Opinion / Columnist
Mugabe's feeble address fail to inspire hope - 'Zanu PF is rotten' will not help!
26 Aug 2015 at 02:22hrs | Views
President Robert Mugabe
Today, 25 August 2015, Mugabe presented his State Of The Nation Address (SONA) to parliament a very rare event; he gave the last one in 2007. It was short, 30 minutes long, but worse still it was a great disappointment because he said nothing about how his regime was going to end Zimbabwe's serious, urgent and worsening economic meltdown.
Ever since Mugabe rigged the 31st July 2013 national elections the national economy has taken a decided turn for the worse. Mugabe thought he could rig economic recovery with his very ambitious $27 billion (nearly three times the nation's national debt) ZimAsset plan and create 2.2 million jobs in five years, 2013 to 2018. He has since failed to get anyone, not even his "all weather friends" the Chinese to bankroll the plan. He has failed to create even one single job two years into the five years of the plan.
Indeed instead of creating more employment opportunities the nation has seen more and more companies closing down and throwing even more workers on the mountain of unemployed. In the clearest sign yet that the economic situation is getting decidedly worse; in the last month over 20 000 workers were laid off. There are more lay-offs in the pipeline. It was this wakeup call – so millions of Zimbabwe must have thought - that prompted Mugabe to finally get off his backside and do something to address this national economic crisis. The whole nation held its breath during the SONA; in expectation of a radical change of course to get the nation out of this hell!
Of course the nation was very disappointed and disgusted to hear Mugabe repeat the same old empty promises.
"This has seen government signing key projects with China, covering energy, railways and telecommunication, water, mining, agriculture, and tourism," Mugabe said at one point. He went to China last August and signed these "mega deals" but China has since refused to spend a single dollar on these projects until Zimbabwe pays the outstanding debt serving repayments on the $1.5 billion debt to China.
It was totally disheartening that Mugabe would gloss over the worsening economic meltdown to talk of "marginal recovery"!
"This man (Mugabe) must certainly be living in another planet!" remarked MDC-T's Luke Tamborinyoka.
In parliament MDC MPs greeted Mugabe's feeble speech; old age has definitely caught up with him although he continues strenuously trying to give the impression that he is "as fit as a fiddle"; with chants of "Zanu PF is rotten!" The futility of their chanting may have been lost of MDC politicians but not on the nation.
The national ship is heading straight for the dangerous rapids and the captain is shouting "Steady she goes!" with the ice cold indifference of one who has his rescue plan and does not care about the danger, suffering and even deaths of everyone else on the ship. During the GNU MDC leaders had the golden opportunity to stop Mugabe and Zanu PF rigging the elections and thus taking over control of the ship and they wasted that chance. And now with the ship tossing and turning dangerously in the swells and fast flowing flood; what comfort will the nation derive from knowing Zanu PF is rotten?
No Mr Tamborinyoka, Mugabe is living on this planet, and it was MDC leaders' breath-taking incompetence that allowed Mugabe to rig the 2013 elections and thus extend his stay in State House. And now the whole nation is paying dearly for MDC leaders' betrayal because having wasted the chance during the GNU to implement the reforms it God only knows what hell on earth the nation will face before we finally get another chance to end Mugabe's reign of terror.
"Opportunity is a haughty goddess who wastes no time with those who are unprepared," said George S Clason.
Zimbabwe had is best ever chances to end this Mugabe dictatorship during the GNU but in electing the corrupt and incompetent Tsvangirai et al to implement the reforms we showed that we were not yet ready for a democratic system of government. The plus side of the worsening economic meltdown is that it is forcing Mugabe to accept he has failed and thus creating the next chance for the nation to implement all the democratic reforms. One hopes that this time the haughty goddess will find us well prepared and ready for change!
