Opinion / Columnist
Zanu-PF dragging Zimbabwe over the edge of the abyss
29 Jul 2014 at 18:12hrs | Views
Zanu-PF's decision hang on to power and cancel talks will drag nation over the edge of the abyss.
We in the Zimbabwe Social Democrats welcomed the announcement early this month by Zanu-PF Spokesman, Mr Rugare Gumbo, that Zanu-PF was willing to hold talk face-to-face with other players in the search for a way out of the country current economic and political mess. We are really disappointed to now learn that the party has changed its mind on the talks.
"We don't believe that there is any reason for that sort of thing (national dialogue)," Zanu-PF deputy spokesperson Psychology Maziwisa told NewZimbabwe.com last week.
"We won elections on July 31 last year and we are the government of the day until 2018; we have no intention of relinquishing any power to an election loser."
We would like to remind President Mugabe, the rest of his Zanu-PF leaders and supporters and the nation at large of what is at issue here:
1) Zanu-PF did not win the 31st July 2013 elections; the party blatantly rigged the elections and the regime has refuse to make public such basic documents as the voters roll because it knows they are the "smoking gun" to the rig vote.
2) Zimbabwe's dangerous nose dive started straight after the rigged elections and was a reflection of the lack of confidence in this Zanu-PF government to address the key problems behind Zimbabwe's economic meltdown of the last 15 years - corruption, lawlessness, etc. Not even the Chinese, Zanu-PF's long standing ally, had the confidence to contribute even one Yuan into the regime's flagship economic recovery plan, ZimAsset.
3) After a year of begging the ZimAsset begging bowl is still empty and there is no chance of anyone stepping forward and pay much of the $27 billion plan called for. Without donor funding to kick start the economic recovery and foreign investors to create the much need employment opportunities the country's economic nose dive will continue and get even worse.
4) Zimbabwe's economic meltdown has left government in a position where it cannot even pay civil servants, many cities cannot supply something as basic as running clean and millions are out of work and living in grinding abject poverty. The country is sitting ticking health (no clean water, etc.) and social (millions out of work, etc.) time bombs. The only way to defuse these time-bombs is by stopping the economic nose dive and put the economy on a recovery path and time is of the essence.
Zimbabwe has already wasted a year since the elections whilst this Zanu-PF regime tried to see if it could "rig" economic recovery. It has failed as is exemplified by the mockingly empty ZimAsset begging bowl.
5) Sitting around until health or social bomb or both bombs explode is the nightmare scenario this nation must avoid because the consequences are too ghastly to contemplate.
The nightmare that has befallen other countries like Egypt or Syria, who allowed the social time bombs to explode can easily happen in Zimbabwe if this economic meltdown is allowed to continue for much longer.
6) Only a government, emerging from free, fair and credible elections, will have the democratic mandate to address national problems like corruption whose roots run deep in Zimbabwe society and will win back the donor and investor confidence to restore rule of law.
7) When Zanu-PF agree to the talks we in the ZSD welcomed the announcement because we believe the party had peered over the edge of the abyss, seen the nightmare that lay ahead and had for once placed the nation's interest and survival above short term and selfish party interests of hanging on to power regardless of the consequences.
8) We condemn Zanu-PF's revised position to hang on to power although the party has clearly failed to deliver any economic recovery and, thus, drag the nation over the abyss.
9) By stifling evolutionary change in the form of free and fair elections and dialogue Zanu-PF is opting for violent revolutionary change in the form of street riots or worse. Change is nature and one way or the other there is going to be regime change in Zimbabwe be-cause it is long overdue!
Conclusion
The Zanu-PF regime rigged the 2013 elections and has since failed to rig economic recovery. We call upon the regime to accept the seriousness of the economic meltdown the country is facing right now and to accept the political reality that to solve the economic problem the nation must first solve its political legitimacy problem.
For 34 years this Zanu-PF government has denied the people of Zimbabwe a meaningful say in the governance of the country, this must now stop forthwith.
