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MDC on State of the GNU
Full text of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangira’s New Zimbabwe Lecture
Series speech delivered in Harare on Tuesday, February 15, 2011:
The purpose of tonight’s event is to mark the second anniversary of the
formation of the transitional government.
I think that it is appropriate that we mark this event rather than
celebrate it.
From the outset, it is important to state that the GPA sought to achieve
economic stability and growth in the country and to implement democratic
and Constitutional reforms that would pave way for free and fair
elections to restore the country to a legitimate government.
Today, my reflections will be centered on evaluating how far we have
gone in implementing the agreement that we signed and in charting a new
political direction for the country that we all love.
We implemented policies in the first months of the formation of this
government that brought about, and continue to bring, positive change to
the lives of all Zimbabweans.
But there is much more that the people of Zimbabwe demand and deserve in
terms of both service delivery and democratic reforms.
The rapid delivery in the early days of this administration was a direct
result of our positive impact in this government. We managed to mitigate
the appalling situation in which our nation found itself after a decade
of failed policies and violent repression of the people’s will.
We showed what a committed people can do.
But we have had our own frustrations arising mainly from the deliberate
stalling of key reforms that would have set the base for a new and
democratic Zimbabwe that is ready to take its rightful place among the
family of nations.
From the stabilization of the economy to breathing life into our schools
and hospitals, the advantage of the transitional arrangement over the
previous regime has been clear for all to see.
Over and above this, the past year did see some modest gains in delivery
to the people.
The largest single investment in the education sector since independence
saw the distribution of 13 million textbooks to all the 5 575 primary
schools ensuring that every primary pupil will have access to textbooks.
The end of 2010 saw the economy poised for a growth of 8,1 percent after
we spent the previous 24 months concentrating on stabilizing the
economy.
The Ministry of Economic Planning and Development opened a one-stop shop
that will enable prospective investors to have their papers processed
under one roof in less than 48 hours so that we create jobs and expand
our economy.
Significant work has already begun to rehabilitate national
infrastructure. The dualisation of some major roads, the fibre-optic
link to Mutare and the commitment of resources through the fiscus for
major dams such as Mtshabezi is a departure from mere lip-service that
has been paid to some of these national projects over the years.
In addition, the constituency development fund, where each constituency
will receive $50 000, means that for the first time, parliamentarians
will have a chance to embark on major projects with the direct input of
their constituents.
Ladies and Gentlemen, despite the above-mentioned deliverables, the test
of any administration is in its ability to provide continuity in the
manner in which it achieves a positive impact on the lives of its
citizens. In this respect, the latter months of this Government cannot
be viewed as a success.
Within Government, we have seen increasing polarisation as the starkly
conflicting visions of the main political parties lead to delay,
deadlock or dispute over even the simplest of policies or reforms.
The nature of our government is such that there is both collaboration
and competition. Our Zanu PF colleagues concentrate more on competition
than collaboration, deliberately oblivious to the coalition government’s
important role to have a common vision, to build the economy, to improve
the people’s lives and to execute our mandate as spelt out in the GPA.
For Zanu PF, politics has no single rule and their game is based on the
need to retain power at all costs. The net result is that the noble
objectives of the coalition government have been rendered impotent as
our colleagues choose to prioritize power retention as their key
deliverable.
In addition, the continued failure to implement even the most simple of
the 24 agreed issues of the Global Political Agreement shows that
inherent friction and lack of a shared vision will continue to haunt
this inclusive government. The capacity of this administration to
deliver is limited, not by time, but by the delay in the implementation
of those reforms that are essential if we are to see Zimbabwe move
forward to a new, legitimate government that directly reflects the will
of the people.
Thus, the timing of the next elections is not dictated by when, but
under what conditions they will be held.
And I want to tell you today, that executive authority in this country
is shared and the President has no power to announce an election date
without consulting the Prime Minister. We have to agree on a date,
having satisfied ourselves to the existence of electoral conditions that
will not produce another contested outcome.
Only when we have achieved the necessary conditions for a free, fair,
credible and legitimate election will the MDC consider giving its
blessing and participating in such a poll.
