News / Press Release
New Year's message to Zimbabweans by Dr Dabengwa
30 Dec 2016 at 20:54hrs | Views
My fellow countrymen the year 2016 has been a year of great difficulties that started and is ending with political uncertainty and a deteriorating economy, as we have stumbled towards the end of the year, it is my duty, indeed my responsibility as the current leader of the oldest alternative to the ruling nightmare regime that has ruined the country in various combinations, to share some thoughts on our condition.
It is imperative not to let the year pass without commenting on the state of the nation and country and what this means for us in the short term and in the future.
A few weeks ago we were subjected to an address by President Mugabe that purported to be a state of the nation address. That address left us none the wiser in terms of what is happening and how we shall get out of the mess First and foremost, we are all aware that our problems are induced by political instability in the ruling regime and its failure to control looting of the country's wealth and destruction of institutions and systems that would make the country viable. It is therefore important to stop the rot and to bring the country back on track.
For our part as I outlined last year, we have been on a drive to rebuild our party so that it recovers its role as a fit instrument to continue what it has done before; to spearhead the need and dream of Zimbabweans for accountable government and a fairer future for all. This year we embarked on a nationwide restructuring and mobilization exercise to meet the people, traditional leaders and business community to engage them and listen to their concerns and aspirations. This was aimed at coming up with current people oriented programmes to augment our policies and help in refining our policy options in time for our Congress which we held in August 2016 against all and great odds.
This process gave us an opportunity to focus our attention on the 2018 elections and the manifesto issues which we shall present to the general public in the course of 2017. Our 2016 Congress, having been postponed in December for lack of resources, was a triumph of will and perseverance by increasingly impoverished members who contributed to make it happen. One of our leaders once said in a meeting, "ZAPU will survive not because of itself, but in spite of itself". This was a way of saying that this durable brand in Zimbabwean politics is ingrained in the hearts of many people who keep making sacrifices to keep the party going without external support or connection to local official institutions that keep some afloat. It is one organization whose members, supporters and well wishers associate with the unfinished business of liberation and self-fulfillment of generations of Zimbabwean people. I would like to thank Mugabe for finally admitting that the chaotic land reform programme of 2000 has caused unprecedented financial and economic ruin to the country. That unfortunately chaotic land grab and election ruse disguised as a reform programme has brought the country to its knees and torn the very fabric of our nationhood.
It has caused social upheaval that has seen an exodus of productive professionals to the diaspora and the collapse of the primary manufacturing sector which is the foundation of exports and a favourable balance of payments.
The vacuum created by this collapse has been abused by ZANU through the government and state machinery to loot the raw resources together with their friends from the East who have disappeared with our $15 billion. In most countries it is unimaginable for such a figure to be given out as "missing" by people in government without accountability, even promise to follow up.
Not satisfied with the robbery of such scale, because that is what it has to be unless the resources are recovered and accounted for, the government has looted the country's nostro accounts and left the country bankrupt. It is worth noting that the funds in the nostro accounts did not belong to the government but were the earnings of the few hardworking corporations remaining in the country to pay for their international commitments.
With limited access to hard cash for their luxurious trips and other conspicuous consumption, the government came up with an unsecured paper currency, appropriately named the Bond Currency. This worthless currency is allegedly backed by an unconfirmed $200 million dollar facility with the AFREXIM bank to supposedly resuscitate manufacturing and boost economics. The irony of a $4 billion economy needing a mere 5% of its net to resuscitate it is totally lost on ZANU.
I daresay that if they were not greedy Mugabe's cabinet can raise $1 billion between them and lend it to the country, without even bothering about the $15 Billion that evaporated into thin air. After all they stole it from Zimbabwe in the first place and surely their cut of the $15 billion is much more than a mere $1 billion At least we would not be forced as a sovereign country to resort to a make believe currency.
The Reserve Bank Governor declared that this currency will solve the perennial cash shortages and subsequent queues at the banks. Instead the advent of the Bond has resulted in longer queues and fuel shortages. We find it hard to believe that an educated economist like Dr. Mangudya can dream up such a scheme and we therefore think it is one of the President's advisors from the Diesel kuChinhoyi Group.
It is apparent from President Mugabe's address that the dictator regime has no viable solution to the problems facing the country at large and common people in particular. What is even more apparent after the recent regime party's conference in Masvingo is that the country will continue on auto pilot as the ageing leader clings to power at the centre of spider's web, struggling to manipulate warring factions angling to get their "inheritance" when he departs as he surely will according to the laws of nature.
A short term solution to halt this decay and lay a foundation for long term peace and reconciliation is to negotiate a National Transitional Authority to manage the shift of power from an incapacitated and increasingly dysfunctional dictatorship in preparation for democratic elections.
A democratic all inclusive body must manage 2018 elections. ZANU alone cannot be trusted to manage that transition. Witness the deadly succession fights within that party. Joyce Mujuru admitted in an interview with eNCA last week to abuse of state machinery for manipulation of the electoral process. Hence we call for the establishment of a National Transitional Authority to manage the change.
In the short to medium term and in the interests of building trust ZAPU is also committed to the formation of a coalition to contest the elections as a united front. It is in pursuit of this goal that ZAPU has participated in the formation and negotiations of the Coalition of Democrats. (CODE). This is in response to calls from the population and civic society for the need to present a united front in the fight against ZANU. Electoral Reforms remain a short to medium term solution to the problems our country is facing. The establishment and capacitation of a truly independent Electoral Commission as called for and provided for in the constitution has to be achieved immediately.
The long term goals of ZAPU remain unchanged. In our negotiations for a brighter future of Zimbabwe we continue to call for the implementation of comprehensive devolution of power to the 5 regions we have identified and named in Zimbabwe. Self-determination is a God given right. We believe that diversity as contained in the colonial physical borders can only be a blessing for our beautiful country.
