via July 31: Bob throws party as poor suffer 30 July 2014
ZIMBABWEANS feel the past 12 months under renewed Zanu PF rule has been a wasted year, sentiments that the ruling party has vehemently disputed as it celebrates the anniversary with a party at State House.
July 31 marks exactly a year after Zanu PF romped to victory in a poll the ruling party equated to the watershed 1980 election which ended nearly a century of white rule.
Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai said it was a hollow and fraudulent “victory”, a point he thought was emphasised by the fact that the country was stunned into disbelief with no one, not even Zanu PF supporters, pouring into the streets to celebrate the landslide.
Party spokesman Rugare Gumbo confirmed Wednesday that President Robert Mugabe would host an election celebration party at State House Thursday and it’s no affair for ordinary and struggling Zimbabweans either.
Only the venerated “Politburo members, Members of Parliament, the Harare leadership and captains of industry” can attend said Gumbo.
“The President has decided that to mark this historic occasion, he will host a function at State House at 2.30pm to celebrate the occasion,” Gumbo told reporters.
During last year’s elections, Zanu PF restored its two thirds majority and further whittled down the opposition’s gains from the previous election in 2008.
But Zimbabweans took time to reflect on a year that has seen companies shut down, kids drop out of school, government pay dates being shifted every now and then and a noticeable decline in living standards from the bygone unity government era situation.
Likewise, Zanu PF’s political opponents said they were not in any way inspired by the former liberation war movement’s disastrous tenure so far.
Sambulelwe Tshabangu, who is an administrator with the lesser known Zimbabwe Democratic Union described Zanu PF’s performance in the past year as pathetic.
“We are worse than before. We expected a lot from the administrator of the day Zanu PF but what we see a year after is a very pathetic situation,” he said.
“Obviously to us we have bad memories about July 31, 2013; they are about the false promises of over two million jobs. What we see on the ground is the exact opposite. The future is gloomy.”
Tracey Gatawa, a young Harare woman, also felt the first year under a fresh Zanu PF mandate was a sad development adding that massive unemployment had exposed Zanu PF as a hugely ineffective party.
“This has been a wasted year considering that Zanu PF pinned all its hopes on its ZimAsset which needs over $27 billion for it to be fully implemented,” she said.
National Constitutional Assembly spokesperson Madock Chivasa said July 31 reminded him of the day Zanu PF and the two MDCs put to the test a flawed constitution that ricocheted straight into the faces of the former coalition partners to Zanu PF.
“What l can remember about July 31 is that it was simply an election that was stolen; there is nothing to celebrate,” Chivasa said, adding, “In fact, that was the first time it dawned on everyone that the new constitution was draconian.
“People were expecting that since it was the first election under a new constitution, things on the ground would change but the situation remains bad.”
He added: “Zanu PF now needs to retire; they have failed on their promises, we now need a new leadership that can take the country forward.”
“July 31 is a time that l will never wish to see coming again; if l had my way, l would want to erase that in the history books of time. It’s a day that we shall all in our lifetime never want to hear about. To us it was a day of great disaster.
“Because of July 31 last year, Zimbabwe has now become a one party state that is mired in an economic calamity mostly necessitated by anthropogenic forces, economic stagnation, deliberate economic failure owing to poor policies if any at all, corruption and theft.”
He added: “People are now more confused; they have more questions and are getting less answers to those questions and nobody is there to answer those questions. The leaders have hidden themselves from the people; they are nowhere to be seen.”
“July 31 is a bit like April 18,” he said, “It is the day we remember the courage and commitment of millions of Zimbabweans who helped change the course of events by doing the right thing, defying all odds and making sure Zimbabwe remains firmly in the hands of the Zimbabwean people.
“It’s a day we look back on with enormous pride because it afforded us the opportunity to move from the partisanship and bickering of the last four years to a single-minded, focused and progressive government.
