Opinion / Columnist
Ibbo Mandaza predict positive change after Mugabe - all wishful thinking because fact say the opposite!
04 Jan 2015 at 20:21hrs | Views
Zimbabwe has sunk to these nauseating depths of political chaos and economic despair because for 34 years we has elected to do nothing about building ourselves the shelter better able to withstand the buffeting storms of political and economic storms of live. We chose to see a silver-lining in every storm even the ones with clouds are black as hell and gale force winds still we insisted in seeing the silver-lining where none existed; our nation's reprise.
So time and again the nation was left at the mercy of whatever the political or economic storm; each storm would ran its course without a care in the world of the suffering, misery and death it brought for it has no body to be kicked, soul to be damned and knows not what mercy is. If for man and beast to seek shelter from the storm and not for the storm to blow more gently on all those who fail to do so or change course to avoid them altogether.
Our political and economic storms are man-made; not only is it folly that we have allowed the anarchist rule the day we foolish look for the silver-linings in these man-made storms. It is with this reprise characteristic foolishness that Mr Ibbo Mandaza tells us to see the silver-lining on the dark and oppressive economic and political storms that have hang over the nation for decades and getting worse and worse, not better, with time.
"I am very optimistic. Things would begin to happen this year. You will see," said Mandaza, according to a New Zimbabwe report.
Mandaza said the aftermath of Zanu PF's turbulent congress last month, coupled with President Mugabe's failing health, would instead, trigger positive change for the entire country.
Mr Mandaza did not give even one reason for his optimism because there is absolutely no reason there. This optimism is nothing more than wishful thinking born out of the decades of idleness and foolishness.
The country is facing the most serious economic meltdown, all man-made of course, that has sent unemployment into nauseating height of 90% plus, 16% or 2 million Zimbabweans are living in abject poverty, etc. and Mr Mandaza in his infinite wisdom suggests that we should do nothing and pinned all our hopes on Mugabe's death.
Life waits for no man, in this case for the death of one tyrant. What are the unemployed to do whilst they wait? What are the hungry to eat whilst the nation waits for Mugabe to die?
After waiting for however long it takes for Mugabe to finally take his finally bow, it could be a long wait given that the nation has spent an inordinate amount of money to keep him alive; what then?
The root cause of Zimbabwe's economic paralysis is decades of gross mismanagement and rampant corruption; decades of denial have allowed these cancerous problems to grow and spread and the chickens have finally come home to roost in their millions like red billed quelea! Mugabe has lacked the political will to address these problems it is naïve to think that Mnangagwa will, particularly in the present economic environment were anyone laid off is literally throw to the economic wolves of poverty.
Mugabe has the country up to its eyes in debt, the country's infrastructure in a mess and has sold all the nation's silver for a song to the Chinese, Russians and other foreigners; Mnangagwa's inheritance from Mugabe is the exact opposite of the rich and boisterous Mugabe got from Ian Smith.
Zimbabwe's economic recovery is now dependent on getting this Zanu PF regime to step aside and allow for free and fair elections to elect a new government that does not depend on continued existence of the red billed quelea for its political survival. The real challenge for the nation is to get Mnangagwa to step aside; after waiting for 34 years to be president he will certainly not want to step aside now!
As a nation we failed to get rid of Mugabe all these last three decades because we chose to see something positive in his rule although there never was as we can finally testify. There is really no reason to think Mnangagwa will do any better other than it is an excellent excuse for doing nothing about the nation's mountain of economic and political problems.
"With every passage of time things can be better in Zimbabwe," the ever optimism Ibbo Mabdaza tells us. Of course things can get better but never by wishing them so alone; we need to take ownership of our problems and do something to solve them. All Zimbabwe's political and economic problems are man-made and it is within our powers to solve them only we must put our backs into it!
Source - Wilbert Mukori
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