Gutu, Makarau's resigning is not the swallow heralding summer of free elections - she is a barn-owl, for Pete's sake

Zimbabwe's political paralysis and economic meltdown is the work of Robert Mugabe and his Zanu PF thugs, there is no question about that. However, there is no question that the nation has had many golden opportunities of end the Zanu PF dictatorship and they have all been wasted.

Morgan Tsvangirai and his MDC friends had the golden opportunity to end the dictatorship during the 2008 to 2013 GNU, for example. All they had to do was implement the democratic reforms designed to end Zanu PF's undemocratic control over key State Institution such as ZEC, Police, Army, etc. They failed to get not even one reform implemented in five years. Not one!
Why, people have asked?

"MDC leaders were too busy enjoying themselves during the GNU, they forgot why they were there," remarked one SADC leader, is sheer exasperation soon after Zanu PF had blatantly ridded the 2013 elections because no reforms to stop the vote rigging had been implemented.

There is no doubt that Robert Mugabe had gone the extra mile to ensure Tsvangirai & co. were given all the gravy train comforts the tyrant was granting his own Zanu PF cronies that had kept them as placid and malleable as soft mud until now. MDC members had the generous salaries and allowances, ministerial limos, a former white-owned farm for senor Welshman Ncube, a $4 million mansion for senor Tsvangirai, etc. To show their gratitude to the dictator MDC members became even more placid and malleable than Zanu PF thugs and they kicked the reforms into the prickly pear thicket.

Yes, MDC leaders failed to implement any democratic reforms during the GNU because they are corrupt but that does not explain why the party has failed to make any meaningful impact in getting these all-important reforms implemented since the rigged July 2013 elections. The truth is MDC leaders are not just breathtakingly corrupt they are also breathtakingly incompetent.

"The MDC has always argued that it was completely untenable and absurd for Justice Rita Makarau to hold three (3) positions as the ZEC chairperson, a sitting Supreme Court Judge as well as the Secretary of the Judicial Service Commission (JSC). We are, therefore, pleased to note that Justice Rita Makarau has relinquished one of her three positions," commented MDC-T spokesman Obert Gutu.

"Surely, Zimbabwe has no shortage of suitably qualified and experienced legal personnel to occupy the vacant position of ZEC chairperson.

"The new ZEC chairperson must be a person of unparalleled integrity and solid impartiality. In view of the very limited time left before the holding of the next elections, the government has to move in very swiftly to initiate the process of appointing the new ZEC chairperson."

There are a number of issues one can pick here, showing that senor Gutu has no clue what he talking about. Will focus on just three:

a)    Zimbabwe has failed to hold free, fair and credible elections ever since the country attained her independence in 1980. It was not always Rita Makarau who was chairperson of ZEC nor, was whoever was chairperson then, holding too many other positions. In any case, Rita Makarau was appointed chairperson of ZEC during the GNU and MDC leaders approved the appointment; no doubt they had their snouts in the feeding trough to even notice.

b)    It is not enough to ask that the ZEC chairperson must be someone of "unparalleled integrity and solid impartiality" when the rest of commissioners are Zanu PF agents in all but name. If we are serious about ZEC delivering free, fair and credible elections then we must implement the democratic reforms designed to end the undemocratic controls Zanu PF has over the whole electoral process.

c)    SADC leaders advised Morgan Tsvangirai & co. not to contest the July 2013 elections without first implementing the reforms.  ‘If you go into elections next month, you are going to lose; the elections are done,' they were warned. MDC did not listen then and they are still not listening now.

"As the country gravitates towards the 2018 harmonized elections, the MDC is calling for the adoption of electoral reforms that include the de-politicisation of the securocracy as well as the de-politicisation of the country's traditional leaders. In addition, ZEC should ensure that all political players enjoy equal and unfettered access to the country's State - owned print and electronic media," concluded Gutu.
"The MDC shall always remain vigilant in looking out for any impediments to the holding of free and fair elections. In the interim, the relevant organs of our party shall continue to liaise and collaborate with ZEC in the ongoing preparations for next year's elections."

Zanu PF corrupted ZEC, Police and other democratic institution for the single purpose of rigging elections and staying in power. The party has already made it clear, for those lacking the common sense to figure it out for themselves, that it is not going to reform itself out of office! Only a fool would therefore count on MDC's call for reforms accomplishing anything especial when everyone in Zanu PF knows Tsvangirai & co. will take part in the elections without even one reform in place and regardless how flawed and illegal the process.

Morgan Tsvangirai and his MDC friends wasted their best chances to implement the democratic reforms during the GNU. It has taken some time for that political reality to sink in but the penny has dropped. MDC leaders know they will never get Zanu PF to implement the reforms and deliver free, fair and credible elections. They have since decided to contest elections with no reforms in place to win the few gravy train seats Zanu PF gives away to entice the opposition to contest elections.

For MDC to even suggest next year's election could be free, fair and credible just because Rita Makarau has resigned as chairperson of ZEC goes to show just how naïve and stupid they are but, worse still, how far away we are to ever holding free and fair elections. Makarau's departure does not even constitute the one swallow heralding the summer of free elections; she is a barn-owl, "Chizizi mbori!", for Pete's sake!