By Nomusa Garikai- The Greeks all those 2 500 years ago appreciated the importance of educated and diligent citizens for democracy, government of the people, for the people and by the people, to work; and hence the reason they put so much emphasis on safeguarding freedom of expression.
It is no secret that Zimbabwe’s dominant public media is but an arm of Zanu PF’s propaganda department in all but name whose sole purpose has been to brainwash the people. Any hope of the small private media taking up the challenge of educating the people has been dashed the regime’s open hostility to stifle freedom of expression and, it must be, said by the mediocracy of staff in the private media.
“Charamba’s statement ‘Military won’t hand over power’ implies that the country was liberated by Zanu-PF and it solely belongs to Zanu-PF and that holding the 2023 elections is a waste of time and resources because it is a foregone conclusion,” reported Newsday.
“The remarks also indicate where the centre of power lies and that the army decides who rules Zimbabwe regardless of the election result, which is exactly what happened in 2008 when Zanu-PF refused to hand over power and reluctantly shared it with MDC.
“It is, therefore, not clear, whether it makes sense to hold elections in 2023 considering that people like Charamba openly tell the nation that our vote does not matter.”
Oh! For Pete’s sake!
The 2008 elections were a watershed election in that they proved beyond all doubt that it was futile to expect the country’s elections to be free, fair and credible whilst Zanu PF retained such a strangle hold on the nation’s key institution such as ZEC, Police, CIO and Army. SADC leaders realised this and forced Robert Mugabe to agree to the implementation of a raft of democratic reforms.
The primary task of the GNU was to implement the reforms. The task of implementing the reforms fell to Morgan Tsvangirai and his MDC friends. Mugabe bribed the MDC leaders with the trappings of high office and for the next five years not even the nagging by
SADC leaders could get Tsvangirai and company to implement even one token reform.
For anyone therefore to still be asking “whether it makes sense to hold elections in 2023”, knowing fully well that not even one reform has been implemented and Zanu PF still enjoys all its dictatorial powers; only goes to show he/she has no clue what the GNU was about even now with all the benefit of hindsight!
Worst of all, that the clueless individual is a full-time private media reporter; the very people entrusted the responsible to enlighten the brainwashed public!
“MDC Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa is fighting for democracy, like what the late former President Robert Mugabe fought for (although he deviated from the ethos of the struggle) against the Rhodesian regime. Therefore, Charamba should not instil fear in Chamisa’s backers,” continued Newsday.
This is just rubbish! Nelson Chamisa and his fellow MDC were in the 2008 to 2013 GNU, he was one of the MDC-T Ministers for crying out loud, and, just like the rest of the MDC leaders, had his snout in the feeding trough and failed no propose even one reform in five years.
Without doubt, the raft of democratic reforms agreed in the 2008 Global Political Agreement that gave birth to the GNU was Zimbabwe’s golden opportunity to dismantle the oppressive and omnipresent Zanu PF dictatorship, our get out of jail card.
Chamisa et all failed to use the card for five years of the GNU life. Of course, it is nonsense to suggest that Chamisa and company were still “fighting for democracy” by failing to implement even one reform.
SADC leaders are on record begging both Zanu PF and MDC leaders to postpone the 2013 elections until reforms are implemented. “If you go into the elections next month, you will lose,” they warned Morgan Tsvangirai and his MDC friends.
“The elections are done!”
MDC leaders and their fanatical supporters did not listen and hence the reason why the nation is still stuck with the corrupt and tyrannical Zanu PF dictatorship. By participating in these flawed and illegal elections MDC is giving the vote rigging Zanu PF legitimacy. This is insane and must be stopped!
The 2013 elections should have never gone ahead without first implementing the democratic reforms, it really is unbelievable that ten years later 2023 there will be anyone foolish enough participate in any more elections just to give Zanu PF legitimacy!