We in the Zimbabwe Social Democrats believe Mugabe has wasted his last chance to save this nation from the consequences of total economic collapse and/or serious social unrest or worse. By refusing to accept that Zimbabwe's worsening economic meltdown is socially and politically unsustainable Mugabe has taken this nation past the point of no return. Pray the hours will not be many and that we will be spared too much suffering and deaths, for there is no doubt that we are now entering the darkest hours in our history.
Ever since Mugabe rigged the 31st July 2013 national elections the national economy has taken a decided turn for the worse. Mugabe thought he could rig economic recovery with his very ambitious $27 billion (nearly three times the nation's national debt) ZimAsset plan and create 2.2 million jobs in five years, 2013 to 2018. He has since failed to get anyone, not even his "all weather friends" the Chinese to bankroll the plan. He has failed to create even one single job two years into the five years of the plan.
Indeed instead of creating more employment opportunities the nation has seen more and more companies closing down and throwing even more workers on the mountain of unemployed. In the clearest sign yet that the economic situation is getting decidedly worse; in the last month over 20 000 workers were laid off. There are more lay-offs in the pipeline. It was this wakeup call – so millions of Zimbabwe must have thought - that prompted Mugabe to finally get off his backside and do something to address this national economic crisis. The whole nation held its breath during the SONA; in expectation of a radical change of course to get the nation out of this hell!
Of course the nation was very disappointed and disgusted to hear Mugabe repeat the same old empty promises.
"This has seen government signing key projects with China, covering energy, railways and telecommunication, water, mining, agriculture, and tourism," Mugabe said at one point. He went to China last August and signed these "mega deals" but China has since refused to spend a single dollar on these projects until Zimbabwe pays the outstanding debt serving repayments on the $1.5 billion debt to China.
It was totally disheartening that Mugabe would gloss over the worsening economic meltdown to talk of "marginal recovery"!
"This man (Mugabe) must certainly be living in another planet!" remarked MDC-T's Luke Tamborinyoka.
In parliament MDC MPs greeted Mugabe's feeble speech; old age has definitely caught up with him although he continues strenuously trying to give the impression that he is "as fit as a fiddle"; with chants of "Zanu PF is rotten!" The futility of their chanting may have been lost of MDC politicians but not on the nation.
The national ship is heading straight for the dangerous rapids and the captain is shouting "Steady she goes!" with the ice cold indifference of one who has his rescue plan and does not care about the danger, suffering and even deaths of everyone else on the ship. During the GNU MDC leaders had the golden opportunity to stop Mugabe and Zanu PF rigging the elections and thus taking over control of the ship and they wasted that chance. And now with the ship tossing and turning dangerously in the swells and fast flowing flood; what comfort will the nation derive from knowing Zanu PF is rotten?
No Mr Tamborinyoka, Mugabe is living on this planet, and it was MDC leaders' breath-taking incompetence that allowed Mugabe to rig the 2013 elections and thus extend his stay in State House. And now the whole nation is paying dearly for MDC leaders' betrayal because having wasted the chance during the GNU to implement the reforms it God only knows what hell on earth the nation will face before we finally get another chance to end Mugabe's reign of terror.
"Opportunity is a haughty goddess who wastes no time with those who are unprepared," said George S Clason.
Zimbabwe had is best ever chances to end this Mugabe dictatorship during the GNU but in electing the corrupt and incompetent Tsvangirai et al to implement the reforms we showed that we were not yet ready for a democratic system of government. The plus side of the worsening economic meltdown is that it is forcing Mugabe to accept he has failed and thus creating the next chance for the nation to implement all the democratic reforms. One hopes that this time the haughty goddess will find us well prepared and ready for change!
We in the Zimbabwe Social Democrats believe Mugabe has wasted his last chance to save this nation from the consequences of total economic collapse and/or serious social unrest or worse. By refusing to accept that Zimbabwe's worsening economic meltdown is socially and politically unsustainable Mugabe has taken this nation past the point of no return. Pray the hours will not be many and that we will be spared too much suffering and deaths, for there is no doubt that we are now entering the darkest hours in our history.
Source - Wilbert Mukori
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