“Yes, there are challenges. Of course there are. But today, we are assured of a more focused, partisan-free government that will do anything to make sure national interest triumphs ahead of partisan interests.”
COMMENTS
Someone should wake Maziwisa up from his long and deceptive sleep.
In future all Zimbabwe will remember 31 July as a solemn day of remembrance of the tragic suffering that followed the 31 st July 2013 rigged elections and to say never again is the nation to allowed rigged elections. The day will be called Nikuv Day or Rigged Elections Day since Nikuv has become synonymous with cheating or rigging.
“The President has decided that to mark this historic occasion, he will host a function at State House at 2.30pm to celebrate the occasion,” Gumbo told reporters.
This was indeed a ‘historic occasion.’ Massive vote rigging & refusal to release voter roll. I would have to say they successfully suppressed thousands of voices. Now good luck reviving the dying economy!
Same old attitude. When we took the land, these people said we had nothing to celebrate as hunger was going to stock us for the rest of our lives. We ignored these fools and celebrated our taking back our land and today, we are enjoying bumber harvests in the midst of sanctions!!! When we went for the 2013 polls, the same fools said that if we voted zanu pf into power, then we would face such a bleak future as we have never seen before. Again, we ignored these fools and overwhelmingly voted zanu pf into power. The same fools said our government would not last seven months if we implemented Indiginisation policy. As usual, we ignored these bafoons and went aheard and implemented it, and today, we are enjoying its fruits. When are these fools going to learn that only the likes of Tsvangirai and his fellow brain-dead followers will listen to them and that the majority of Zimbabweans know that what zanu pf says is good for them. We knew that the stupid headlines would grace the pro-imperialists-papers soon after our President announced the planned celebrations. Fools never rest despite the overwhelming evidence that the more they vilify Mugabe, the more his people see that he stands for the truth. Only a few months ago it was the same scornful headline – “Mugabe throws a lavish wedding party while people starve” What a shame!!!! The bumper harvest is testimony to the so called starving masses, I suppose????? Dreamers, dreamers, dreamers!!!! White power and wealth will never return, no matter how much you labour to bring that about. You can be paid billions of dollars to write your rubbish every year but that will not change anything!!!
Eish this one he is stupid.
Someone please give him an uppercut to stop this pathetic drivel.
This so-called party is an insult to the people of Zimbabwe who got cheated last year. They gave themselves power and have never cared a bit since then.
I am also amazed at how they always get money for these useless activities and yet when it comes to essential stuff they cry they have no money.
Also who funded this activity – is it the treasury or the party or to Mugabe there is no difference.
Psychology needs to see a psychologist who could help him with his deep psychological issues. He’s a shameless opportunist who’ll do whatever his paymaster demands. He calls it “looking at the big picture “. that’s how he described his very CLOSE relationship to a certain Australian MALE cricket commentator called Peter Roebuck while he studied in
South Africa. I wonder what Mugabe with his anti gay views would think if he knew….
The fact that its gonna be an affair of the rich and famous says it all,ZANU is not about ordinary Zimbabweans is for the top elite,the population of Zim is there to keep the elite afloat
Maison were you invited to the bun fight ? If not shut up you are not a v.I.p. only feasting off the crumbs FM your masters well laden table
I only read a couple sentences of this Naison’s drivel.
Amazing really that anyone can be so brainwashed they can’t see what’s happening to our once beautiful land.
But then, that’s ZANU morons for you.
Poor Zanoid Nyereyegona!
Living under those simian Mugarbage skirts,
sucking off the old, shriveled nipples of
this ‘Nyasa Nyoka’.
Nyereyegona is not right in the head, he praises
Mugarbage while his own die, starve, lose their
homes, farms and are beaten by his ZANU-PF police.
Poor Nyereyegona, he wasn’t invited to Mugarbage’s
lavish VIP only party, is bitter, but still feeds
off the old fart, and licks the filthy man’s boots.
Poor Nyereyegona!