Opinion / Columnist
'MDC went into GNU with no plan, sat and ate' - amused and irritated SADC in equal measure
14 Jul 2019 at 22:41hrs | Views
"Chamisa: We went into GNU with no plan, sat and ate!" screamed the headlines in New Zimbabwe.
Every SADC leader involved in the Zimbabwe political crisis during the 2008 to 2013 GNU was amused and irritated in equal measure to read the article.
"We got in the inclusive government and just sat there, spent five years in there. We came out without doing anything," said Nelson Chamisa.
"We will not do that, dialogue must have timelines that are very clear, the international community must tick us, mark us on the boxes."
SADC leaders would be amused that MDC leaders are finally admitting that they wasted the golden opportunity to implement the reforms during the GNU. Credit where credit is due, SADC leaders did try their best to remind Tsvangirai and company to implement the reforms and they were ignored.
Mugabe bribed the MDC leaders with the trappings of high office; the ministerial limo, generous salary and unlimited overseas travel, a $4 million mansion for Tsvangirai, etc., etc. With their snouts in the feeding trough, MDC leaders "sat and ate" and forgot about the reforms for five years of the GNU. FIVE YEARS of doing nothing!
SADC leaders made one more desperate attempt to postpone the 2013 elections until reforms are implemented, according to Dr Ibbo Mandaza who attended the regional grouping's Maputo summit in June 2013.
"In 2013 the Maputo Summit, in June 2013, before the elections, the Maputo Summit was all about having the elections postponed – the SADC summit. I went there," he explained to Violet Gonda.
"I was there at the Summit and Mugabe pretended to agree to a postponement of the elections. If you recall, the postponement was based on the need to reform at least electoral laws.
"After that Summit, Morgan Tsvangirai, Tendai Biti, Welshman Ncube, all of them were called to a separate meeting by the Heads of State of SADC in the absence of Mugabe, that same evening. And they were told; I was sitting there outside the room with Mac Maharaj; they were told 'if you go into elections next month, you are going to lose; the elections are done'."
Once again MDC leaders ignored the warning and participated in the elections. As expected, Zanu-PF went on to blatantly rig the elections.
"MDC leaders were busy enjoying themselves in the GNU and forgot why they were there!" remarked one SADC leader in sheer exasperation at just how breathtakingly incompetent and corrupt MDC leaders had proven to be during the five years of the GNU.
The SADC leaders would have been irritated by the stupid remark that there was no plan at the start of the GNU. That is just nonsense, there was a plan. SADC leaders, especially SA President Thabo Mbeki and his staff, were heavily involved in the drafting of the Global Political Agreement (GPA). The GPA formed the legal basis of the GNU. The primary task of the GNU was to implement the of raft democratic reforms designed to stop a repeat of the blatant cheating and wanton violence that marred the 2008 elections. Robert Mugabe, Morgan Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutambara signed the agreement on behalf of Zanu-PF and the two MDC factions respective; as the internal political parties to implement the reforms. President Mbeki signed on behalf of SADC as the guarantor of the agreement.
Of course, SADC leaders wanted to see an end to the political chaos and economic meltdown in Zimbabwe; it was holding back the region's development and causing instability in the whole region. As stated above, SADC leaders did their best to remind MDC leaders to implement the agreed reforms but were ignore. Of course, they were disappointed that a golden chance to resolve the Zimbabwe crisis was wasted and irritated that the upstarts who wasted the chance have chutzpah to blame SADC leaders for not having a plan.
Even if there was no GPA, as the victims of the cheating and violence, one expected MDC leaders to go into the GNU determined to change the law to ensure the cheating and violence will never happen ever again.
Nelson Chamisa has just launched the MDC's policy blue-print titled Return to Economic Recovery, Legitimacy, Openness and Democracy (RELOAD) calling for a new Zanu-PF and MDC GNU. The plan calls for the implementation of the democratic reforms. He vowed there would be no repeat of the "sat and ate" failures of the last GNU, now that the MDC has a plan!
As we have seen above it, the "sat and ate" failures of the last GNU were because MDC leaders are breathtakingly corrupt and incompetent. Having the GPA and SADC leaders to remind them at every turn to implement reforms did not make the slightest difference. There is no one more blind that one who close their eyes and mind and the promise of the gravy train lifestyle have left many staring with glassy eyes and a black-box sealed mind.
There is nothing in MDC's RELOAD plan to address much less end the MDC leaders' incompetence and insatiable greed. This is a plan to get some MDC leaders back on the gravy train so they can sit and eat. They will not implement any meaningful democratic reforms and, come 2023, Zanu-PF will blatantly rig those elections.
Zimbabwe is in a serious economic mess with unemployment a dizzying 90%, ¾ of the population now living in abject poverty, health care that all but collapsed, etc. and all because the country has been stuck with a corrupt, incompetent and murderous Zanu-PF dictatorship that rigged elections to stay in power. We need to end the curse of rigged elections and pariah state if we are ever to get out of this mess.
Zanu-PF cannot be trusted to reform itself out of office and hence the reason the party must step down so we can appoint an interim administration to implement the reforms. MDC's RELOAD plan is just an excuse to keep Zanu-PF in power in return for Chamisa and other MDC's getting seats on the gravy train.
No SADC leaders much less the more savvy UN would ever agree to another Zanu-PF and MDC led GNU because they know the two parties will never implement any meaningful reforms and they, SADC, would be blamed yet again for two "sitting, eating and doing nothing". SADC leaders proposed the last GNU to give Mugabe and Zanu-PF a soft landing, it would be insane for SADC to make that foolish mistake again!
Zimbabwe has been hurting to do the right thing for the last 40 years. Well here is the right thing for us to do: get Zanu-PF to step down and implement the democratic reforms. It is a simple choice; either we do and get out of the mess or we don't and continue to suffer and die!
