Posts

Showing posts from September, 2019

ZIMBABWE A SELF MADE PROBLEM

THIS is a continuation of the piece I posted two days ago concerning the matter of the Suedes offering assistance to Zimbabwe on the condition that the ruling party Zanu PF and MDC put aside their differences.  But the  problem is the leadership of the political parties has polarised issues and made it hard to create grounds for dialogue and rapprochements. It’s the case of the grass suffering on account of two elephants fighting. For example Chamisa’s refusal to recognise ED as the President of Zimbabwe, insisting the elections were stolen. And coining new political verbiages such as the People’s President, or President elected by the people while ED is president elected by the courts. Where does that strategy take us next as a starting point for dialogue?  It’s dead before is started. On the other end, ED argues that he created the Political Actors Dialogue (Polad) in May 2019 as a platform for national dialogue, and Chamisa and MDC (who refused to participate in it), should jo

WHAT TRUE FRIENDS OF ZIMBABWE SHOULD DO

RECENT media reports which suggest that Sweden offered to assist Zimbabwe’s efforts towards re-engagement with the international community only if, President Emmerson Mnangagwa and MDC President Nelson Chamisa call a truce are worrisome. They reveal Zimbabwe as a country to whom a different set of rules are applied rather than a universal practice. These conditions also reveal that there has been a failure to grasp the reasons standing in the way of dialogue, which has largely to do with the internal approach to issues and the huge egos at play in the country.  One could even posit that the differences are irreconcilable yet very legitimate.   A case of mixed/double standards When I first heard of the news I thought this  could be a great idea, but to place this as a condition   to  supporting a troubled country  to find its  feet is very unusual, patronising, and certainly not the way to deal with another sovereign state.  Much as I  realise the need  to get the Zimbabwe dom

ODE TO MUGABE; A WITTY OLD CHARMER

Image
The late former President Mugabe and I at the Harare International Airport  on June 29, 2011. Picture Credit; Tsvangirai Mukwazhi I received the news of former president Robert Mugabe’s death with indifference. I had no idea on how to feel about a man who had ruled over Zimbabwe with an iron fist leaving behind a trail of blood, tears and economic destruction. This is a rather strange feeling because he was an icon of the liberation struggle and was the first prime minister and president of Zimbabwe who affected my life in many ways. My reaction is similar to many of my countrymen. People don't know whether to mourn or to celebrate his demise. The reaction is  evidently mixed as there are those that belong to and celebrate the liberation struggle  will mourn and forgive him for all the evil he committed and there are those who were victims of his brutality, political opponents who will not miss him. Then, of course, there are the ‘born free’ youths who were born after