Key to achieving this is a new, biometric voter’s roll, a stable and
secure environment, a credible electoral body with a non-partisan
secretariat, a non-partisan public media, security sector reform and a
referendum on the new constitution. We cannot have an election before we
achieve these key milestones.
We have seen in the past few months the deployment of soldiers and armed
vigilantes in the countryside to recreate the terror of June 2008.
We have heard treasonous talk from senior officials in the police and in
the army, all speaking against the freedom of every Zimbabwean to elect
new leaders of their choice in an atmosphere of peace and security.
The police, the army and the central intelligence organization are all
national security institutions created to protect the people of Zimbabwe
and not to harm them. Over the past two years, these institutions have
shown no evidence of reforming; they have failed to adjust to the
realities of an inclusive society by refusing to let go of their
partisan attitude, which has eroded national confidence at a time when
the people want assurance of their security well ahead of the next
election.
They have shown no paradigm shift and have deliberately defied the
civilian authority in the country, even those that are under the direct
control of the Commander-In-Chief. Either the Commander-In-Chief
is aware of this or there is now a Third Force that has assumed control
in this country without the mandate of the people.
The people of this country respect national institutions, not
individuals occupying positions in those institutions who have the
tendency of expressing personal opinions and pretending that they
represent the position of the institutions they control.
We have seen the increase in hate speech and unbridled propaganda
particularly in the public media where those of us who formed this
inclusive government to better the lot of Zimbabweans are being vilified
every-day, notwithstanding the fact that we won an election in 2008.
A case in point is the violence that gripped Harare in the past few
weeks.
Everyone knows that Zanu PF mobilised its youths to take over
foreign-owned shops in the city. But the public media have gone into
overdrive misleading the nation that the MDC was at the centre of that
violence.
The public media have themselves become a threat to national security by
promoting hate, division and even genocide. Article 19 of the GPA is
clear on the role of the public media in this inclusive dispensation. It
is unfortunate that the public media have allowed one person, who is
himself an outstanding issue, to give direction to national newspapers
to sabotage government programmes and to vilify some principals of the
inclusive government.
The people of Zimbabwe deserve nothing less. Indeed, they deserve to
live under the same conditions, with the same rights, the same security
and the same opportunities as the most progressive societies on our
continent and abroad.
To offer them anything less is an insult.
In this respect, I and my party remain committed to championing the
people’s rights, both inside and outside this government.
Ladies and gentlemen, for too long we have tried to accommodate the
arrogant attitude of Zanu PF within this administration. That is not our
job. It is the people who will ultimately judge them for their attitude
and actions.
In the meantime, as the victors of the 2008 elections, we have a mandate
from the people that we are determined to fulfill, either with the
assistance of our partners in government or despite their resistance.
This will not be an easy task, but in agreeing to form this inclusive
government, it is a task that I undertook to achieve.
Naturally, I had hoped that, having lost the elections, Zanu PF would be
honest and sincere partners and would realise that their methods, their
propaganda and their policies of self-enrichment at the expense of the
people have no place in a New Zimbabwe.
From where we stand today, it is obvious that we over-estimated them. We
overestimated their capacity to respond to the growing cacophony of
Zimbabweans demanding real change in the country; ordinary people
demanding a break from the ruinous past in favour of a bright, beckoning
future.
Zanu PF’s continued abuse of natural resources and national institutions
to further party political agendas – their willingness to unleash
violence against innocent Zimbabweans – and their stubborn refusal to
allow audits, investigations or exposure of their misuse and
mismanagement of Government is evidence of the struggle that confronts
all of us who are committed to delivering real, positive change to the
people of Zimbabwe.
Ladies and Gentlemen, for a party that shouts so loud about the
overwhelming success of the land reform programme, you would think that
they would welcome an impartial audit into the beneficiaries, impact and
fairness of such a scheme.
And yet they shy away from any attempt to shine a light into the dark
crevices of their past activities. Whether it be on land, diamonds or
parastatals, Zanu PF does not want its record reviewed or exposed.
Rather than investigating the findings of the recent Public Service
Audit, they are condemning the terms of reference – because it has
exposed their abuse of the Public Service – the ghost workers that
prevent us from increasing the civil servants’ salaries – the six
thousand employees contracted on one day by one ministry after the March
2008 elections – and the many other instances of patronage and
corruption exposed by the audit.