If Zanu-PF drags this nation into the chaos of social unrest such as rioting or worse, then the party leaders will be held to account for all the suffering and mayhem that will happen.
Wilbert Mukori
Secretary General Zimbabwe Social Democrats
We in the Zimbabwe Social Democrats welcomed the announcement early this month by Zanu-PF Spokesman, Mr Rugare Gumbo, that Zanu-PF was willing to hold talk face-to-face with other players in the search for a way out of the country current economic and political mess. We are really disappointed to now learn that the party has changed its mind on the talks.
"We don't believe that there is any reason for that sort of thing (national dialogue)," Zanu-PF deputy spokesperson Psychology Maziwisa told NewZimbabwe.com last week.
"We won elections on July 31 last year and we are the government of the day until 2018; we have no intention of relinquishing any power to an election loser."
We would like to remind President Mugabe, the rest of his Zanu-PF leaders and supporters and the nation at large of what is at issue here:
1) Zanu-PF did not win the 31st July 2013 elections; the party blatantly rigged the elections and the regime has refuse to make public such basic documents as the voters roll because it knows they are the "smoking gun" to the rig vote.
2) Zimbabwe's dangerous nose dive started straight after the rigged elections and was a reflection of the lack of confidence in this Zanu-PF government to address the key problems behind Zimbabwe's economic meltdown of the last 15 years - corruption, lawlessness, etc. Not even the Chinese, Zanu-PF's long standing ally, had the confidence to contribute even one Yuan into the regime's flagship economic recovery plan, ZimAsset.
3) After a year of begging the ZimAsset begging bowl is still empty and there is no chance of anyone stepping forward and pay much of the $27 billion plan called for. Without donor funding to kick start the economic recovery and foreign investors to create the much need employment opportunities the country's economic nose dive will continue and get even worse.
4) Zimbabwe's economic meltdown has left government in a position where it cannot even pay civil servants, many cities cannot supply something as basic as running clean and millions are out of work and living in grinding abject poverty. The country is sitting ticking health (no clean water, etc.) and social (millions out of work, etc.) time bombs. The only way to defuse these time-bombs is by stopping the economic nose dive and put the economy on a recovery path and time is of the essence.
Zimbabwe has already wasted a year since the elections whilst this Zanu-PF regime tried to see if it could "rig" economic recovery. It has failed as is exemplified by the mockingly empty ZimAsset begging bowl.
The nightmare that has befallen other countries like Egypt or Syria, who allowed the social time bombs to explode can easily happen in Zimbabwe if this economic meltdown is allowed to continue for much longer.
6) Only a government, emerging from free, fair and credible elections, will have the democratic mandate to address national problems like corruption whose roots run deep in Zimbabwe society and will win back the donor and investor confidence to restore rule of law.
7) When Zanu-PF agree to the talks we in the ZSD welcomed the announcement because we believe the party had peered over the edge of the abyss, seen the nightmare that lay ahead and had for once placed the nation's interest and survival above short term and selfish party interests of hanging on to power regardless of the consequences.
8) We condemn Zanu-PF's revised position to hang on to power although the party has clearly failed to deliver any economic recovery and, thus, drag the nation over the abyss.
9) By stifling evolutionary change in the form of free and fair elections and dialogue Zanu-PF is opting for violent revolutionary change in the form of street riots or worse. Change is nature and one way or the other there is going to be regime change in Zimbabwe be-cause it is long overdue!
Conclusion
The Zanu-PF regime rigged the 2013 elections and has since failed to rig economic recovery. We call upon the regime to accept the seriousness of the economic meltdown the country is facing right now and to accept the political reality that to solve the economic problem the nation must first solve its political legitimacy problem.
For 34 years this Zanu-PF government has denied the people of Zimbabwe a meaningful say in the governance of the country, this must now stop forthwith.
If Zanu-PF drags this nation into the chaos of social unrest such as rioting or worse, then the party leaders will be held to account for all the suffering and mayhem that will happen.
Wilbert Mukori
Secretary General Zimbabwe Social Democrats
Source - Secretary General Zimbabwe Social Democrats
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