Opinion / Columnist
For thine is the country, the power and the glory
27 Jul 2018 at 06:54hrs | Views
The truth of the matter is, the powers that be will have it on their own terms. Remembering the sequence leading up to the November 2017 grand event will tell anybody who cares that the resolve of the men who rule us is as hard as a rock. The struggle of the opposition will not end on Monday, it will mature with time.
By the barrel of a rifle, twice!
The country is theirs, they got it by the barrel of a rifle, twice! The elections body has it at the back of their minds, it is something too yesterday to forget. What all of us need to remember is that ZEC is run by people like us. Just like all of us they worry about their tomorrow too, their jobs, elections come and go then what? By virtue, their mandate runs along an unwritten instruction which seeks to answer anybody's most important individual questions of the next 5 years, theirs burdened by the gratitude of yesterday and indeed their jobs of the day. The issues raised by the opposition are true in all nature and colour, ZEC knows this too. At the end of the day however, the people in power cannot afford to lose so much for so little. Imagine how it would have been had the November coup failed? You guessed right, all of them would have gone forever. For a man to make such a decision and go with it, then expecting him to hand over to a young fella with no bruises of the trench, just a handful of techno-dreams, is at best expecting too much. Sure, this cannot be of public record and recital. Matemadanda was reprimanded for such although it is everybody's thinking, and the bad thing is everybody is correct.
There is a country after elections
The 2008 circus was spectacular in the larger scheme of things, and where we stand as a country. The episode indeed defined what the country is as a body politic and the nature of each constituent parties thereto. Zanu PF getting away with a clear election defeat like that was, at best phenomenal. The spectacular 2013 comeback could only have been pulled by a bruised party facing a hopeless challenger. But someone can argue differently, the 2008 scenario opened a whole new world of possibilities for Zanu PF, that which assured them if they could survive that they can survive anything. They have long known Zimbabweans are kind people, peace loving, and most importantly, forgiving, easy to let go. The governing party went from losing a national election to winning in the heart of Mbare in just 4 years. Indeed the survival of Zanu PF is not purely because of its genius, the hopeless nature of the opposition made it all possible. Of course, it would be unfair to impute all blame on the opposition without responding to the institutional and incumbency benefit enjoyed by Zanu PF, state security and intelligence in their bank too. Today, their situation is much worse and at risk. The NPF element in the Chamisa camp spells mass prosecution and guillotine for the presidential and cabinet pack. They will not lose everything because vendors in Mbare demand a voters role with photographs. While it will be the right thing to do, especially with the fresh start hopefulness abound, the regime will not move at that much speed as yet. This is not the right time.
Genius, water and oil can actually mix
By ways best known to themselves, the political alternative has miraculously invented the art of mixing water and oil in pursuit of expediency. The masses have lost track of what actually their struggle was all about for the past 20 years. The virtues that brought labour, students, civic society and law at the National Working People's Convention just before the new millennium have all been just a bubble that burst when money dictated the day. What is it that G40 can now suddenly agree in tow with the Alliance? The coalition hotpot is too much of a lie, what is sold is too corrupt. The alternative struggle for democracy in 20 years has made amends with an adversary who believed in his view for 37 years. All this brought out of Zanu PF's nature of devouring its own. What monumental fraud is this? Coalition politics come in handy at times, but at least people must believe the voice behind their vote.
For thine is the country, the power and the glory.
Elections will come and go, the status quo will be retained, and Zimbabwe will move on.
Robert Sigauke is a Legal Professional, Political Analyst, Author and Public Speaker. He writes from Cape Town. Email: dialogue@highveldmail.co.za
By the barrel of a rifle, twice!
The country is theirs, they got it by the barrel of a rifle, twice! The elections body has it at the back of their minds, it is something too yesterday to forget. What all of us need to remember is that ZEC is run by people like us. Just like all of us they worry about their tomorrow too, their jobs, elections come and go then what? By virtue, their mandate runs along an unwritten instruction which seeks to answer anybody's most important individual questions of the next 5 years, theirs burdened by the gratitude of yesterday and indeed their jobs of the day. The issues raised by the opposition are true in all nature and colour, ZEC knows this too. At the end of the day however, the people in power cannot afford to lose so much for so little. Imagine how it would have been had the November coup failed? You guessed right, all of them would have gone forever. For a man to make such a decision and go with it, then expecting him to hand over to a young fella with no bruises of the trench, just a handful of techno-dreams, is at best expecting too much. Sure, this cannot be of public record and recital. Matemadanda was reprimanded for such although it is everybody's thinking, and the bad thing is everybody is correct.
There is a country after elections
The 2008 circus was spectacular in the larger scheme of things, and where we stand as a country. The episode indeed defined what the country is as a body politic and the nature of each constituent parties thereto. Zanu PF getting away with a clear election defeat like that was, at best phenomenal. The spectacular 2013 comeback could only have been pulled by a bruised party facing a hopeless challenger. But someone can argue differently, the 2008 scenario opened a whole new world of possibilities for Zanu PF, that which assured them if they could survive that they can survive anything. They have long known Zimbabweans are kind people, peace loving, and most importantly, forgiving, easy to let go. The governing party went from losing a national election to winning in the heart of Mbare in just 4 years. Indeed the survival of Zanu PF is not purely because of its genius, the hopeless nature of the opposition made it all possible. Of course, it would be unfair to impute all blame on the opposition without responding to the institutional and incumbency benefit enjoyed by Zanu PF, state security and intelligence in their bank too. Today, their situation is much worse and at risk. The NPF element in the Chamisa camp spells mass prosecution and guillotine for the presidential and cabinet pack. They will not lose everything because vendors in Mbare demand a voters role with photographs. While it will be the right thing to do, especially with the fresh start hopefulness abound, the regime will not move at that much speed as yet. This is not the right time.
Genius, water and oil can actually mix
By ways best known to themselves, the political alternative has miraculously invented the art of mixing water and oil in pursuit of expediency. The masses have lost track of what actually their struggle was all about for the past 20 years. The virtues that brought labour, students, civic society and law at the National Working People's Convention just before the new millennium have all been just a bubble that burst when money dictated the day. What is it that G40 can now suddenly agree in tow with the Alliance? The coalition hotpot is too much of a lie, what is sold is too corrupt. The alternative struggle for democracy in 20 years has made amends with an adversary who believed in his view for 37 years. All this brought out of Zanu PF's nature of devouring its own. What monumental fraud is this? Coalition politics come in handy at times, but at least people must believe the voice behind their vote.
For thine is the country, the power and the glory.
Elections will come and go, the status quo will be retained, and Zimbabwe will move on.
Robert Sigauke is a Legal Professional, Political Analyst, Author and Public Speaker. He writes from Cape Town. Email: dialogue@highveldmail.co.za
Source - Robert Sigauke, Political Analyst, Cape Town
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