Opinion / Columnist
Mnangagwa, the Statesman versus Chamisa, the charlatan
20 Feb 2019 at 05:29hrs | Views
"A Statesman thinks about future generations, while a politician thinks about winning the elections" so goes the popular saying. This adage rings true to the Zimbabwean scenario.
When there was leadership change in Zimbabwe in November 2017, President Emmerson Mnangagwa took over the levers of power and announced that it was no longer business as usual as his administration would do things differently. The President lamented that Zimbabwe had suffered nearly two decades of isolation and was lagging behind other nations by about twenty years.
As a pure and dedicated Statesman, President Mnangagwa redirected national efforts in engaging and re-engaging with other countries, forging ahead in both economic and technological advancement.
The country had a dilapidated infrastructure and the President through the Roads Rehabilitation Fund made sure that existing roads were resurfaced and new ones tarred. This programme is still underway with considerable progress already having been registered and communities are expressing joy over the developments.
As a seasoned farmer, the President working closely with Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Water, Climate and Rural Resettlement, Air Chief Marshal (Rtd) Perence Shiri, made sure that by July 2018 farmers had already received inputs for the 2018/2019 farming season and the established crop is doing well.
The President felt that elections in Zimbabwe could not be declared free and fair if all other political parties could not campaign freely in rural areas which were perceived to be no go areas by some people. As a result MDC leader, Nelson Chamisa held some 80 plus rallies ahead of the 2018 harmonised elections. The opening of this democratic space was also hailed by most election observers which showed a clear departure from the Robert Mugabe era where certain constituencies especially in the rural areas were seen as no-go areas. Election results saw ZANU PF winning a cool 145 parliamentary seats against the MDC's 63.
President Mnangagwa visited a number of countries including China, Russia and Belarus, among others. Such visits were condemned by those who do not plan for future generations. To this end, a fortnight ago a team of business people from Belarus visited Zimbabwe and toured Kanyemba area in Mbire District of Mashonaland Central Province where they intend to develop 10 000 hectares for agricultural purposes. Kanyemba used to be one of the under developed areas in Zimbabwe and this is set to be a thing of the past.
In a similar development, the Chinese have also shown confidence in President Mnangagwa's visionary leadership especially the advancement of Vision 2030, whose main objective is turning the country into an upper middle income by 2030. A Chinese company is also establishing a US$30m tile manufacturing plant in Norton which is nearing completion and is set to be the biggest in Southern Africa, employing 1700 people. These are some of the fruits of President Mnangagwa's economic revival engagements.
Maggie Mukandatsama-Dodo posting on her Facebook page defended President Mnangagwa's visit to other countries seeking economic ties. She said "ED (President Mnangagwa) had been to Russia to Kenya to South Africa looking for ways (to turn the country's economy around) but people complain about that!
Here in England as Brexit approaches, Theresa May has been to India, Japan etc to find trade partners to replace the EU ones she'll be losing!
The British aren't complaining about her going round the world, but Zimbabweans are so single-minded they think America is our only possible partner and nothing could be far from the truth!
We now need to make new friends and trade partners because our ex-colonisers will want strings attached to anything they give us!
Get out of that mind set and find new territories," posted Mukandatsama-Dodo.
On the other hand Chamisa is thinking and acting like a politician. During the much hyped Morgan Tsvangirai Memorial Lecture held this month, which failed to live to its billing, Chamisa showed that he was still a political greenhorn. Instead of talking about the life of Tsvangirai, he chose to go political. He diverted by choosing to castigate President Mnangagwa, ZANU PF, Government and Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) Chairperson, Justice Priscilla Chigumba and announced plans for another destructive demonstration dubbed "mother of all demonstrations". This time around, however, kamba ichasangana neune demo (they will find their match) as the security apparatus stands ready to discharge their mandate of restoring and maintaining order.
Chamisa praised the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) and MDC-organised violent and destructive demonstrations claiming that "he ZCTU called for a peaceful stay away and (which was) very successful". Honestly there is nothing that was peaceful and successful about the stay away as it resulted in massive looting to the tune of more than $500 million as well as loss of lives such as the late Constable Alexio Maune of Bulawayo.
Without getting worried about the ripple effects of the demonstrations, Chamisa said that the MDC was going to call for its own strike very soon and expected the ZCTU as their "mother" to support them. These are reckless statements by people who are drunk with the desire for power. What kind of a would-be leader is this who enjoys the destruction of properties and loss of life of those who he wishes to lead?
At a time when the church and other groups are calling for dialogue Chamisa is still dwelling in the past by channelling all his efforts at castigating President Mnangagwa. 2018 elections are over and it is time to focus on nation building, but young and immature Chamisa continues to cry over Jiggies (snacks). "Pamakaramba kubirwa naMugabe, ndaramba kubirwa naED," charged Chamisa.
MDC-T deputy leader, Obert Gutu could not stomach Chamisa's vomit and reminded him: "You can't even repaint Harvest House and replace broken window panes but you fantasise about rebuilding and reconstructing Zimbabwe! What errant nonsense is that? Spare us the trash and hallucination! Zimbabweans have got brains. As a Zimbabwean patriot and Pan-Africanist, I will never celebrate the imposition of any form of sanctions against my country by whomsoever. Granted, we have got numerous domestic challenges, but imposing sanctions by whomsoever is not the panacea to resolving our challenges".
After President Mnangagwa had thrown away the idea of a National Transitional Authority (NTA) not picking anyone from the MDC to be part of his Cabinet, Chamisa and MDC Deputy National Chairman, Tendai Biti embarked on a trip to the United States to beg for more sanctions. Sanctions are biting everyone including the ordinary people as well as potential investors. By calling for more repressive sanctions, Chamisa and his allies thought they had cornered ZANU PF, but they lost the plot as the electorate chose to stand with the revolutionary Party.