Similarly, their desperate grip on the state media and the national
security institutions illustrate a party that fears freedom; that fears
the will of the people.
A party that knows that it does not have the legitimacy or support to
stand and be judged on its own merits.
Ladies and Gentlemen, it is for these reasons that the coming year will
be an uphill struggle for the MDC, for the civil society, for SADC and
for the people as we strive to create a conducive environment for free
and fair elections.
But, as we have witnessed so recently on our own continent, parties that
have lost the support of the people have no guarantee that they can hang
on to power indefinitely.
The major lesson from Tunisia and Egypt is the sanctity and eventual
triumph of people power; the lesson that the people’s day will come
tomorrow, notwithstanding today’s repression.
But unlike those countries, Zimbabwe already has a transitional
mechanism through which the people can express their will, through which
they can help shape the future they desire.
This transitional government provides us with the perfect opportunity to
set the ground rules for mutual respect and peace among all Zimbabweans,
for guaranteeing the people’s basic freedoms to engage in political
activity and for far-reaching democratic reforms that will ensure that
the people’s will is respected and upheld.
So the main agenda for 2011 is to support the road-map to a free and
fair election; a roadmap with clear benchmarks and time-lines that will
put in place mechanisms to ensure a legitimate and credible poll.
Join me in a national campaign, a regional campaign, and indeed a global
campaign to ensure that Zimbabwe holds a free and fair election. We must
see through the process of reform as enshrined in the GPA and call for
active participation by the guarantors of this agreement to ensure a
free and fair plebiscite.
It is my pledge to assist this process to move forward; and I urge all
of you to join me in this last mile of our collective journey towards
peace, security, dignity, freedom and prosperity.
Join me in standing and working with all the people as we strive towards
our shared vision of a New Zimbabwe and a new beginning.
A Zimbabwe that encapsulates the principles of human rights, democracy,
equal economic opportunities, best labour practices, concern for the
environment and fighting the scourge of corruption.
A Zimbabwe that seeks to empower its citizens by utilising our natural
resources to provide the best possible education and health care.
A Zimbabwe that allows each and every citizen to fulfill their full
potential as business leaders, owners, entrepreneurs, employers or
employees.
A Zimbabwe where such potential is guaranteed through the rule of law,
property rights, the right to personal security and the absence of any
persecution based on race, religion, politics, gender or ethnic
background.
Building such a nation is possible and is inevitable as the will of the
people cannot be denied indefinitely, and eventually true liberation and
democracy will flourish and prosper.
Let us bravely march into 2011, aware of the challenges we face,
committed to the future we want and determined to overcome all obstacles
to creating a nation that provides a peaceful and prosperous future for
all Zimbabweans for generations to come.
The truth is that everyone recognises the notable progress we have
achieved. In spite of deliberate obstacles to progress and development,
we have at least managed to achieve relative peace and stability as
insurance for the future that we are investing in.
That insurance is the foundation stone that we are laying during this
transition to ensure that our collective future is guaranteed through a
free and fair election.
There are many skeptics who see a dark future because of the current
uncertainty and unpredictability. But hope springs eternally in us; the
frustrations of the present moment cannot darken our common destiny.
I have been outside the country and engaged Zimbabweans in many parts of
the world. All those Zimbabweans in the Diaspora are desperate to
find a future in the country of their birth.
Yes, our brothers, our sisters-indeed our relatives in many parts of the
world see their future in Zimbabwe and they are desperate to come back
home.
Even those in the country, battered and bruised by many years of
repression and misgovernance, yearn for a future in a new Zimbabwe, a
future where fear and oppression will be replaced by hope and progress.
We may be army generals today, housewives, politicians, chief
executives, church leaders, businessmen, peasants or informal traders;
our binding philosophy must be to create a lasting and positive legacy
for the sake of our children and future generations.
I and the party I lead will play our part.
I will not fail you.
And I will not fail this country that I love so much.
I thank you.
