AMID the purported anger, the violent demonstrations and the vile threats by the National Electoral Reform Agenda (NERA) over what they say is ‘improper’ conduct by Government after it announced that it would no longer procure Biometric Voter Registration (BVR) kits for the 2018 harmonised elections, through the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), is the failure by the opposition to respect the very foundation they claim to have been founded on — democracy.
There is something tragic about the opposition in Zimbabwe.
When it suits them, they claim to be the champions of democracy, but when that very tenet is exercised, they ‘accuse’ the Government for being undemocratic.
A clear example is the noble action by police of tightly monitoring NERA during their futile bid to galvanise the masses to demonstrate against the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) over so-called electoral reforms and the BVR issue.
But in reality the prime target was the Government.
And the much touted demonstration was a dismal failure.
When the police announced the conditions for the demonstration, as expected, there was an outcry by the opposition which accused Government of denying them their democratic right to demonstrate.
What was lost on these people is that when they were allowed to demonstrate last year, they left a trail of destruction of property and harmed innocent and progressive citizens going about their daily business.
In 2016, Zimbabwe and the UNDP signed an agreement under which the latter would procure biometric voter registration kits for the elections.
The deal was cancelled after it emerged that the UNDP political department was planning to declare the West’s preferred candidate the poll winner, regardless of the vote outcome.
This is why certain truths must be told to the opposition so that they abandon their wild goose chase over BVR.
For too long Government has tolerated their nonsense in the hope they will see the light, but as events have shown in the recent past, they will not see reason.
Government must indeed go it alone.
Here is why!
The opposition has adopted a two pronged approach to manipulate the 2018 polls in their favour.
The first is causing chaos through trashing Government economic policies and economic revival efforts.
Several opposition elements and so-called economic experts are being trained to paint as bleak a picture regarding the state of the economy in the country, as they possibly can.
They will dismiss Government projects, they will discourage investors from coming to Zimbabwe and they will write false projections of the economy.
They will even dismiss artisanal miners’ contributions to the country’s gold bullion.
We are already witnessing that through their furious attacks of the Command Agriculture Programme and the proposed Command Economy initiative.
Yet part of the Command Economy drive will include, among other things, equipping small-scale chrome and gold miners with equipment to boost productivity in the mines.
The programme will also empower communal farmers with resources to increase production.
The idea behind attacking the economy is to demean the capacity of blacks running viable ventures and dismiss the Land Reform and Resettlement as well as the on-going Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Programmes as monumental failures.
A productive black majority does not bode well with their grand plan of restoring the old order of a minority white running the country’s economy.
The demonstrations against ZEC’s Rita Makarau are a decoy, the real target is ZANU PF and the Government of Zimbabwe.
Fortunately, no one is fooled by these antics or the silence by the West whose interest in removing ZANU PF from power is still very alive.
They are being watched, their every move, their plans and schemes and when the time comes they will be exposed for who they are and what they intend to achieve.
Linked to that is their second plan which involves using the UNDP’s political department to use the BVR kits to steal the elections on behalf of MDC-T’s Morgan Tsvangirai.
The plan, if UNDP had been allowed to procure the BVR kits, was to tamper with the kits so that Tsvangirai would have an advantage in the 2018 polls.
More chilling details of the plan will be exposed in the coming weeks.
Crucially, what is going to happen is ZANU PF will win the 2018 elections.
Again, here is why!
Government has in place many strategies to uplift the livelihoods of the majority through the infrastructure development, agriculture and mining deals that are being, and have already been, implemented.
The obsession with Foreign Direct Investment is disturbing to say the least considering the refusal to acknowledge the role played by indigenous business persons.
Has anyone asked how many jobs are being created by sekuru Jaimon in Shamva through his mining venture?
Has anyone asked how many jobs were created by mbuya Eukeria, a beneficiary of the Command Agriculture in Gutu?
Has anyone asked how many jobs will be created by mukoma Givie in Karoi through the winter wheat programme?
This is not withstanding the impending reopening of ZISCOSTEEL in the next coming few months, the Tongaat Hulliet expansion, the completion of Tokwe Mukosi Dam and the Beitbridge-Chirundu Highway in the offing.
In the eyes of Zimbabwe’s detractors, that is not employment creation because in their warped thinking, jobs are created through FDI — by whites!
We will not be accosted to denying the realities of Government projects.
Let those with ears listen.