Every SADC leader involved in the Zimbabwe political crisis during the 2008 to 2013 GNU was amused and irritated in equal measure to read the article.
"We got in the inclusive government and just sat there, spent five years in there. We came out without doing anything," said Nelson Chamisa.
"We will not do that, dialogue must have timelines that are very clear, the international community must tick us, mark us on the boxes."
SADC leaders would be amused that MDC leaders are finally admitting that they wasted the golden opportunity to implement the reforms during the GNU. Credit where credit is due, SADC leaders did try their best to remind Tsvangirai and company to implement the reforms and they were ignored.
Mugabe bribed the MDC leaders with the trappings of high office; the ministerial limo, generous salary and unlimited overseas travel, a $4 million mansion for Tsvangirai, etc., etc. With their snouts in the feeding trough, MDC leaders "sat and ate" and forgot about the reforms for five years of the GNU. FIVE YEARS of doing nothing!
SADC leaders made one more desperate attempt to postpone the 2013 elections until reforms are implemented, according to Dr Ibbo Mandaza who attended the regional grouping's Maputo summit in June 2013.
"In 2013 the Maputo Summit, in June 2013, before the elections, the Maputo Summit was all about having the elections postponed – the SADC summit. I went there," he explained to Violet Gonda.
"I was there at the Summit and Mugabe pretended to agree to a postponement of the elections. If you recall, the postponement was based on the need to reform at least electoral laws.
"After that Summit, Morgan Tsvangirai, Tendai Biti, Welshman Ncube, all of them were called to a separate meeting by the Heads of State of SADC in the absence of Mugabe, that same evening. And they were told; I was sitting there outside the room with Mac Maharaj; they were told 'if you go into elections next month, you are going to lose; the elections are done'."
Once again MDC leaders ignored the warning and participated in the elections. As expected, Zanu-PF went on to blatantly rig the elections.
"MDC leaders were busy enjoying themselves in the GNU and forgot why they were there!" remarked one SADC leader in sheer exasperation at just how breathtakingly incompetent and corrupt MDC leaders had proven to be during the five years of the GNU.
The SADC leaders would have been irritated by the stupid remark that there was no plan at the start of the GNU. That is just nonsense, there was a plan. SADC leaders, especially SA President Thabo Mbeki and his staff, were heavily involved in the drafting of the Global Political Agreement (GPA). The GPA formed the legal basis of the GNU. The primary task of the GNU was to implement the of raft democratic reforms designed to stop a repeat of the blatant cheating and wanton violence that marred the 2008 elections. Robert Mugabe, Morgan Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutambara signed the agreement on behalf of Zanu-PF and the two MDC factions respective; as the internal political parties to implement the reforms. President Mbeki signed on behalf of SADC as the guarantor of the agreement.
Of course, SADC leaders wanted to see an end to the political chaos and economic meltdown in Zimbabwe; it was holding back the region's development and causing instability in the whole region. As stated above, SADC leaders did their best to remind MDC leaders to implement the agreed reforms but were ignore. Of course, they were disappointed that a golden chance to resolve the Zimbabwe crisis was wasted and irritated that the upstarts who wasted the chance have chutzpah to blame SADC leaders for not having a plan.
Even if there was no GPA, as the victims of the cheating and violence, one expected MDC leaders to go into the GNU determined to change the law to ensure the cheating and violence will never happen ever again.
Nelson Chamisa has just launched the MDC's policy blue-print titled Return to Economic Recovery, Legitimacy, Openness and Democracy (RELOAD) calling for a new Zanu-PF and MDC GNU. The plan calls for the implementation of the democratic reforms. He vowed there would be no repeat of the "sat and ate" failures of the last GNU, now that the MDC has a plan!
As we have seen above it, the "sat and ate" failures of the last GNU were because MDC leaders are breathtakingly corrupt and incompetent. Having the GPA and SADC leaders to remind them at every turn to implement reforms did not make the slightest difference. There is no one more blind that one who close their eyes and mind and the promise of the gravy train lifestyle have left many staring with glassy eyes and a black-box sealed mind.
There is nothing in MDC's RELOAD plan to address much less end the MDC leaders' incompetence and insatiable greed. This is a plan to get some MDC leaders back on the gravy train so they can sit and eat. They will not implement any meaningful democratic reforms and, come 2023, Zanu-PF will blatantly rig those elections.
Zimbabwe is in a serious economic mess with unemployment a dizzying 90%, ¾ of the population now living in abject poverty, health care that all but collapsed, etc. and all because the country has been stuck with a corrupt, incompetent and murderous Zanu-PF dictatorship that rigged elections to stay in power. We need to end the curse of rigged elections and pariah state if we are ever to get out of this mess.
Zanu-PF cannot be trusted to reform itself out of office and hence the reason the party must step down so we can appoint an interim administration to implement the reforms. MDC's RELOAD plan is just an excuse to keep Zanu-PF in power in return for Chamisa and other MDC's getting seats on the gravy train.
No SADC leaders much less the more savvy UN would ever agree to another Zanu-PF and MDC led GNU because they know the two parties will never implement any meaningful reforms and they, SADC, would be blamed yet again for two "sitting, eating and doing nothing". SADC leaders proposed the last GNU to give Mugabe and Zanu-PF a soft landing, it would be insane for SADC to make that foolish mistake again!
Zimbabwe has been hurting to do the right thing for the last 40 years. Well here is the right thing for us to do: get Zanu-PF to step down and implement the democratic reforms. It is a simple choice; either we do and get out of the mess or we don't and continue to suffer and die!
Source - zimbabwelight.blogspot.com
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