When there was leadership change in Zimbabwe in November 2017, President Emmerson Mnangagwa took over the levers of power and announced that it was no longer business as usual as his administration would do things differently. The President lamented that Zimbabwe had suffered nearly two decades of isolation and was lagging behind other nations by about twenty years.
As a pure and dedicated Statesman, President Mnangagwa redirected national efforts in engaging and re-engaging with other countries, forging ahead in both economic and technological advancement.
The country had a dilapidated infrastructure and the President through the Roads Rehabilitation Fund made sure that existing roads were resurfaced and new ones tarred. This programme is still underway with considerable progress already having been registered and communities are expressing joy over the developments.
As a seasoned farmer, the President working closely with Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Water, Climate and Rural Resettlement, Air Chief Marshal (Rtd) Perence Shiri, made sure that by July 2018 farmers had already received inputs for the 2018/2019 farming season and the established crop is doing well.
The President felt that elections in Zimbabwe could not be declared free and fair if all other political parties could not campaign freely in rural areas which were perceived to be no go areas by some people. As a result MDC leader, Nelson Chamisa held some 80 plus rallies ahead of the 2018 harmonised elections. The opening of this democratic space was also hailed by most election observers which showed a clear departure from the Robert Mugabe era where certain constituencies especially in the rural areas were seen as no-go areas. Election results saw ZANU PF winning a cool 145 parliamentary seats against the MDC's 63.
President Mnangagwa visited a number of countries including China, Russia and Belarus, among others. Such visits were condemned by those who do not plan for future generations. To this end, a fortnight ago a team of business people from Belarus visited Zimbabwe and toured Kanyemba area in Mbire District of Mashonaland Central Province where they intend to develop 10 000 hectares for agricultural purposes. Kanyemba used to be one of the under developed areas in Zimbabwe and this is set to be a thing of the past.
In a similar development, the Chinese have also shown confidence in President Mnangagwa's visionary leadership especially the advancement of Vision 2030, whose main objective is turning the country into an upper middle income by 2030. A Chinese company is also establishing a US$30m tile manufacturing plant in Norton which is nearing completion and is set to be the biggest in Southern Africa, employing 1700 people. These are some of the fruits of President Mnangagwa's economic revival engagements.
Maggie Mukandatsama-Dodo posting on her Facebook page defended President Mnangagwa's visit to other countries seeking economic ties. She said "ED (President Mnangagwa) had been to Russia to Kenya to South Africa looking for ways (to turn the country's economy around) but people complain about that!
Here in England as Brexit approaches, Theresa May has been to India, Japan etc to find trade partners to replace the EU ones she'll be losing!
The British aren't complaining about her going round the world, but Zimbabweans are so single-minded they think America is our only possible partner and nothing could be far from the truth!
We now need to make new friends and trade partners because our ex-colonisers will want strings attached to anything they give us!
Get out of that mind set and find new territories," posted Mukandatsama-Dodo.
On the other hand Chamisa is thinking and acting like a politician. During the much hyped Morgan Tsvangirai Memorial Lecture held this month, which failed to live to its billing, Chamisa showed that he was still a political greenhorn. Instead of talking about the life of Tsvangirai, he chose to go political. He diverted by choosing to castigate President Mnangagwa, ZANU PF, Government and Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) Chairperson, Justice Priscilla Chigumba and announced plans for another destructive demonstration dubbed "mother of all demonstrations". This time around, however, kamba ichasangana neune demo (they will find their match) as the security apparatus stands ready to discharge their mandate of restoring and maintaining order.
Chamisa praised the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) and MDC-organised violent and destructive demonstrations claiming that "he ZCTU called for a peaceful stay away and (which was) very successful". Honestly there is nothing that was peaceful and successful about the stay away as it resulted in massive looting to the tune of more than $500 million as well as loss of lives such as the late Constable Alexio Maune of Bulawayo.
Without getting worried about the ripple effects of the demonstrations, Chamisa said that the MDC was going to call for its own strike very soon and expected the ZCTU as their "mother" to support them. These are reckless statements by people who are drunk with the desire for power. What kind of a would-be leader is this who enjoys the destruction of properties and loss of life of those who he wishes to lead?
At a time when the church and other groups are calling for dialogue Chamisa is still dwelling in the past by channelling all his efforts at castigating President Mnangagwa. 2018 elections are over and it is time to focus on nation building, but young and immature Chamisa continues to cry over Jiggies (snacks). "Pamakaramba kubirwa naMugabe, ndaramba kubirwa naED," charged Chamisa.
MDC-T deputy leader, Obert Gutu could not stomach Chamisa's vomit and reminded him: "You can't even repaint Harvest House and replace broken window panes but you fantasise about rebuilding and reconstructing Zimbabwe! What errant nonsense is that? Spare us the trash and hallucination! Zimbabweans have got brains. As a Zimbabwean patriot and Pan-Africanist, I will never celebrate the imposition of any form of sanctions against my country by whomsoever. Granted, we have got numerous domestic challenges, but imposing sanctions by whomsoever is not the panacea to resolving our challenges".
After President Mnangagwa had thrown away the idea of a National Transitional Authority (NTA) not picking anyone from the MDC to be part of his Cabinet, Chamisa and MDC Deputy National Chairman, Tendai Biti embarked on a trip to the United States to beg for more sanctions. Sanctions are biting everyone including the ordinary people as well as potential investors. By calling for more repressive sanctions, Chamisa and his allies thought they had cornered ZANU PF, but they lost the plot as the electorate chose to stand with the revolutionary Party.
Source - Elijah Chihota
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