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Rhodesian days are back in Zimbabwe

16 Aug 2019 at 10:40hrs | Views
This is a litmus test for democracy. We have prophets of doom who have already forseen the negativity of holding a peaceful demonstration.

The rule of law must be observed and it is the duty of all police officers to protect the demonstrators and make sure that they maintain peace and order. The security forces must refuse to be cajoled by politicians.

In a democratic society people are allowed to express their grievances in whatever way they feel like as long as their ways are within the confines of the constitutional law. President Emmerson Mnangagwa's mantra "Zimbabwe is open for business" ,  should not also block the tenets of democracy.

We have people like Victor Matemadanda who quickly forgot that during Mugabe 's era he got arrested several times and unfortunately want to apply the same controversial unfounded tactics on the opposition. His utterances do not augur well in a new democratic state. It actually demoralise the true spirit of the so called new dispensation.  Shame to Victor Matemadanda.

There is currently an economic meltdown where the ruling party has contributed through rampant corruption.The inflation is already hitting and hovering at above 560%. There is no quality governance and no respect of the constitution. We have a plethora of challenges caused by this incompetent government.

Zimbabweans are tired of Zanu-PF 's  empty promises. All the mega deals which we have heard being signed have failed to take off. From January 2018  to August 2019 President Emmerson Mnangagwa was talking and putting his signature on mega deals but without any fruition of even a single project. It was all  about commissioning Zupco buses as if people feed on buses.

People are tired of bad governance and are not sure where exactly the country is going. The demonstrations are there to express the lack of commitment to reforms as per Motlanthe recommendations. We have of late seen and witnessed a number of civil society,  political activists being intimidated, abducted, assaulted, and tortured of civil society and political leaders of opposition who are ready to participate on the planned march.

The Government of Zimbabwe must be committed to political reforms and be in a position to implement economic and political reforms. The challenges which we are currently facing emanated from lack of commitment by the ruling party to quickly implement them.

The ruling party knows very much that such reforms will catapult and eject them out of power hence this resistance.

The ongoing polarization in Zimbabwean society, leaves a lot to be desired. We are now back into Mugabe 's era where the rule of law, human rights are abused by the state  The Motlanthe Commission exposed how the people have been abused and tortured by state machinery. The majority of the people will not taste a more prosperous and successful Zimbabwe under a military rule.

As I was listening to Star FM and analysing their news bulletin and social comments on the MDC-ALLIANCE demo. It was so pathetic that there was no balance reporting. 97% was dedicated to comments demonising the march. The problem with our media is the selective broadcasting that suits their narrative and want the whole country to believe in them. Our media is under siege and captured. Broadcasting should be objective, holistic and pragmatic and not supporting what is viewed negatively.

Surely a country cannot move in the right direction through such skewed media coverage. It is now clear that President Emmerson Mnangagwa is just a ceremonial President and  that Zimbabwe is now officially under military lock down.


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Facebook   -  Leonard Koni
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Email           - konileonard606@gmail.com

Source - Leonard Koni
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