The Corruption Of Morgan Tsvangirai


Either the MDC and Morgan Tsvangirai have been corrupted by ZANU PF or they were always like this and never really represented the change and seismic shift in focus that Zimbabwe needs in order to rise and start working again.

We had interesting meeting with a western diplomat stationed in Harare today and what he had to say reveals just why the west, especially, is not going to come to the aid of the GNU with funds.

The western diplomat minutely detailed his country's concerns about the way the MDC is going about things and here are some of the things he says show that Morgan Tsvangirai has either been corrupted by ZANU PF or that the MDC was always a corrupted party and are now simply showing their true colours because opportunity has been granted them
  • The MDC-controlled Harare City Council set the minimum wage for its workers at US$379. This means that the least paid municipal worker is getting this amount from the City Council.
  • The same MDC council had allocated its councillors stands in low and high-density areas, which stands were being given virtually free, since the price was set in Zimbabwe dollars and were ridiculously low.
  • The people who are being paid US$379 minimum wage above are MDC grassroots supporters whom the opposition gave jobs to in January this year, vastly expanding a staff complement that had already been bloated under ZANU patronage rules, where ZANU PF also offered jobs to supporters in order to buy support. The MDC simply followed this same example when they took control of the councils. In other words, there was no change of culture or mindset when the opposition took over.
  • The same MDC controlled council has also set salaries for "supervisors at as high as US$3 000 per month
  • While all this going on, City of Harare residents are still going without water, risking a resurgence of cholera.
  • While the MDC Council pays these salaries, Harare's roads controlled by the council are still full of potholes and in a very bad state of disrepair.
  • While The MDC does this, the water delivery infrastructure has collapsed, hence the absence of water from city home taps, meaning cholera continues to loom large.
  • Rubbish is still piling up in the streets of Harare, uncollected, again breeding cholera.
  • The Council is, therefore, simply hiking charges (yes they hiked, water charges where they are not delivering water, rubbish collection fees when they are not collecting any rubbish etc) in order to pay inflated salaries to their army of underemployed supporters, NOT in order to improve the lives of citizens
  • At the National level, within the GNU itself, the MDC has rushed to collect Mercedes Benzes for its ministers, to pay hefty salaries for the same ministers and their staff and to claim expenses for "work" when none can be seen being done.
  • The Prime Minister now spends his time fighting over the appointment of Permanent Secretaries, Ambassadors and Governors (in order to give jobs "to his boys" - is how the western diplomat put it.
  • The government of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai is spending precious foreign currency buying new furniture, from leather sofas to glossy coffee tables for ministerial offices, while paying civil servants US$100 per month, which, as of this month, the same civil servants are failing to access. This is why you hear Biti warning of "civil unrest" if aid is not delivered.
  • The western diplomat also pointed to the one ministry in particular, the failure by Nelson Chamisa to bring TelOne and the Internet service of Zimbabwe to heel as evidence that the MDC's priorities in the ministries they control is all wrong.....
  • The continued prosecution of Jestina Mukoko, Roy Bennett, Ghandi Mudzingwa and many others, seem to have been accepted as inevitable by the MDC, and it appears that they have now shifted their focus to the trappings of power as opposed to the deliverance of the rule of law, respect for human rights and other democratic ideals. They are, the diplomat said, "abandoning the very principles upon which they staked their reputation."
  • Farms continue to be invaded, destroying food security yet again, but it appears the Prime Minister has also decided that there is anything he can do about this.
"I am absolutely certain that if we gave any money to this government, it would disappear down a black hole before it can get to the people. I have told my government that the best option is to give money to aid agencies like UNICEF and USAID, who will use it to benefit people directly."

However, the statement that gave me cause for concern was when he said he had such high hopes for Morgan Tsvangirai that he was "personally wounded by this corruption of the Prime Minister."

He did not mean that the Prime Minister is now corrupt, but that he has been corrupted, he said. I just wondered whether there is a difference between the two. Much as Mugabe was considered "not corrupt, but he tolerates corruption", the same appears to now be said of Morgan Tsvangirai.

Surprisingly, this western diplomat says he believes that the only reason the MDC are not getting even more corrupt and greedy at national level is because of the presence of ZANU PF. He believes that the two parties at that level are watching each other closely and the MDC is unlikely to suggest any moves that could be seen as corruption or greedy.

But he also points out that where the greediness is institutionalised, like with the offering of new Mercedes Benzes to ministers, the MDC will actually give in, since it can always justify itself by saying these are established benefits that they found in place.

It was a long meeting, indeed and it served to show me personally just how closely this government is being watched.

As this diplomat explains minutely what it is that is wrong with this arrangement (and why Mugabe and Tsvangirai appear happy with it), it becomes clear what the MDC are doing at the moment is pursuing power. Everything they are focusing on (appointments of governors, ammbassadors, permanent secretaries etc) has no impact on the suffering of the people.

