Opinion / Columnist
Mnangagwa has reclaimed Harare's 'Sunshine City' status, said mayor Mafume. Dumb and stupid singing for his supper
2 hrs ago | Views
"Usa kangamwa chezuro nehope!" so goes the Shona adage, warning of the dangers of a selective memory. Zimbabweans have a very selective memory, they see only what they want to see and ignore the rest.
Harare's Mayor, Jacob Mafume, went town and back again in praising Mnangagwa and his so-called Second Republic achievements, New Parliament Building, the world class International Airport, Mbudzi Interchange, etc. What the Mayor forgot to say is rot and decay not just in Harare but in the whole country.
Did the nation really need a new glamorous Parliament Building when all the country top five referral hospitals are in a dilapidated state after decades of neglect and under investment?
It is ironic that the drivers who collected the SADC Heads of State from the airport to the new Parliament Building where the August Summit was held, were instructed to follow a predetermined route. The regime was so fastidious because all the other roads have potholes and the regime did not want the visitors to see that!
The greatest disappointment of the Second Republic is the failure to deliver any meaningful political rights including the right to free, fair and credible elections. After the November 2017 military coup, Mnangagwa promised to hold free, fair and credible elections. He went on to blatantly rig the 2018 and then 2023 elections.
The other day the Minister of Finance, Professor Mthuli Ncube, had to abandon his national budget presentation when the whole complex lost power supply. Everyone, including Mnangagwa, was forced to leave. Even here, the citadel of the ruling elite, was not spaced the nation wide ZESA black out.
During the 2008 to 2013 Zimbabwe had the golden opportunity to implement the democratic reforms and dismantle the Zanu PF one-party dictatorship once and for all. Alas! Morgan Tsvangirai and his MDC friends was distracted by the trinkets of high office, the E-Class Mercedes Benz limos, the generous salaries and allowances, the US$4 million mansion for Save himself, etc. And, with their snouts in the feeding trough, they completely forgot about implementing the reforms.
Zimbabwe is a pariah state, ruled by corrupt, incompetent and tyrannical thugs who have been in power these last 44 years only because they rig elections. And as long as Zimbabwe remains a pariah state there will be no meaningful economic recovery, the rot and decay that started soon after independence in 1980 will continue.
The millions of Harare residents faced with daily trial and tribulation of no water, no electricity, sewage overflowing into the street, collapsed health and education services, etc. have no such illusions. They know this is the epitome of hell on earth, they have lived, seen and known it everyday for 44 years and counting. Mnangagwa and his Second Republic has delivered no change other than change of name.
Mnangagwa is reclaiming Harare's pre-independence "Sunshine city" glory, says Mayor Mafume! No one can be that blind and stupid, he is just one more opposition leader singing for his supper!
There will be no transformative change in Zimbabwe without first restoring the people's fundamental right to a meaningful say in the governance of the country. None!
"Seek ye first the political kingdom and all things shall be added unto you," said Dr Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana's first post independence President. He was right!
Harare's Mayor, Jacob Mafume, went town and back again in praising Mnangagwa and his so-called Second Republic achievements, New Parliament Building, the world class International Airport, Mbudzi Interchange, etc. What the Mayor forgot to say is rot and decay not just in Harare but in the whole country.
Did the nation really need a new glamorous Parliament Building when all the country top five referral hospitals are in a dilapidated state after decades of neglect and under investment?
It is ironic that the drivers who collected the SADC Heads of State from the airport to the new Parliament Building where the August Summit was held, were instructed to follow a predetermined route. The regime was so fastidious because all the other roads have potholes and the regime did not want the visitors to see that!
The greatest disappointment of the Second Republic is the failure to deliver any meaningful political rights including the right to free, fair and credible elections. After the November 2017 military coup, Mnangagwa promised to hold free, fair and credible elections. He went on to blatantly rig the 2018 and then 2023 elections.
The other day the Minister of Finance, Professor Mthuli Ncube, had to abandon his national budget presentation when the whole complex lost power supply. Everyone, including Mnangagwa, was forced to leave. Even here, the citadel of the ruling elite, was not spaced the nation wide ZESA black out.
During the 2008 to 2013 Zimbabwe had the golden opportunity to implement the democratic reforms and dismantle the Zanu PF one-party dictatorship once and for all. Alas! Morgan Tsvangirai and his MDC friends was distracted by the trinkets of high office, the E-Class Mercedes Benz limos, the generous salaries and allowances, the US$4 million mansion for Save himself, etc. And, with their snouts in the feeding trough, they completely forgot about implementing the reforms.
Zimbabwe is a pariah state, ruled by corrupt, incompetent and tyrannical thugs who have been in power these last 44 years only because they rig elections. And as long as Zimbabwe remains a pariah state there will be no meaningful economic recovery, the rot and decay that started soon after independence in 1980 will continue.
The millions of Harare residents faced with daily trial and tribulation of no water, no electricity, sewage overflowing into the street, collapsed health and education services, etc. have no such illusions. They know this is the epitome of hell on earth, they have lived, seen and known it everyday for 44 years and counting. Mnangagwa and his Second Republic has delivered no change other than change of name.
Mnangagwa is reclaiming Harare's pre-independence "Sunshine city" glory, says Mayor Mafume! No one can be that blind and stupid, he is just one more opposition leader singing for his supper!
There will be no transformative change in Zimbabwe without first restoring the people's fundamental right to a meaningful say in the governance of the country. None!
"Seek ye first the political kingdom and all things shall be added unto you," said Dr Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana's first post independence President. He was right!
Source - zimbabwelight.blogspot.com
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