By Nomusa Garikai| “President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s top ally, South African leader, Cyril Ramaphosa’s government is working to raise about US$2,2 billion, together with France and Japan as a financial lifeline for Mnangagwa’s broke administration,” reported Spotlight Zimbabwe.

The root cause of Zimbabwe’s economic problems is bad governance, chronic bad governance at that; the people of Zimbabwe have ignored this problem for the last 38 years and have paid dearly for it. There has been a growing awareness amongst the people of Zimbabwe of the need to deal with this problem. The last thing the nation wants is some filthy rich outsiders with money to waste undermining the people’s drive for democratic change by bankrolling the illegitimate Zanu PF dictatorship!

Mnangagwa and his Zanu PF thugs have rigged elections for the last 38 years and this is the elephant in the room in Zimbabwe. The regime must be told in no uncertain terms that it has no mandate to govern and therefore must step down. Period!

It is a great pity that SADC leaders, notably SA’s President Cyril Ramaphosa, have abandoned the regional grouping’s position until 2013 demanding that Zimbabwe must not hold elections without first implement the democratic reforms designed to stop Zanu PF rigging the elections. There were no reforms implemented before the 2018 elections. Zanu PF blatantly rigged last year’s elections. ZEC failed to produce something as basic as a verified voters’ roll, for Pete’s sake! How someone like President Ramaphosa can ever endorse such a flawed and illegal electoral process beggars belief!

There is no chance of Zimbabwe ever registering any meaningful economic recovery whilst the country remains a pariah state governed by corrupt and

vote rigging thugs. No investors want to do business with in pariah states; we know this already. The argument that the consortium will pressure the Mnangagwa regime to implement meaningful democratic reforms as a condition for the bailout is a nonsense.

The American went to great lengths to explain to Mnangagwa what he needed to do to ensure last year’s elections were free, fair and credible for them to lift the economic sanctions. Indeed, if last year’s elections had been free and fair the country would not need this bailout! Mnangagwa did not implement any of the reforms the Americans called for because he did not want to risk losing power in a free and fair election.

It is naïve, to say the least, for SA, France and Japan to think their $2.2 billion bailout will entice Mnangagwa to give up Zanu PF’s dictatorial powers including the carte blanche powers to rig elections.

The only “reforms” Zanu PF is certain to implement in the coming months are the reforms to make it even more difficult for the opposition leaders to boycott the elections regardless for flawed and illegal the process got.

“The worst aspect for me about the failure to agree a coalition was that both MDCs couldn’t now do the obvious – withdraw from the elections,” admitted David Coltart, a leading MDC member, in his book.

“The electoral process was so flawed, so illegal, that the only logical step was to withdraw, which would compel SADC to hold Zanu PF to account. But such was the distrust between the MDC-T and MDC-N that neither could withdraw for fear that the other would remain in the elections, winning seats and giving the process credibility.”

Coltart was explaining why the two MDC factions had participated in the 2013 elections even though they had been warned by SADC and others that the elections were be rigged.

Mugabe, Mnangagwa and the Zanu PF leaders knew that as long as the Zanu PF allowed the opposition members to win a few gravy train seats the opposition will never boycott the elections. Indeed, Chamisa acknowledged

Tsvangirai’s “stupidity in contesting the 2013 elections without a verified voters’ roll”. Only for him to make the same stupid mistake in 2018!

Mnangagwa will be amending the constitution to create the post of official opposition leader and shadow ministers complete with ministerial limos, generous salaries and allowances, etc. Zimbabwe’s opposition members do not care that the elections are not free, fair and credible as long as they have a chance of winning the scraps Zanu PF is giving away!

Rewarding Zanu PF with absolute power for rigging elections was a big mistake because the party now believes it has the right to rig elections. 38 years of corrupt and tyrannical rule has destroyed Zimbabwe’s once promising economy leaving millions of our people living in abject poverty. Yes Zimbabwe needs financial help to kick start its comatose economy but no amount of money will change anything until the nation first deals with the problem of rigged elections and bad governance.

What Zimbabwe needs is a chance to implement the democratic reforms designed to end the oppressive de facto one-party dictatorship, end the curse of rigged elections and pariah state.

Whilst the ordinary Zimbabweans are doing everything possible to force Zanu PF to step down, many have been beaten, raped and even shot dead for daring to protest Zanu PF’s continued misrule. It is most disheartening that their sacrifice is being undermined by nations who would never tolerate what Zanu PF has done in their own country. It is an insult that such nations should abuse their economic muscle and prop up an illegitimate regime only to extend Zanu PF’s corrupt and tyrannical rule to 2023 and beyond.

If Zanu PF is still in power in 2023 the regime will rig that year’s elections! The bailout is for Zanu PF and not the people of Zimbabwe.

Mnangagwa rigged last July’s elections, he is illegitimate and no amount of bailout can ever make him legitimate. Mnangagwa is not democratically accountable to the people of Zimbabwe for their tax, the looted national wealth, much less the $2.2 billion bailout. Is President Ramaphosa and his

friends in the consortium will have to hold Mangagwa to account and take the hit if the money is wasted!

The long suffering people of Zimbabwe have been denied the democratic say in who governed the country; surely that must be a key consideration in deciding whether the country gets the $2.2 billion bailout or not. Why does SA, France and Japan respect their own nationals’ democratic freedoms and rights but are treating the aspirations of Zimbabweans for the same freedoms and rights with contemptuous indifference? This is so infuriating! – zsdemocrats.blogspot.com