By Wibert Mukori| Long before war is declared and the first guns fired the body bags of the first casualties – the truth, always the truth – with start to mount. South Africa’s ANC government is fighting for its political survival and the truth is its first sacrificial lamb.

Successive ANC governments have ruled the country for the last 29 years and have fcuked up (pardon my French) big time. SA is now well on its way to become yet another failed Africa State, some people say it is a failed state already. 

South Africa’s economic meltdown is caused by gross mismanagement, on the one hand. The ANC government went for the vote-winning strategy of connecting more and more electricity consumers to the grid and neglected the less noticeable part of investing on the generation and transmission plant, for example. The chicken have finally come home to roost, the country is enduring wide-ranging electricity power cuts, emphatically euphemistically called load shed. The power shortage is so bad that even the country wealth generating mines and industries and essential services like hospital were switch off too! 

The major cause of SA’s economic meltdown is undoubtedly corruption. Everyone knows of the well documented “State Capture” by the Gupta Brothers with the connivance of former ANC President Jacob Zuma. A recent “Gold Mafia” Al Jazeera documentary reveal that Zimbabwe was losing a staggering US$1.6 billion per year to gold smugglers. Many South African citizens and institutions were named in the gold smuggling and/or money laundering. 

The ANC government has promised to end load shedding and stamp out corruption. Easier said than done!

South Africans are going to the poll next year and given the country’s history of holding free, fair and credible elections (Nelson Mandela’s legacy), the ANC government is worried sick the people will give the party the boot. 

President Cyril Ramaphosa and his ANC friends are particularly worried should the ongoing 2023 Zimbabwe elections should result in the Zanu PF regime being booted out of office. Zanu PF’s 43 years in power has been disastrous for Zimbabwe, so much so the country is a failed state – an undisputed a historic fact. The very fact that Zimbabweans have finally successful booted out Zanu PF will galvanise South Africans to want to do the same. 

If Zimbabwe was to notch up some significant economic recovery after booting out the corrupt, incompetent and tyrannical Zanu PF regime, this will turn the wave of ANC must go into an unstoppable tsunami! A modest economic recover is certainly possible given the seriousness of Zimbabwe’s economic meltdown today is not a far cry to that in 2008. The Zimbabwe economy recovered to register 12% growth rate in 2009 compared to the -ve 6% in 2008 following the formation of 2008 to 2013 GNU. 

The ANC government is engaged in a pre-emptive rearguard fight to stop regime change in Zimbabwe at all cost! 

In November last year the ANC resolved that the party will not allow the West to achieve regime change in Zimbabwe through its imposition of economic sanctions. And ever since, the party, particularly Secretary General Filike Mbalula has returned to this theme with passion boarding on hysteria. 

“Americans want regime change. Even here in Zimbabwe, Mbeki stood firm. They wanted Mugabe to be change over night and then the attack us on quite diplomas. American can move in the afternoon and by dinner time Mugabe would be finished.” SG Mbalula told ANC Western Cape 9th Provincial Conference on Friday 23 June 2023. 

“We do not subscribe to regime change policy. That government must be change willy-nilly through undemocratic means, through military power. We opposite the sanction and said these sanctions against Zimbabwe will be detrimental the economic growth of that country.” 

Zanu PF has never ever held free, fair and credible elections since the country’s independence in 1980 and ANC leaders know that. In the watershed 2008 elections the Zanu PF blatant cheating and wanton violence were so outrageous that even AU and SADC, who had turned a blind-eye to Zanu PF vote rigging could not do so then. It was none other than SADC leaders themselves who forced Zanu PF to agree to the need for the country to implement democratic reforms to ensure free and fair elections. 

It is a great tragedy that the 2008 to 2013 GNU whose primary task was to implement the democratic reforms failed to implement even one token reform. And so the Zanu PF regime emerge out of the GNU with all its dictatorial powers untouched include the power to rig elections. Zanu PF rigged the 2013 and 2018 elections and, in similar fashion, is rigging these 2023 elections. 

