By Patrick Guramatunhu| “I told (President) Mbeki that we have a platform for political dialogue which is Political Actors Dialogue (POLAD). It is the only one that we will use.

If anyone wants to join including the MDC led by Chamisa, they are welcome to do so,” said President Emerson Mnangagwa.

This reminded me of You Tube video of this little girl who asked for Ice Bucket Challenge. When some one obliged and emptied an bucket of ice cold water on her, the response was heartfelt swearing. Hilarious! 

Last week UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, was beside himself with joy for winning the British elections with a “thumping majority”.

The Conservatives won 365 seats in a 650 seats House of Commons; that is 39 seats past the 326 for a clear majority. 

PM Theresa May, Boris’ successor in the famous 10 Downing Street, had 318 and was compelled to go into a coalition arrangement with the Northern Ireland’s DUP with its 10 MPs just to give her government the 2 parliamentary votes for a simple majority.

Even then, the DUP did not always vote with the Conservatives hence the reason her Brexit proposals were rejected again and again. Theresa May was hamstrung! 

With 39 seats past the simple majority, PM Boris Johnson, knows his government can govern without reference to an other political support. 

With his more that 2/3 majority in parliament President Mnangagwa  had comfortably carryout all his day to day business which require a simple majority vote. He can also carryout the more demanding tasks such as changing the constitution where he must get 2/3 majority to pass. 

Indeed, Mnangagwa has already started abusing his 2/3 parliamentary majority to change the constitution in ways designed to consolidate his presidential powers at the expense of the other democratic institutions such as the judiciary and parliament. 

So why President Mnangagwa is going out of his way to woo all the country’s opposition parties, even parties with not even one council seat much less an MP, with this POLAD is, at first sight, hilarious. Is he like the little girl asking for the ice bucket challenge; is he negotiating with these not aware he does not their support to govern!

A closer examination of the facts reveals the sinister intentions behind Mnangagwa to corral all Zimbabwe’s opposition into POLAD. It is now nearly a year and a half since Mnangagwa was sworn in as president of Zimbabwe and all the confidence and novelty of the new broom sweeping clean has worn off. 

His “Zimbabwe is open for business!” mantra which he was so cocksure will open the floodgate of investors has failed to attract any one. 

By failing to stamp out corruption and blatantly rigging last year’s elections Mnangagwa has confirmed that Zimbabwe is still a pariah state ruled by corrupt, incompetent and vote rigging thugs; same as the Mugabe days, nothing has changed. Investors do not do business with thugs, Mnangagwa should have known that from his days as Mugabe’s henchman. 

There are two reasons Mnangagwa is determined to get Nelson Chamisa to join POLAD:

1. Whilst PM Boris Johnson knows exactly what he has to do to “Get Brexit done!”, for example; the same cannot be said of President Mnangagwa. Of course, Mnangagwa would like to end Zimbabwe’s worsening economic meltdown, he has no clue how to do it. He knows that, if he does not do something to stop the economic rot, his strangle hold on power is becoming increasingly tenuous. 

Mnangagwa is hoping against hope that the opposition leaders in POLAD will come up with the solutions to the country’s serious economic problems, especial Chamisa who has said he has the key to getting the sanctions lifted and economic recovery.

1. Given Zimbabwe will remain a pariah state with or without POLAD, it is almost certain there will be no meaning economic recovery. Mnangagwa’s plan B is to use POLAD to silence the opposition voices and to keep the threatened public demonstration off the streets. 

“It’s probably better to have him inside the tent pissing out than outside the tent pissing in,” said USA President Lyndon Johnson in 1971 of a dangerous rival. 

Zimbabwe is in this economic and political mess because the country has been stuck with the same corrupt, incompetent and murderous thugs for the last 39 years; they rigged the elections and thus deny the people the chance to remove them from power.

POLAD is Mnangagwa’s insurance that he remains in office until 2023, that no meaningful reforms are implemented and Zanu PF will once again rig the elections.

Mnangagwa has no clue what to do to revive the nation’s ruined economy but we must not underestimate his resolve to retain political power regardless.

Zanu PF has rigged elections for the last 39 years and got away with it, the real challenge, ice bucket challenge, is to make sure Zanu PF does not get away with it this time. 

If Mnangagwa has his POLAD then he would certainly get away with yet another rigged elections; he would be throwing a bucket of acid, not icy water, on us! It will be sheer folly on our part to let him do that!