By Nomusa Garikai- “The national army is a people’s army. Citizens have a duty to correct delinquent characters whose misconceived and misbegotten view seeks to reduce a people’s military into a militia of a political party,” Nelson Chamisa, leader of MDC Alliance, to New Zimbabwe.
“Those utterances are not only a source of national instability and threat to national security but also earn the country a banana republic and pariah status.”
Chamisa was responding to Patrick Chinamasa, Acting Zanu PF National Commissar, who was boasting that the bond Zanu PF and Zimbabwe Defence Force (ZDF) was “unbreakable”. We all know that the army has played a key role in the rigging of elections to keep Zanu PF in power notably in the 2008 elections and the 2017 military coup to topple the late dictator Robert Mugabe.
The people of Zimbabwe have risked life and limb to elect Chamisa and his MDC friends into power on the understanding they would implement the democratic reforms necessary to end Zanu PF’s strangle hold on ZDF, Police, ZEC, Judiciary and all the other state institutions. It was for you, Mr Chamisa, and your fellow MDC friends to propose the democratic reforms to break the unholy Zanu PF – ZDF, Zanu PF- Police, etc. bonds during the 2008 to 2013 GNU when you had the best chance ever to do so. MDC leaders failed to implement even one reform in five years of the GNU.
The tragic reality is not only did Nelson Chamisa and his fellow MDC friends waste the golden opportunity of the GNU to implement the democratic reforms but, worst of all, they will never ever get any reforms implemented in the future even if they were given another golden opportunity to do so because they have no clue what these reforms are, how they should be implemented and by whom!
Chamisa is expecting the people to “correct” Chinamasa and his fellow Zanu PF thugs and break the Zanu PF – ZDF bond. He does not say what it is exactly the people are expected to do or say much less how these action will end Zanu PF’s strangle hold on the Army and all the other corrupt state institutions under the regime’s spell.
The last 41 years of Zanu PF gross mismanagement, rampant corruption and rank lawlessness have left Zimbabwe in economic ruins and political paralysis – stuck with a vote rigging corrupt and tyrannical ruling party, on the one hand, and on the other, an equally corrupt and incompetent opposition that does not even have the common sense as how to end the dictatorship. The economic situation is now so bad basic services such as education and health care have completely collapsed and 49% of the population now live in abject poverty. The situation is socially, economically and politically unsustainable; we need to implement the democratic reforms, they are the prerequisite for meaningful political and economic change, as a matter of great urgency.
Just because Nelson Chamisa and his MDC friends have failed to implement even one reform in 21 years does not mean no one else can do it. We need to find the men and women who will implement the reforms a.s.a.p.
MDC leaders have failed to implement even one democratic reform these last 21 years because they have never understood what the reforms are much less who should implement them. This is a cold political reality many Zimbabweans have been slow to accept as shown by the number of people who continue to follow Chamisa et al and participate in these flawed and illegal elections. Like it or not, by participating Zimbabweans are giving legitimacy to the vote rigging Zanu PF; this is insane and we must stop the madness.
“Citizens have a duty to correct delinquent Zanu PF leaders!” So now it is the citizens’ “duty to correct” Zanu PF thugs, deliver the democratic changes and we will all live happily ever after! No wonder MDC leaders have failed to implement even one reform in 21 years; they have been waiting for povo to implement the reforms!