It is nonsensical that SG Mbalula should object to undemocratic regime change as a matter of principle when he knows the regime ANC is protecting rigged the elections and therefore, per se, is politically illegitimate in the first place. 

Zimbabwe was already in serious economic trouble as evidenced by the country adopting the two, 1990 to 94 and 1995 to 99, five-year Economic Structural Adjustment Programmes (ESAP), meant to revive the flagging economy. The much hoped for revival never happened. In 1999 the WB, IMF and most Western country related financial institution stopped giving Zimbabwe any financial assistance because the country was failing to service its debts much less repay them. This all happened well before the sanctions which were imposed in 2001. 

The root causes of Zimbabwe’s economic ruin are gross mismanagement, rampant corruption and brazen lawlessness such as the seizure of white owned farms to give to party loyalists. Zanu PF has enjoyed absolute power these last 43 years because the party rigs elections, giving these problem time to spread and grow. 

Zimbabwe is a failed state for the same reasons SA has been marching relentless toward the same goal – mismanagement, corruption and lawless. Zimbabwe had a 14 year head start and no restrain forces thanks to the dictatorial powers to rig elections and claim absolute power. 

The sanctions’ contribution to Zimbabwe’s economic meltdown is very small. Zanu PF propaganda has made sanctions a mountain out of a mole-hill. 

What Zimbabwe needs to get out of this economic and political mess is implement the democratic reforms and thus cure the nation of the curse of rigged elections and bad governance. 

The sanctions’ contribution to Zimbabwe’s economic meltdown is very small. Zanu PF propaganda has made sanctions a mountain out of a mole-hill. It is totally unacceptable that this ANC government should seek to impose this failed Zanu PF dictatorship on Zimbabwe under the pretext fighting the Americans’ sanction initiated regime change agenda. 

“Mnangagwa conducted a coup d’etat and removed Mugabe. He implemented some reforms. And still not satisfied until they get their puppet into power, they will never be satisfied. They want Chamisa or is it chancer!” ranted on ANC SG Mbalula.

The military coup was just musical chairs game, no one expected it to produce any meaningful economic changes much less grand political changes such as free and fair elections. No one, that is except SG Mbalula.  

This ANC regime is hell bent on keeping this corrupt and tyrannical Zanu PF dictatorship in power against the democratic wishes of the people of Zimbabwe. 

The tragic reality for Zimbabwe is both Zanu PF and the CCC do not care about democracy, free and fair elections and good governance. All they care about is power and will use all means democratic or otherwise to secure it. Zanu PF will never implement the reforms to ensure free and fair elections; the party knows it’s 43 years in power was only possible because it rigged elections. Zanu PF will never reform itself out of power. 

Nelson Chamisa and his MDC/CCC friends wasted the golden opportunity to implement reforms during the 2008 to 2013 GNU  because they were corrupt and breathtakingly incompetent. They have since given up all hope to implement reforms and settled for a share of the spoils of power because there are still to this day corrupt and breathtakingly competent. 

“If the elections are so flawed and illegal, then why are Zimbabwe’s opposition leaders participating in these elections in droves?” Mnangagwa has often argued. Of course, he has a point. Meanwhile he has increased the benefits of winning the few gravy train seats on offer to entice the opposition to participate in these flawed elections. 

Since 2013 SADC leaders too have used the opposition’s greed as an excuse to grant Zanu PF legitimacy. And ANC will be banking on the same excuse to get the regional body to once again grant Zanu PF legitimacy and thus unwittingly deliver ANC’s objective of no regime change in Zimbabwe. 

The real big losers here are the ordinary Zimbabweans who have paid dearly all these years for the reality of Zimbabwe as a failed state. Another five more years of this chaos, economic meltdown and hopelessness is unthinkable. But with Zanu PF, CCC and now ANC working to perpetuate the Zanu PF dictatorship, it is fait accompli!

SA is the regional superpower but still that does not give ANC the right to usurp the people of Zimbabwe’s right to decide who governs Zimbabwe! The last thing we want is another Russia in our neighbourhood!