via Clingy Mugabe thinks he’s a king: Mandaza 22/03/2014 NewZimbabwe
TOP local academic and publisher Ibbo Mandaza has castigated President Robert Mugabe for clinging onto power and effectively turning the country into a “monarchy”.
Mandaza speaking at an event during the week as part of a dozen experts and academics hired by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) to give their reflections on the July 31, 2013 elections.
Mandaza obliged and did not mince his words during the closing stages of the three-day conference Wednesday.
He said Zanu PF under Mugabe’s leadership had reduced the State to a virtual party tool where it was now impossible for State institutions like ZEC to be impartial.
“It is inimical to democratic discourse. It is inimical to free and fair elections because it means that the leadership is usually monarchical. Monarchical means you are there for life … we have it here in Zimbabwe, don’t we?
“When you have monarchical tendencies, when you have conflation of State and party how do you talk about free and meaningful elections? It’s a non-starter.
“In this situation, it means national institutions become compromised including ZEC notwithstanding the very professional people within it. It’s very difficult in the current atmosphere to be non-partisan.”
The candid comments by Mandaza elicited a strong rebuttal from Zanu PF senator and chiefs representative in the legislature, Chief Fortune Charumbira who said Mugabe’s opponents were bitter losers.
“There is this catastrophic thinking that when you don’t win elections, even the country and the people should die … people should be prepared to win and to lose,” he said.
In his remarks, Mandaza had accused politicians of reducing the country’s electoral processes to a virtual call to war and suggested that elections be replaced by a safer method of choosing leaders.
“Elections can’t be very exciting in our country,” he said, “Each time the elections come up, its regimentation; whether it’s the ruling party or the opposition party, its regimentation.
“There is a call for conformity and if you don’t, you are a rebel. And therefore the spectre of violence is a reality in almost every election across the continent. Zimbabwe needs to think of other ways of changing leaders without resorting to elections.”
Mandaza called on those who have interest in the country’s elections to accept the reality that Zimbabwe’s past three polls have been disputed and “we should not gloss over it. It’s a sad indictment.”
He further accused opposition political parties for sprouting days before elections and disappearing immediately after, adding that they were not grounded on strong ideological leanings.
Mandaza contested the 2008 parliamentary elections as a candidate for former Finance Minister Simba Makoni’s Mavambo party, in what turned out to be a losing cause.
COMMENTS
Some people live in a bubble. They don’t associate outside their own sphere of socioeconomic/political realm, so they think everyone else is like them. They think everyone has lots of available capital to spend for travel or luxuries. And because others with whom they associate have more luxuries than they, they see themselves as not being extravagant and “just common people”. One I know is right now traveling in Italy for holiday, and thinks everyone goes on world jaunts.
Such are those in high places. It is a willful ignorance… they like what they have, they feel entitled, and they do not want to be confronted with questions as to how they came to their wealth or to be required to acknowledge the plight of others caused by their greed. They like to say it is not so bad… and besides, it’s someone else’s fault.
They live in a bubble. They like their comfortable bubble. Their beautiful, glorious bubble is about to burst like a swollen rotten dead cholera pig. Yuck..!!!
true, the man thinks he is Munhumutapa. He has all these praise singers around him who make him feel that way. They can steal as much as they want for as long as the make him feel like a king. Sad lot ,zanu.
Trouble is Mugabe does not see himself as a civil servant.
HE IS!ROYALTY! KING OF THE ZEZURU!
Fool!
No, King of the Nyokas!
He is a king for sure. King of his own mutozwi.
Given a chance, he wd be king, and no more elections. To some, elections r a big headache
Is this the same Mandaza, that supped gloriously at the ruling party’s table in the past?