Fellow citizens, I wish you a prosperous new year, free from the chains of dictatorship as currently is the case under ZANU PF and Robert Mugabe. A new year free of the current economic hardships and social, political upheavals as experienced under the ZANU PF regime which has no respect for basic human rights as contained in our national constitution.
Happy 2017!!!!
It is imperative not to let the year pass without commenting on the state of the nation and country and what this means for us in the short term and in the future.
A few weeks ago we were subjected to an address by President Mugabe that purported to be a state of the nation address. That address left us none the wiser in terms of what is happening and how we shall get out of the mess First and foremost, we are all aware that our problems are induced by political instability in the ruling regime and its failure to control looting of the country's wealth and destruction of institutions and systems that would make the country viable. It is therefore important to stop the rot and to bring the country back on track.
For our part as I outlined last year, we have been on a drive to rebuild our party so that it recovers its role as a fit instrument to continue what it has done before; to spearhead the need and dream of Zimbabweans for accountable government and a fairer future for all. This year we embarked on a nationwide restructuring and mobilization exercise to meet the people, traditional leaders and business community to engage them and listen to their concerns and aspirations. This was aimed at coming up with current people oriented programmes to augment our policies and help in refining our policy options in time for our Congress which we held in August 2016 against all and great odds.
This process gave us an opportunity to focus our attention on the 2018 elections and the manifesto issues which we shall present to the general public in the course of 2017. Our 2016 Congress, having been postponed in December for lack of resources, was a triumph of will and perseverance by increasingly impoverished members who contributed to make it happen. One of our leaders once said in a meeting, "ZAPU will survive not because of itself, but in spite of itself". This was a way of saying that this durable brand in Zimbabwean politics is ingrained in the hearts of many people who keep making sacrifices to keep the party going without external support or connection to local official institutions that keep some afloat. It is one organization whose members, supporters and well wishers associate with the unfinished business of liberation and self-fulfillment of generations of Zimbabwean people. I would like to thank Mugabe for finally admitting that the chaotic land reform programme of 2000 has caused unprecedented financial and economic ruin to the country. That unfortunately chaotic land grab and election ruse disguised as a reform programme has brought the country to its knees and torn the very fabric of our nationhood.
It has caused social upheaval that has seen an exodus of productive professionals to the diaspora and the collapse of the primary manufacturing sector which is the foundation of exports and a favourable balance of payments.
The vacuum created by this collapse has been abused by ZANU through the government and state machinery to loot the raw resources together with their friends from the East who have disappeared with our $15 billion. In most countries it is unimaginable for such a figure to be given out as "missing" by people in government without accountability, even promise to follow up.
Not satisfied with the robbery of such scale, because that is what it has to be unless the resources are recovered and accounted for, the government has looted the country's nostro accounts and left the country bankrupt. It is worth noting that the funds in the nostro accounts did not belong to the government but were the earnings of the few hardworking corporations remaining in the country to pay for their international commitments.
With limited access to hard cash for their luxurious trips and other conspicuous consumption, the government came up with an unsecured paper currency, appropriately named the Bond Currency. This worthless currency is allegedly backed by an unconfirmed $200 million dollar facility with the AFREXIM bank to supposedly resuscitate manufacturing and boost economics. The irony of a $4 billion economy needing a mere 5% of its net to resuscitate it is totally lost on ZANU.
The Reserve Bank Governor declared that this currency will solve the perennial cash shortages and subsequent queues at the banks. Instead the advent of the Bond has resulted in longer queues and fuel shortages. We find it hard to believe that an educated economist like Dr. Mangudya can dream up such a scheme and we therefore think it is one of the President's advisors from the Diesel kuChinhoyi Group.
It is apparent from President Mugabe's address that the dictator regime has no viable solution to the problems facing the country at large and common people in particular. What is even more apparent after the recent regime party's conference in Masvingo is that the country will continue on auto pilot as the ageing leader clings to power at the centre of spider's web, struggling to manipulate warring factions angling to get their "inheritance" when he departs as he surely will according to the laws of nature.
A short term solution to halt this decay and lay a foundation for long term peace and reconciliation is to negotiate a National Transitional Authority to manage the shift of power from an incapacitated and increasingly dysfunctional dictatorship in preparation for democratic elections.
A democratic all inclusive body must manage 2018 elections. ZANU alone cannot be trusted to manage that transition. Witness the deadly succession fights within that party. Joyce Mujuru admitted in an interview with eNCA last week to abuse of state machinery for manipulation of the electoral process. Hence we call for the establishment of a National Transitional Authority to manage the change.
In the short to medium term and in the interests of building trust ZAPU is also committed to the formation of a coalition to contest the elections as a united front. It is in pursuit of this goal that ZAPU has participated in the formation and negotiations of the Coalition of Democrats. (CODE). This is in response to calls from the population and civic society for the need to present a united front in the fight against ZANU. Electoral Reforms remain a short to medium term solution to the problems our country is facing. The establishment and capacitation of a truly independent Electoral Commission as called for and provided for in the constitution has to be achieved immediately.
The long term goals of ZAPU remain unchanged. In our negotiations for a brighter future of Zimbabwe we continue to call for the implementation of comprehensive devolution of power to the 5 regions we have identified and named in Zimbabwe. Self-determination is a God given right. We believe that diversity as contained in the colonial physical borders can only be a blessing for our beautiful country.
Fellow citizens, I wish you a prosperous new year, free from the chains of dictatorship as currently is the case under ZANU PF and Robert Mugabe. A new year free of the current economic hardships and social, political upheavals as experienced under the ZANU PF regime which has no respect for basic human rights as contained in our national constitution.
Happy 2017!!!!
Source - Dr. D. Dabengwa - Zapu President