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Mugabe and ZANU escalate atrocities and mayhem against the people of Zimbabwe |
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Zimbabwe this week - Issue No. 3 Friday, 11 February 2011 This week in Zimbabwe, the issue of violence dominated both the public and private media. Violence came in different shades, with Zanu PF looting and invading business premises. Hired youths in seven truckloads entered into Harare this morning and assembled at the Zanu PF provincial offices in Fourth Street for final touches to a state-sponsored plan to invade and loot businesses in the city central district owned and run by foreign nationals, mainly Chinese, Indian and Nigerian entrepreneurs. ![]() The purpose of their Fourth Street meeting was to don MDC’s ceremonial outfits, shirts and other party regalia in a bid to mask their identities and smear the MDC as the aggressor and belligerent factor in this dastardly act. The MDC strongly condemned Zanu PF’s barbaric behaviour which reached a climax as the party’s youths tried to invade and loot businesses in Harare. Nowhere has an economy been driven through lawlessness and a casual destruction of the little that exists as a way of mass empowerment. The MDC was surprised to learn that the police had sanctioned such a demonstration and deliberately did nothing to protect innocent business people from Zanu PF’s wanton attacks and a subsequent looting spree that followed the disturbances. To cause further grief to internally displaced people, armed riot police on Monday arrested hundreds of MDC members who had sought refuge at a church in Glen Norah. Hundreds of families of MDC activists and supporters were last week displaced from their homes in several parts of Harare, especially in Mbare after Zanu PF youths ran riot and destroyed and looted their property. Some of the MDC members were arrested after reporting the disturbances at Mbare Police Station while some were hospitalised. Wednesday’s The Herald published what senior Assistant Commissioner Wayne Bvudzijena said was a comprehensive report on recent cases of public violence in Zimbabwe and this clearly vindicated the MDC’s position that the police, in alliance with Zanu PF, have the potential to pose a fresh, major threat to freedom in Zimbabwe. Furthermore, The Herald – the sister paper to the People’s voice, a Zanu PF mouth-piece – this week excelled in peddling lies and falsehoods in a bid to smear the character of the MDC and its leader, President Morgan Tsvangirai. The newspaper claimed President Tsvangirai addressed Western diplomats at Harvest House on Monday at which he allegedly implored on them to extend the targeted restrictive measure against Zimbabwe ahead of elections later this year. President Tsvangirai had been out of Harare on business elsewhere since the end of last week as such he could never have addressed the said meeting. Meanwhile, the Famine Early Warning Systems Network or FEWSNET this week said that although economic conditions in Zimbabwe are better and food supplies have stabilized, around 1.7 million Zimbabweans will need food aid in the first quarter of this year. In a new food assessment, FEWSNET said 75 percent of Zimbabweans considered to be food insecure live in rural communities in the semi-arid provinces of Matabeleland North and South and Masvingo, with the rest in urban areas facing high food costs. FEWSNET observed that most Zimbabweans are battling to make ends meet due to prevailing low incomes and high levels of unemployment. Media reports towards the end of the week showed that Robert Mugabe is in a tight spot over the controversial lifespan of the government of national unity, which he purports ends on 11 February, as there is no “sunset clause” terminating the troubled coalition’s duration. This comes as the unpopular Zanu PF continues to plot how to collapse the inclusive government to force early elections through the use of violence. It has also emerged in other media that more than 75 000 ghost workers, most of them unqualified Zanu PF militias and supporters, have been unearthed in the civil service through a comprehensive payroll and skills audit done by Ernst & Young (India) on behalf of the Ministry of Public Service. The discovery of thousands of ghost workers — including 6 861 employed in one day in one ministry — has alarmed government ministers and stakeholders who say it revealed the extent of Zanu PF’s abuse of office to create a huge patronage network using the public service at the expense of taxpayers. The Ministry of Energy and Power Development instituted a forensic audit into the National Oil Company of Zimbabwe (Noczim) after it failed to account for US$35 million fuel duty from independent importers. Energy and Power Development minister Elton Mangoma made the revelation in the Senate on Tuesday when he responded to a question during his steering of the Energy Regulation Bill through its second reading. For more on these and other issues, visit www.realchangetimes.com Together, united, winning, ready for real change!! -- MDC Information & Publicity Department Harvest House 44 Nelson Mandela Ave Harare Zimbabwe Tel: 00263 4 793 250 |
