zimbabweans who will never see Tsvangirai and his MDC friends for the breathtakingly corrupt and incompetent individuals they are because they are programmed to follow leaders without ever asking any questions even in the face of a mountain of evidence of the leader's incompetency!
Zimbabwe's struggle for democratic change, freedom, justice and human dignity has been a tale of taking one or two steps forward and the nation has a big song and dance to celebrate meanwhile the nation's leader "join the money brigade" to indulge themselves dragging the nation ten or more steps backwards. It is very sad and tragic that these leaders are dragging the nation backwards but what making the whole situation a double tragedy is that the people themselves take forever to notice they are being conned!
It is bad enough that Zimbabweans risked life and limp to vote for a pedestrian and sell-out person like Tsvangirai once or twice but to do so a third and fourth time is sheer folly. People get the government they deserve and we cannot say we do not deserve this corrupt and incompetent Zanu PF dictatorship compete with its coterie of equally corrupt and incompetent MDC opposition.
Source - Wilbert Mukori
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