Get Ready To Prop Up Mugabe. Yes, You!
First, some latest news from here in Zimbabwe. Vice-President Joice Mujuru put on MDC regalia while Deputy Prime Minister Thokozani Khupe put on ZANU PF regalia yesterday. It was all in aid of International Women's Day.
The two ladies took the opportunity to preach the new Coalition mantra, calling on supporters to desist from violence.
Which is all very well, as far it goes, I suppose.
But I do wish the MDC and ZANU PF would stop confusing their followers so. What are the bewildered "Mugabe Must Go" brigade to think now, seeing their own deputy president in the MDC putting on ZANU PF dress with Mugabe's face on it?
And the ZANU PF folk? The "Tsvangirai Will Never Rule This Country" brigade, seeing their second-in-command in Chinja gear?
It is a curious state of affairs, you'd think. But no. I think the selective arrests of the last few weeks show us what ZANU PF wants. Yes, the MDC may want a peaceful atmosphere in which to campaign next time round, but these recent selective arrests of MDC members in Mbare, Buhera and other areas show us what ZANU PF wants.
ZANU PF simply wants to be left in peace to beat up any MDC supporter they fancy. When they do this, they are not arrested.......
Anyway, the puzzled look on Harare streets today as people peered at the foreign-currency-charged Herald said it all.
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Ah, yes, about the heading:
I was just wondering, seeing as most of my readers are in the diaspora, would you remit money back home to your relatives through official means (Homelink) now that Tendai Biti is asking you to?
Of course, we must recognise that that money will also contribute to the salaries of Mugabe, policemen, soldiers, ZANU PF ministers and so on.
This is the very same question that is confronting the West. Do we give money to this new government when we know that the money is going to be used to sustain the liestyles of the lavish-living ZANU PF ministers?
I just wondered what you think would be the right thing to do.
But keep in mind that the revised budget that Tenda Biti proposed is now even more of a consumptive budget than the one issued by Patrick Chinamasa just before MDC joined government.
Quite apart from the fact that Biti lied to the people of Zimbabwe in it, this budget is simply designed to sustain the wage bill of the bloated government.
The US$700 million that Biti is said to have cut from the cut is the lie. What he in fact did was almost completely wipe out budgetary provisions for infrastructure rehabilitation.
What needs cutting is not funds for infrastructure development, no. It is this very government. Get rid of half of these people in it and you will save US$500 million dollars. Take that and resurface the roads, repair dams (villagers are now resorting to doing it themselves, inadequately), repair the water reticulation and other infrastructural rot that is making this country a repellant against investment.
It has been proved since the days of Roosevelt that the best way to create jobs and lay the foundation for a booming economy in depressive cinditions is through public works. Almost every single ecoomy that has gone the route of increased public works in a depression has come out of it stronger and never looked back.
Then, the lie in the cut of the budget: In the same revised budget, Biti acknowledges that government's basic needs will end up goobling US$2 billion by the end of the year.
That is more than even ZANU PF estimated.
Still, we come back to the question: would you remit your funds and pay the fees that will support this government.
And why?
it appears that the ladies are holding the handbags that shall lead them to hell.
ReplyDeletesad indeed that the women who have to repair the country have lost total faith in the country.
if this is the way it shall be, then Zimbabwe realize that like in S. Africa - "when you have touched the heart of a woman, you have started a rock to rolling down a hill".
that very rock will crush you and your oposition to the resurrection of Great Zimbabwe.
We Stand Ready to Assist Our Sisters When Called Up.
Know This ZANU-FP and MDC.
WE ARE THE WOMEN,
The issue of remitting funds home from the diaspora is actually not directed by the politics of the country, although some politicians tend to hijack such programmes. Diasporans will still remit funds to Zimbabwe because they have a social obligation to their families and their extensions.The issue of the channels that they will use to remit whether Homelink, Western Union and some Black Market dealers is also divorced from the political effect and is mainly not guided by zanu Pf MDC politics, but still some wants to hijack it. People in the diaspora wants the best value for their hard earned monies. People ended up shuning Homelink merely because its exchange rates where not anywhere close to other dealers, especially black market.
ReplyDeleteYou can not allow a situation where your child is expelled from school because you do not want to channel his fees through a system that will benefit a zanu Pf controlled gvt. What matters to diasporans is who has the best deal and is his child attending school, family buying groceries and living a normal life. The family comes first, as long as the family has benefitted, if Zanu PF or MDC or Mavambo also benefits in the process, no diasporan actually cares, and this is the truth. Homelink did not attract much because of competition from Black Market and not because of Zanu PF / MDC politics. Although MDC was discouraging diasporans to use homelink on the propaganda that it will benefit Zanu Pf elite.
@Thoko,
ReplyDeleteSo I take it Diasporans are willing to use Homelink now, and pay Mugabe's salary. Did you know that the RBZ is now completely dry? Even civil servants failed to access their US$100 from the banks last week!
@ReAusetkmt, good to know we still have friends out there!!
