Poor, poor Mnangagwa! His speech, to an all but empty national stadium to mark the climax of the anti-sanctions, was full of the same old lies.
The sanctions are not UN sanctions nor are the nations who imposed the sanctions forcing other nations to join in. These are sanctions imposed by individual nations and it is therefore nonsensical to call the “illegal”. Surely individual nations have a right to decide which individual or nation they will do business with.
He went to town to explain why sanctions were the root cause of the country’s economic meltdown. Again all lies!
“The Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act (ZIDERA) was passed in 2001, which saw our country being denied access to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the World Bank (WB) development finance and credit facilities. ZIDERA works in conjunction with the US Executive Orders which are renewed yearly and prohibit Zimbabwean entities and individuals from doing any business with the United States of America,” said Mnangagwa.
He is conveniently ignoring the fact that IMF and WB had stopped giving Zimbabwe any financial and credit facilities in 2000 because the country had failed to service its debts, long before ZIDERA was enacted. Indeed, other than clear its debt with IMF, Zimbabwe has still to clear its debts with WB, Africa Development Bank and many other financial institutions.
There was nothing to stop Zimbabwe seeking financial assistance from other nations like China, Japan, etc. and, indeed, Mugabe did so with his “Look East” policy. China did give Zimbabwe a lot of financial assistance but this too soon stopped! Why?
“Nǐ bùyòng huánzhài!” (You don’t pay your debt!)
The Chinese told Mugabe to his face on one occasion, according to Patrick Chinamasa then Minister of Finance.
“Under the Second Republic, we the people of Zimbabwe, on our own volition and for our own benefit, have taken conscious and deliberate decision to reform our political and economic systems,” said Mnangagwa.
“We are opening up both or political and economic space. Under my leadership, constitutionalism, democracy, rule of law, transparency, accountability and the inalienable human rights of all citizens, shall continue to be the hallmark of our great country.”
So this was a tacit admission that under the Mugabe “First Republic” Zanu PF had closed political and economic space. It should be noted that Mnangagwa and the same gang in power today were Mugabe’s henchmen per excellence!
In 2008 the Join Operation Command; a junta comprising the top brass in Police, Army, CIO and Prison Services and a select few Zanu PF leaders led by Mnangagwa himself; forced ZEC to cook up the March 2008 election results to deny MDC electoral victory. And in the run-off the junta orchestrated a campaign of wanton violence to force the Zimbabweans to vote for Mugabe.
It was the same junta minus a few top brass in the Police and CIO who were Mugabe supporters that stage the November 2017 coup. They went on to blatantly rig last year’s elections. Anyone with any brain said this was going to happen; these thugs were not going to risk life and limb to wrestle power from Mugabe only to risk losing it again in free, fair and credible elections.
There is no democratic space under this Second Republic just as there was no such space during the Mugabe era. Other than the replacement of Mugabe with Mnangagwa nothing else has change; Zanu PF is still the same party of corrupt, incompetent, vote rigging and murderous thugs.
Zimbabwe is still a pariah state and the economic meltdown of Mugabe days is still there because, as before, it is near impossible to do business in a pariah state.
When Mnangagwa rigged last year’s election he was cocksure he would deliver economic recovery too. His “Zimbabwe is open for business!” has had no takers. His newly appointed Minister of Finance. Professor Mthuli Ncube, promised to get IMF, WB and other institutions to bankroll Zimbabwe’s economic recover; that too has not happened for reasons stated above.
The country’s worsening economic situation is putting this Zanu PF regime under great pressure to end the country’s pariah state and bad governance culture. The sanctions adding the pressure on the regime to embrace meaningful democratic change and hence the reason most Zimbabweans want the sanction to stay.
Indeed, the sanctions should be extended to include sell-outs like Finance Minister Ncube and Minister Coventry who have joined the regime knowing fully well it is illegitimate.
“Today, we arise and collectively say: Enough is Enough! The illegal sanctions are an albatross to the development, well-being and prosperity of the people of Zimbabwe. SANCTIONS MUST GO — REMOVE THEM NOW.” Thundered Mnangagwa to an empty stadium. Zimbabweans voted with their feet - they do not agree that sanctions should go.
The albatross round the nation’s neck in none other than this corrupt, incompetent and murderous Zanu PF dictatorship that has remain in power for 39 years but only because it rigs elections!
By Jeff Kurai Chakanyuka
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