By Wilbert Mukori- Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expect a different result.
Zimbabwe is in this economic and political hell-on-earth because for the last 40 years the country has been stuck with a corrupt, incompetent and murderous Zanu PF dictatorship. Zanu PF has rigged the elections and again and again we, the people have allowed the party to govern regardless of its illegitimacy hoping against hope that this time it will be a competent.
Sadly, after 40 years there are some people who still seek to appease Zanu PF hoping against reason that the regime will put aside its dictatorial powers to become a model democracy.
Zimbabwe’s Council of Church are back again to their old song, calling on Zanu PF leader, Emmerson Mnangagwa, and MDC A leader, Nelson Chamisa “to find each other”!
“If you want to walk fast, walk alone. But if you want to walk far, walk with others.” argued ZCC advisory board member Bishop Ignatius Makumbe.
True, for the last 40 years the overwhelming majority of Zimbabweans have allowed Zanu PF to ride roughshod over them; to deny them their basic freedoms and rights including the right to a meaningful vote and even the right to life itself. And after 40 years look where “walking with others” has landed the nation – in this hell-on-earth.
Following a particularly obnoxious election in 2008, in which Zanu PF blatantly cheated and used wanton violence to win the elections, Zanu PF was forced by SADC to join MDC to form a GNU. The primary purpose of the GNU was to implement a raft of democratic reforms to stop the cheating and violence and thus end the curse of rigged elections and bad governance.
The leaders of the country’s main political parties did “find each other”, as Bishop Makumbe would put it in forming the 2008 to 2013 GNU. The country had more ministers, deputy ministers, governors, etc., etc.; more chiefs than Indians; and they all sat and enjoyed the trappings of high office. Sadly, that was all they did.
The GNU failed to implement even one token democratic reform in five years. Not even one!
With no reforms in place, Zanu PF was able to blatantly rig the 2018 elections and continue with its corrupt, incompetent and tyrannical rule and hence the reason are still stuck in this hell-on-earth.
Whilst there is a tacit acknowledgement by Bishop Makumbe and his ZCC colleagues that the Zanu PF dictatorship has been a disaster for the country, the reason why the country is stuck in this hell-on-earth. But instead of putting and end to the curse of rigged elections and bad governance the church leaders want to retain Zanu PF and hence the call for Zanu PF and MDC A leaders to find each other.
This is just foolish because the two party were in the 2008 to 2013 GNU that failed to implement even one reform. It is naive to believe the two parties will do any better given a second GNU.
After 40 years of appeasing Zanu PF by letting the party rig elections and stay in power regardless, 40 years of blundering from pillar to post dragging the nation deeper and deeper into abject poverty, hopelessness and despair; we have travelled far and fast. The real important question all these has not been how far or how fast we are traveling. It was and still is to this day: Where are we going?
In 1980 Zimbabwe produced enough food feed her own people with plenty left over to be the breadbasket of the region. The country had the potential to be the South Korea of Africa. “Zimbabwe is jewel of Africa, make sure you look after it,” the late Tanzania President, Julius Nyerere told Mugabe in 1980.
Nyerere’s wise words fell on deaf ears because Mugabe and his Zanu PF cronies have all but destroyed Zimbabwe. After 20 years of misrule Mugabe crowned it with the looting of the farms to give to his ever demanding but wasteful cronies. Ever since the country has relied on imported food aid, we are so poor we cannot even pay for it.
Zimbabweans are starving in a country that is for all practical purposes, the Biblical Garden of Eden; at least it was under white rule. A damning indictment of failed Zanu PF leadership.
In 40 years Zanu PF has turning a rich country with a promising future into a basket case Banana Republic, a pariah ruled by corrupt, incompetent, vote rigging and murderous thugs. All ZCC is proposing is that Zanu PF and MDC should “find each other” and continue down the same ruinous path Zanu PF has dragged the nation these last 40 years is the epitome of insanity.
For the last 40 years we have been travelling in the wrong direction. The right direction and only direction we should travel is one that will finally dismantle the Zanu PF dictatorship, end the curse of rigged elections and bad governance. Appeasing the Zanu PF dictatorship is what got us into this mess in the first place and to hope against reason that it would, even after 40 years, is insane.