Charamba fails to explain why China mega deals came to naught - no business with thugs

When President Mnangagwa and his junta seized power in the military coup last November they those it was all going to be plain sailing from there on. It all looked deceptively easy, at least the first month or so, but not anymore. The wheels are falling off the Lacoste juggernaut train and it could not be happening at a worse time – elections to decide the regime's legitimacy!

"The duck test is a form of abductive reasoning. This is its usual expression: If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it probably is a duck. The test implies that a person can identify an unknown subject by observing that subject's habitual characteristics," explain Wikipedia.

Let us just say the 15th November 2017 military coup in Zimbabwe that saw former President Mugabe and a number of his close allies booted out of office passed the duck test is every aspect – it was a military coup in every sense. President Mnangagwa and his coup friends sold it to the world as "a military assisted transition" and surprise, surprise, seemed to get away with it.

The world was so pleased to see the back of Robert Mugabe, they did not care how it happened; is the one plausible explanation to the world's indifference to the treasonous act of the coup. Whatever the reasons why the Junta was never castigated for the coup, it was a sure luck break for ED and his coup posse.

By the time ED was sworn into office the regime was convinced they had the world at their feet and there was nothing they could not do! Nothing!

With the Zimbabwe's economy in total meltdown, unemployment a nauseating 90%, millions of Zimbabweans in the diaspora as economic and/or political refugees, etc. the junta regime set out to revive the nation's economy. "Zimbabwe is open for business!" was President Mnangagwa's clarion call.

Sadly, the flood of foreign investors that the regime had expected to answer ED's call has not materialised and the regime has been at sixes and sevens to explain why.

"This time around he has gone to China, a country whose outbound investment capital is put at $300 billion," explained George Charamba, President's spokesman.

True, China has invested billions of dollars in many African countries every year, but Zimbabwe has seen very little of that investment although China never joined in imposing sanctions on Zimbabwe. President Mnangagwa, like President Mugabe before him, has blamed Zimbabwe's economic decline on "illegal sanctions imposed by the West!"

Indeed, Zimbabwe should have benefited from China's investment given the close political ties between Zanu PF and the Chinese Communist Party ruling in China dating back to the war of independence. And when Zimbabwe fell-out with the West, Zimbabwe openly advocated its "look East!" policies unlike all the other African countries China has been doing business with!

There is nothing to suggest President Mnangagwa will do any better than Mugabe in getting the Chinese to invest some of their money in Zimbabwe. Nothing! 

"When you take away courtesy calls, you find there is a very clear strategy, very clear method to situate Zimbabwe in the SADC context and to find the resources for his mantra of Zimbabwe is open for business," continued Charamba.

"The focus must remain on what follows from that effort. The president is also carrying forward his commitment to re-engage with the world so he is motivating FDI (foreign direct investment) and breaking the isolation of Zimbabwe."

Charamba is right, ED has been committed to re-engage with the world. Indeed, second to his "Zimbabwe is open for business!" clarion call has been his promise to hold free, fair and credible elections. Of course, President Mnangagwa knew that his regime was illegitimate born, as it is, out of a coup, a treasonous act. His courtesy call to SADC leaders was to reassure them that he will hold free, fair and credible elections to regain the lost legitimacy.

Keeping the promise to hold free and fair elections has clearly proven to be mission impossible for President Mnangagwa and his coup junta. Military coup is dirty business, make no mistake about that and they all knew they were risking losing all their looted wealth, their freedoms and even their very lives in staging the November coup.

Having just wrestled power from Mugabe and his G40 cahoots at great risk to themselves, they were not going to give up that political power a few months down the line by holding free and fair elections! They have called the coup "operation restore legacy", and the legacy they are talking about is absolute power to coup plotters.

So, President Mnangagwa and his Junta knew from the word go that they will not be giving up Zanu PF's dictatorial powers including the carte blanche powers to rig elections. The regime has pointedly refuse to implement any democratic reforms, no shrewd observers, especially the foreign investors could fail to see what the thugs were up to. The promise to hold free and fair elections was just a diversionary olive branch to mask the murderous dagga under the cloak.

The failure to deliver free, fair and credible elections is the Zanu PF junta's Achilles' heel because its economic recovery is totally dependent on the country attracting foreign direct investment. And by failing to deliver free and fair election the junta has per se failed to prove that the Junta has given up its pariah state character.

So, Zimbabwe is a nation still ruled by thugs and investors do not do business with thugs. George Charamba, not even Adolf Hitler's chief propagandist Josef Goebbels, can change the fundament fact that Zanu PF junta is rigging these elections and investors do not do business in country whose next regime change is another military coup!