ReplyDelete@ Denford,
ReplyDeleteAt the moment to tell you the truth, I have never heard anyone talking about Homelink, especially here in UK, I do not know whether its still operational. Even those Money Transfer Agencies which used to conduct most of the diaspora remittances because they were basing their exchange rate on the black market rates, are even going out of business except a few who also do shipping business. Most people are using Western Union even those still conducting the business, they make the recipients get the money from Banks in Zim. I think the RBZ gets something, although very little from such transactions.
I will bet my last dollar Denford, if Homelink offers the best exchange rate, Diasporans will use it. Its about value for money. No one or very few can sacrifice the value for their money for political allegiance.Like I have said before their main concern is the survival of their beloved ones, regardless of whether Mugabe, Tsvangirai, Makoni, Dabengwa benefits in the process.
Trying to control remittances on political grounds is something that the MDC tried, but quickly stopped because it was going to backfire on them big time. Somehow someone came up with a genius thought that by putting sanctions on our relatives and letting them suffer will somehow force Mugabe to step down. Sadistic.
ReplyDeleteThe primary reason for sending money home is to take care of family members still in Zimbabwe; school fees, groceries, healthcare, funerals. The cost of living in the developed world is very high and the remittances are in actual fact sacrifices to cover basic necessities to alleviate dire situations or our relatives. Takarerwa and as long as the $100 I send sees itself into the hands of my relative that’s all that matters at that moment. Now as long as someone does not come up a genius way we can take care of the needs of our families and still keep our money here, we will keep sending that money even if Satan himself is in power.
Remittances are need-based from the Zimbabwe side and anything said about how, why, when to remit funds will sound like manipulation or outright insensitive.
@Nyatsimba Mutota, The MDC have always claimed credit for things they could not control. This is only one example.
ReplyDeleteLately, in the rush to embrace what they thought Mugabe's winning dollarisation strategy, they rushed in there and tried to claim credit for this livewire, promising salaries in foreign currency and so on.
Now, we have chaos in Harare at the banks, where people are sleeping by the bank entrance for lack of busfare to return home.
This is now being blamed squarely on Biti's shoulders. He wanted the credit, now he has it.
What will surprise most people is how good Zanu is at constructing policies…they just so suck at implementing them its we now accustom their policies to disaster . Typical of that generation as most Africans were exposed to the best education overseas and thrown into mediocre practices which they could never change. Even Gono’s policies were decent….but the guy is just too trivial to realize the big picture of what it is his policies were supposed to do. Without global support, the MDC risk being exposed as weak at both policy making and execution. No wonder they are waiting for Zanu to initiate and then claim them as theirs.
ReplyDeleteIt doesn’t take much to realize that the West is experiencing the worst recession since the Great Depression and will not be in a position to give us any financial assistance even if Mugabe had evaporated! Ironically the same western countries are taking their begging bowl to China.
Now Biti wants to join the Rand Customs Union, but who had said no to it not more than 6 weeks ago?
@Nyatsimba Mutota, the Rand Customs Union idea was Mugabe's and Biti should really not take credit.
ReplyDeleteMugabe balked at the conditions imposed by the South Africans, including suspending the Zim dollar for a year, taking monetary police out of the hands of the RBZ and so on.
What Biti is doing is trying to present the South Africans with a fait accompli, having already adopted the Rand as the monetary unit of reference and "declaring" the Zim Dollar dead.
He is working with Mugabe more closely than people realise.
Yes you broke the news about the Rand Customs Union on here. However it is not possible to implement adoption sooner than 6 months. The various countries in the Union have to be notified, formally accept and set the operational structures in place, then Zimbabwe also has to change our laws, policies, etc, before SA has to print that money. Yes it takes away the independence of RBZ initially.
ReplyDeleteWhat we have going for us though is that Zuma and co are not as disciplined as Mbeki was. Mbeki was ideological about helping Zanu but not set on financial assistance. The other crew can fast track all that provided there is political "understanding".
There is still no way out except through SA. The western nations are really broke and whether Mugabe had already evaporated, or our governance had suddenly become squaky clean, they are not in a position to do anything. However SA has over US$70 billion in reserves and has companies eager to rush into Zim. That means for investments related to industrial productivity and similar, SA companies will do it. But the reality is that noone will finance infrastructure development so we either go it alone or do a butter trade with either Bretton Woods (indepedence) or China (promise for preference to develop resources). I would prefer China.
Diaspora though can pump in at least $300MM this year (due to recession), but next year onwards it can easily be US$600-750MM. Thats probably more than what IMF/WB will ever give us.
You are a true hero, Denford, in bringing this entire situation to the light of the world. Looking at these issues through your eyes, one gains true perspective. Knowledge truly is power. God be with you.
ReplyDelete@askcherlock; Thank you sir! I do not think I am a hero at all, you should see the things Zimbabweans in the country are going through, their struggles just to be ale to see the next day. I think they are the true heroes.
ReplyDeleteStill,thanks again!