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Zimbabweans must order Mugabe to step down |
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Zimbabweans
are probably
looking really ashamed and embarrassed that they have not
had the inspiration and courage to stand up against Robert Mugabe
and ZANU
the way the people
of Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen and Jordan have done. The
masses of those countries are no different from Zimbabweans in terms of
poverty, and the denial of human rights by their repressive regimes. But
the masses of these countries have endured more militarized regimes than
Zimbabwe. In
the case of Egypt, the president, Hosni Mubarak, has been in power
for 30 years. Just like Mugabe. The
one and biggest difference is that
the peoples of
the
north African countries have overcome fear
and staged
very effective and successful protests. They
did not carry
guns or other
weapons in their protests. They
knew that they had a
weapon even stronger than guns. That weapon was their strength in
numbers. And
they did all this even as some of the so- called
intellectuals and specialists were commenting that
the masses were incapable of
successful and effective mass revolts. This is an old Leninist
theory that
an effective
revolution requires a small group of dedicated people, or a vanguard
movement, whom he called workers, to stage a revolution by all means
necessary. In
the case of Egypt,
it is
reported that a young
26
–year-old woman used the Internet to urge Egyptians to launch a mass
protest against the regime of Mubarak. In
her appeal to the Egyptian people the young woman said, “We
want protest on January 25 if we still have honor , and want to live in
dignity and freedom ..I am going to demonstrate on January 25. I will
distribute flyers encouraging people to protest..If government security
forces come to kill me, let them do it. If you value our dignity,
freedom and human rights come to join me in this protest..” The
woman then made a very powerful appeal, especially to Egyptian men, that
if they fear women will be assaulted then let the men come in large
numbers to protect the women. She
then issued this ominous warning: “If you do not
come for the mass protest then you are a traitor just like the
president and his security thugs who beat us in the streets.” After this appeal from a 26-year-old woman, Egyptians came in thousands
for the protest and made history. For
Zimbabweans, the crucial question at this point is : Do they feel, or are
they aware, that
they have
an obligation to liberate Zimbabwe from the evil and
oppressive clutches of the
Mugabe regime? If
the answer is
YES, then what
are the Zimbabweans
doing, or do
they know, how, to liberate Zimbabwe? If
the answer is
NO, then the
next question is : Who are they hoping or expecting to liberate
Zimbabwe? Is it Jacob Zuma? SADC? African Union? The international
community?
If the Zimbabweans expect the
international community to liberate them, why, when in other countries
like Tunisia and Egypt the people staged successful mass protests
without outside help? If
the 26-year-old Egyptian woman
who started the revolution in her country were to address
Zimbabweans, she would say as long as Zimbabweans do nothing about
liberating themselves they are accomplices in their own oppression. She
would say that Zimbabweans should consider joining ZANU because their
inaction is one of the sources of strength for Mugabe and ZANU. Some
Zimbabweans and their so-called analysts have argued that it would be
difficult to stage a mass demonstration against Mugabe and ZANU now.
They argue that Mugabe and Tsvangirai are in the same government of
national unity after signing the global political agreement in 2008. They
argue that if they protest, it would be tantamount to also protesting
against Tsvangirai and the MDC. This
is a lame and totally discredited argument.
Yes, it is true that Zimbabwe has
a government of national unity. But it exists in name only.
