Zimbabwe's Political and Economic Meltdown

Zimbabwe is in serious trouble already with unemployment at the dizzying heights of 90%, basic services such as clean running water and health all but collapsed and 75% of our people living on US$1.00 or less a day. The whole nation was hoping that the recent elections will mark a point of departure from the chaos of the past, it has instead confirmed that the Zanu PF lunatics are still in charge. As usual, they have no clue what they are doing but you would not know from all the silver-back gorilla posturing and chest-drumming.



As expected, Zanu PF has gone on to blatantly rig these elections. Zanu PF denied 2 to 3 million Zimbabweans in the diaspora the vote for no better reason than that most of them support the opposition. The party used hand-outs and threats of beatings or worse from its proxies, Chiefs, rogue war veterans and the deployed 5 000 soldiers, to reduce rural voters to nothing more than serfs beholden to Zanu PF.



Materially, the people of Zimbabwe are poor, the poorest in Africa, but they are not poor mentally, at least not that stupid not to know that these Zanu PF thugs are corrupt and incompetent and that it is them who have destroyed the nation’s once promising economy. The only reason why Zanu PF has remained in power all these last 38 years is because the thugs cheat and even use wanton violence to make sure they win elections.



When President Mnangagwa promised to hold free, fair and credible elections, the whole nation held its breath and crossed its fingers in high hope. These would be the nation’s first such elections and thus marking a break from the nightmare of rigged elections and corrupt and tyrannical rule. President Mnangagwa did not keep his promise as he instituted the same vote rigging system that he, as Mugabe’s Chief Enforcer, had used all these years.



The people of Zimbabwe are devastated that Zanu PF blatantly rigged these elections, they know there will be no meaningful economic recovery because the same corrupt and incompetent thugs who landed the nation in this mess are back in charge.

After 38 years of rigged elections and the country sinking deeper and deeper into economic ruin the solution is as clear as daylight; to get out of this mess we must end this scourge of rigged elections. Tendai Biti is right to say this Zanu PF regime is illegitimate because it rigged the elections.



Zanu PF thugs must be told in no uncertain terms that they rigged the elections and therefore they are illegitimate and, per se, they must step aside to allow the country to deal with this scourge of vote rigging. All those giving President Mnangagwa and his junta an hope that they can somehow get way with yet another rigged elections are not being helpful, to say the least!

Zimbabwe is in serious economic and political trouble and it needs serious solutions and not the same failed platitudes that landed us in this mess in the first place.

 

By Jeff Kurai Chakanyuka