Instead, it is all designed to concentrate as much power as possible in the hands of the MDC.

And yes, it is the people who suffer in the end.

As a footnote, let me end by telling you that Zimbabwe, for most of today, was again cut off from the Internet. Yes, the whole country "disappeared from the Internet" as the people at Utande, an ISP here, put it.  It simply confirms what I told you a couple of weeks back when we were also cut off from the world as a country: as long as this GNU is in place, our Internet services will continue to be like this.

As a result of the shutdown of national Internet, I was unable to fulfil an interview request with BadGals Radio, based in America, who wanted an interview on the Internet with me today.

Comments

  1. Denford it appears that the conspiracy is widening. Mugs and Moe are the same. I am so sad for you and the whole of Zimbabwe.

    how could he deceive us this way is what I want to say; but the reality of it is that bob marley told us decades ago, "Never Make a Politician Owe You a Favor, he will try to rule you forever".

    apparently Moe thinks this is the way to conduct business. he will learn quickly, as we don't cotton to this type of deception.

    like his friend and comrade Mugs, Moe will be listed for his deeds. he can't escape his fate as he has had ample time to work on the behalf of the people of Zimbabwe; yet he stands back and lets the same evil structure run his beloved Zimbabwe into the ground.

    never have a reservation to fight evil, wherever it shows it ugly head, is what I was told. so that means he is now on the watch list.

    Denford, if you can connect to the net, send us a message and we can work out the time issues to do our interview. we are praying for you and hoping for your internet connection to last long enough for our chat.

    Please Take Good Care and Watch Yourself. we never know who is whom in this bag of thieves.

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  2. I would like to have some clarity on the position that should be taken when a public official is facing criminal allegations, is being investigated or has been arraigned in court.
    In South Africa the then Vice President Jacob Zuma was fired from his job by the then President Mbeki after a trial judge came to the conclusion that Zuma had a corrupt relationship with his financial advisor Shabir Shaik. Zuma lost his job before a conviction was obtained on the matter.
    President Mbeki lost his job after a trial judge made a comment that there was political interference from Mbeki in the case involving Jacob Zuma, a statement which a superior court ruled that the judge over stepped his limitations.
    In UK the then Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair was forced to resign after the Mayor of London Boris Johnson decided that the allegations against him (Ian Blair) eroded public confidence in the Police Commissioner, etc.None of the allegations were proved.
    We have a situation in Zim where for example Roy Bennet, and a lot other public Officials are facing criminal charges ranging from abuse of farming inputs given out under operation Maguta, illegal possession of arms of war, political violence etc. Should these officials be allowed to perform and occupy their public offices? Should they be suspended until their issues are finalised, or should they be forced to resign? What is the best approach to such situations?

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  3. MDC-T corruption and lack of policy are just a microcosm of their ineptitude and shallowness that Mavambo and Simba would do well to exploit. Simba needs to keep himself visible by exposing the gross shortcomings of GNU, MDC-T and ZANU-PF. What I have just read in this article ought to be a Mavambo or Simba Makoni statement in public media. Once again, I can only say Denford does a pretty good job that we long to see as part of a fully-fledged Mavambo party or movement. Mind you, it will not be a stroll in the park to break through bi-polar politics that is dominant, not only in Zim in the form ZANU-ZAPU, ZANU-MDC, but also in Republican-Democrat in USA, left-right in most of Europe.

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  4. @RE: Indeed, the disappointment is huge, we do not want more of the same. Internet connection is still dismal, really and the only time you can really connect is late at night when everyone is asleep. I am struggling to access Entrecard the last few days, but I will keep trying.

    @Thokozile: The basic problem here is that Mugabe is angry that MDC MPs are still pursuing what he called "vendettas" yesterday. So, if they want to pursue his supporters, he will pursue their and he has the power to do so. Morgan does not.

    I understand MT is finalising arrangements for a Truth Commission with Mugabe nest week in order to bring order to this "holding to account." I am not hopeful about this.

    @Petros: The corruption is mind-numbing!!! The problem, as admitted to me even by the Prime Minister's Office itself, is that these new guys know they are in office only for a couple of years and they want to get maximum benefit while they can.

    It really is a feeding frenzy at the trough and you have to be here to see it and realise just hiw much we have all been had by the MDC

    @askcherlock: thanks for the kind words!

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  5. There seem to be inherent problem with African politics, is it that Africans are so stupid that they cannot distinguish between political rhetoric and false propaganda? Are we so illiterate that we do not have the capacity to challenge those in power, even when they are selling bull? I wonder sometimes when my folk say they will always vote ZANu until they die? WHy WHy WHy????

    ReplyDelete

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