Zanu PF is feeling heat of worsen economic meltdown – it is back to blaming sanctions

The Zanu PF regime is beginning to feel the heat generated by the country's worsening economic meltdown.  However, instead admitting that the party has no solutions to end the economic hardships it is resorting to its tried and tested dirty tactic of blaming others for its own failures.

In his latest article "Sanctions must go: Zimbabwe's 2019 clarion call" Elijah Chihota, a seasoned Zanu PF apologist, is back to blaming sanctions for all Zimbabwe's economic ills. The article is full of the usual garbage but does not answer any of the following key points:

1. The Americans went to town on what Zanu PF needed to do in the 30 July 2018 elections to make sure those elections are free, fair and credible including ensuring Zimbabwean in the diaspora had the vote, the public media was free to all political players, the authorities produced a verified voters' roll, etc. Do these things and the sanctions will be lifted, they told Mnangagwa.

Chihota never the elections demands much less that Zanu PF failed to hold free, fair and credible elections.

Only an first class idiot with no idea of the critical importance of free, fair and credible elections as the prerequisite for good governance would want the sanctions lifted under these conditions.

2. "While, United Refineries Chief Executive Officer, Busisa Moyo also took to the micro blogging site, Twitter stating that "I am yet to meet a single businessman worth his salt who is pro-sanctions. We have spoken out against this and so has Steve_Hanke. Sanctions should also be a crime against humanity in the near future at the International Criminal Court (ICC) because they are equally brutal to issues they purport to address," you quoted.

How many Zanu PF leaders, so-called independent minded business leaders, etc. supported sanction against the white colonial regime? And rightly so too, because we all accepted that achieve meaningful political change it was necessary to make some sacrifices. Why are sanctions against a vote rigging tyrannical black regime "a crime against humanity" but sanctions against an oppressive white regime are not?

3. Blaming Zimbabwe's economic meltdown on the sanctions imposed by the west is a myth. The Zimbabwe economy was already in serious trouble as can be seen from the two five years Economic Structural Adjustment Programmes of 1990 and 1995. The programmes failed to revive the economy because Zanu PF did not implemented the agreed reforms.

Indeed, President Mugabe and his regime publicly denounced  IMF and WB, blaming them for the country's economic mess. The two financial institutions had no choice but to stop giving Zimbabwe financial assistance because it was not servicing its loans and soon the rest of the world followed suit. By the time the Americans and other western nations imposed the sanctions in December 2001, none of the international financial institutions and banks were giving Zimbabwe any more financial help. Not even China has been giving Zimbabwe and financial assistance for the same reason - failure to service and/or repay past debts

4. Whatever adverse effect sanctions have had on the Zimbabwe economy it is nothing compared to the damage caused by corruption and other causes. In 2016 the then President Robert Mugabe admitted Zimbabwe was being swindled out of US$15 billion in diamond revenue alone.

Why is it that Zanu PF propagandists and apologists like Chihota have written many, many articles calling for the lifting of sanctions but have never said a single word about Zanu PF's failure to deal with the cancer of corruption! They are quite happy to see the wholesale looting of the nation's resources continue and, of course, the blatant vote rigging which is making it all possible.

We should not forget that Mnangagwa and his Zanu PF junta blatantly rigged last year's elections confident the regime's "Zimbabwe is open for business!" will open the flood gates for the local and foreign investors and lenders. Not knowing that by blatantly rigging the elections the regime send out a clear message that Zimbabwe was still a pariah state ruled by corrupt and vote rigging thugs. No one in their right mind would want to invest in a pariah state!

The worsen economic situation has the Zanu PF regime in total panic. The regime has failed to come up with solutions to end the shortages of cash, foreign currency, fuel, medicine, etc. And now it is facing escalating civil servant strike and other social unrest.

We must also remember that the root cause of Zimbabwe economic meltdown is the nation's failure to remove this corrupt, incompetent and tyrannical Zanu PF regime from office. The party has rigged elections to stay in power. The 38 years of gross mismanagement and rampant corruption have taken their heavy toll on the nation.

The need for Zimbabwe to come up with solutions to end the economic meltdown are great and urgent because the economic situation of 75% of population living on US$1.00 or less a day is morally, socially and politically unsustainable.

It is as clear as day that Zanu PF have no clue what is required to revive the nation's economy. The party rigged last year's elections and so it has no mandate to govern. The only way forward is for the party to step down to allow the nation the time and space to implement the democratic reforms necessary for free, fair and credible elections.

Zanu PF blatantly rigged the last elections and not for the first time, they done this for the last 38 years and now the thugs cannot rig economic recovery. The real test now is will the nation once again allow these thugs to ride roughshod over them even to the point of destruction!

Are we human beings or are we slugs with no backbone!

"Nyika vanhu!" (It is the people who define the greatness or otherwise of a country!) so goes a Shona adage.

Great Zimbabwe! I cannot think  one single thing this nation has done right these last 38 years. We have blundered from pillar to post sometimes making the same foolish mistake over again and again. We have swapped one corrupt and murderous tyrant for a corrupt and utterly useless village idiot and then back to yet another corrupt and murderous tyrant!

There is no excuse for this Zanu PF regime to remain in office another year much less to 2023; but with an electorate that does not know whether it is sanctions or corrupt that is kill the economy, free elections from rigged elections; anything is possible! If Zanu PF is still in office in 2023 the party will rig those elections, of that we can be 100% certain!