Tsvangirai and the MDC have absolutely no power at all in this
administration. Mugabe and ZANU wield
over
90 percent of the power. From the first day of the implementation of the
government of national unity, many events have emerged that show
conclusively that Tsvangirai and the MDC do not have real
decision-making powers in the so-called coalition government. . Mugabe has made the transitional government work to promote his selfish
interests. The
MDC ministers
now find
themselves in an uncomfortable situation of having to defend Mugabe’s
policies and agenda in the coalition government. But
at the end of the day Zimbabweans now realize that the coalition
government
is grossly
deficient in promoting and advancing the overall interests and concerns
of the nation. Zimbabweans are also aware that
the MDC ministers are trying their best to promote the national
agenda but they keep being thwarted, overpowered, overruled
and outmaneuvered by Mugabe and
ZANU. The
call for
mass protest
against Mugabe and ZANU, given the anomaly of the so-called coalition
government, should not be
held hostage by the fact that MDC members are in the coalition
government. The
recent spate of atrocities committed by Mugabe’s ZANU thugs against the
MDC supporters in Harare, and the insane orders by ZANU for
transport operators to play ZANU music in their vehicles when
transporting passengers shows clearly that the case for mass protest
grows stronger every day. Mugabe and ZANU have reportedly now banned
MDC supporters from talking to the media about the atrocities
they have endured under ZANU. To
go back to the 26-year-old Egyptian woman’s clarion call, if Zimbabweans
just sit and do nothing in face of all these provocations, they,
the Zimbabweans, will rightly be accused of being in complicity with
Mugabe. Zimbabweans will also be justly and rightly accused of having no
sense of value for human rights, democracy and the rule of law. And
if some Zimbabweans take offense at this, they must answer this crucial
question: Why are they not demonstrating when they have so much strength
in numbers to bring down Mugabe, the way the masses did it Tunisia and
Egypt? To
be fair, some Zimbabweans have stood up against Mugabe and ZANU. And
they have suffered for it . Some were killed, others injured, yet others
lost property and women were raped. A good number of the rape victims
have contracted HIV/AIDS. What
do the rest of the Zimbabweans think about
these heroes of the struggle? If
Zimbabweans do not stand up against Mugabe, the victims of Mugabe’s
atrocities will have died in vain. And there will be very little
incentive for the international community
to intervene
if
Zimbabweans
do not
demonstrate a commitment to
a proactive agenda for liberation. Some
analysts are routinely defensive of the non action by Zimbabweans. They
argue that Mugabe not only has the military on his side but has the
intention , motive
and
capacity to unleash the most barbaric violence against Zimbabweans. It
would, therefore, be suicidal for Zimbabweans to dare to confront
Mugabe, these analysts say. The
problem with this line of argument is that it totally ignores the
capacities of Zimbabweans. One only needs to look at not only Tunisia
and Egypt but also other countries in Africa where mass action has
brought about
the desired
results. These analysts could never answer a fundamental question : If others can
do it why can’t Zimbabweans? If Zimbabweans cannot
remove Mugabe, who can? It
is not helpful at all to be an apologist for inaction by Zimbabwean,
but, at the same time, to
offer
no viable alternative strategies, other than
regurgitating the worn out cliché about how SADC and AU must
increase pressure on Mugabe. The reason this is a cliché is
that many similar efforts have been tried to
get greater and more intense regional and pan African
intervention.
But, short of the ill- fated
global political agreement,
nothing has worked. To keep lobbying
SADC and AU, knowing full well their
unwillingness and inability to
redouble their efforts to get Mugabe to
at least comply with the SADC guidelines, is futile unless such
lobbying is accompanied by mass action by the Zimbabweans. Yet
other apologists for inaction say Zimbabweans have a strategy called
resilience, or the ability to
survive
Mugabe and ZANU. The argument
sees the fact that Mugabe and ZANU have killed thousands of
Zimbabweans, yet
there are
millions more
still
standing. Somebody called this strategy of resilience the “Zimbabwean dynamic.”
Under this political philosophy,
if it can be called that,
Mugabe and ZANU will be defeated at a time and place that
no one can determine or predict.
All Zimbabweans need to do is to stay put and let
Mugabe and ZANU make their own rendezvous with Destiny. This
argument is
essentially
beating about the bush. It is a defeatist argument that assumes that
at some point
Mugabe
and ZANU
will encounter some
unknown forces who will bring them down. One of those forces of course
is
Death. If the people of
Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen and Jordan had followed this strategy, it would
have bought the rulers of those countries
a lot more time to continue their dictatorial
behaviors. It
meant a great deal more sense for the people of these north African
countries to cut their suffering short by using the power of numbers to
bring their
dictators down. By
the same token, it will make a lot of sense
for the Zimbabweans to
decide the time for change is now and that they the Zimbabweans
will be the activists for that change.
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Zimbabwe this week - Issue
No.2 Mugabe and ZANU's mayhem
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