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Opposition leaders in Zimbabwe have issued a stark warning to South Africa, saying the country can no longer look away from the deepening crisis north of its border. It is now entering a dangerous phase, as the ruling Zanu-PF party appears determined to ram through constitutional reforms to tighten its grip on power.<\/p>\n
\u201cZimbabwe is on the cusp of one of the most serious crises we\u2019ve faced since 1980,\u201d said David Coltart, Mayor of Bulawayo and former Zimbabwean minister of education, speaking at a forum meeting this week at the Gordon Institute of Business Science (Gibs) in Johannesburg.<\/p>\n
Read:
The fish, the crumbs and the politicians
Zimbabwe to return 67 foreign-owned farms seized in land grab<\/p>\n
Zimbabwe and the wider region are at a crossroads.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we can convey anything to South Africans, it is this: it\u2019s time to start taking this crisis seriously, because it won\u2019t be confined just to Zimbabwe.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt will have grave ramifications for SA,\u201d said Coltart.<\/p>\n
Activist Samkeliso Tshuma said the ANC leadership in South Africa has coddled Zimbabwe\u2019s leadership for too long, and that it\u2019s about time the ANC and other political parties deal firmly with Zanu-PF.<\/p>\n
She argued that the influx of Zimbabweans into SA over the decades has been a matter of survival rather than choice.<\/p>\n
\u201cRemember, Zimbabwe was once a country that received migrants. When people move to SA, it\u2019s not because they want to [create] problems. It\u2019s survival,\u201d she added, referring to the resurgence of xenophobia in SA, where Zimbabweans are often the target of harassment and violence.<\/p>\n
\u2018Permanent state of crisis\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n
Former finance minister and opposition figure Tendai Biti said Zimbabwe has been in a permanent state of crisis and has been since the founding of Rhodesia in the 1890s.<\/p>\n
The planned amendments to the constitution represent the country\u2019s biggest crisis since Gukurahundi, when more than 20 000 people were slaughtered in Matabeleland in the 1980s for their opposition to Zanu-PF.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe transition has been arrested; it has been captured. Some 46 years after independence, Zimbabwe still does not have a nation state with one vision,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
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The proposed Third Constitution Amendment Bill (CAB 3) would extend the presidential terms from five to seven years, potentially allowing President Emmerson Mnangagwa to remain in office until 2030.<\/p>\n
The president would also be elected by parliament rather than popular vote and voter registration would be transferred to the registrar general, who would be appointed by the president, rather than the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission.<\/p>\n
Left to right: David Coltart, Samkeliso Tshuma, Tendai Biti and Nick Binedell, (founder of Gibs).<\/p>\n
Another crucial change would remove the army\u2019s duty to \u2018uphold\u2019 the constitution, replacing it with an obligation \u2018to act in accordance with\u2019 it.<\/p>\n
Many regard this as an attempt to weaken the military and insulate the existing government against the kind of coup that removed Robert Mugabe from power in 2017.<\/p>\n
The amendments also propose adding another 10 Senate seats through presidential appointment rather than public vote. All this is happening while constituency boundaries are being gerrymandered in favour of Zanu-PF.<\/p>\n
Cyril\u2019s Zim visit<\/p>\n
Opposition voices in Zimbabwe have been fiercely critical of SA President Cyril Ramaphosa\u2019s recent visit to Zimbabwe, during which he was a guest at Mnangagwa\u2019s farm. \u201cWe have no doubt that they discussed everything but CAB 3\u201d says Biti.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf they do this [proceed with CAB 3], they will deepen the crisis. The last thing we want in Zimbabwe is another coup like in 2017.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur appeal to people like President Ramaphosa is that wisdom must prevail, so that Emmerson Mnangagwa and the Zanu-PF are persuaded to withdraw CAB 3. Pushing through with this will lead to further implosion of society.\u201d<\/p>\n
Corruption on steroids<\/p>\n
Coltart believes the constitutional changes are designed to entrench the power of a tiny and corrupt elite. \u201cWe have state capture on steroids. It makes the Guptas look like choirboys.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Press reports from Harare last week celebrated the lavish wedding of Taonanyasha John Tagwirei, the son of prominent businessman Kudakwashe Tagwirei, as he was showered with gifts worth more than $20 million in cash, land and other goods.<\/p>\n
Read:\u00a0Helping hands, and hands that just keep taking in Zimbabwe<\/p>\n
The president\u2019s sons reportedly gave the couple $100 000. Others gave much more. \u201cThe state brazenly boasts about it. The head of Zimbabwe\u2019s anti-corruption unit was at the wedding,\u201d said Coltart.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I was minister of education in 2013, I was aware that 300\u00a0000 children were out of school because of poverty. I am reliably told that well over a million children are now out of school because of poverty.<\/p>\n
\u201cMental health patients cannot get the basic medication they need; they are instead told to go to a pharmacy. Yet, at the same time, you have these flagrant displays of wealth.\u201d<\/p>\n
Elite-linked procurement<\/p>\n
Soon after being elected Mayor of Bulawayo in 2024, Coltart was told the city had just received three fire engines from Belarus. At the handover ceremony, only two machines were there. \u201cI was told the third one couldn\u2019t come because it couldn\u2019t get into reverse.\u201d<\/p>\n
The vehicles had cost $400 000 each. A team of firefighters from the UK came out and were shocked to learn the price paid by the city for these engines, when top of the line Volvos and Mercedes fire engines cost $250 000.<\/p>\n
He also questioned the cost of the new border building at Beitbridge and the road to Harare, which has been counted as a great achievement for the country \u2013\u00a0at a cost of over $300 million.<\/p>\n
Coltart says the project should have cost roughly half that amount, particularly as the road is already showing signs of deterioration, as several of the contractors were found to have skimped on materials.<\/p>\n
He added that four of the five companies awarded tenders for the project are closely linked to the political elite.<\/p>\n
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It\u2019s all as clear as mud for 409 farmers in Zimbabwe<\/p>\n
Prior to a recent election in Zimbabwe, computer equipment costing a few thousand US dollars was supplied at 10 times the going retail rate. \u201cOnce again, the tender was awarded to people close to the regime,\u201d said Coltart.<\/p>\n
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\u201cVirtually all those who were granted these tenders attended the [Tagwirei] wedding. Now they realise that Mnangagwa\u2019s about to end his term of office in 2028, and their proximity to his office is under threat. There is an element in Zanu-PF that [is] determined to change the constitution and pour a vast amount of money into the process.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gold mafia revelations<\/p>\n
An explosive four-part Al Jazeera Gold Mafia documentary, which exposed alleged gold smuggling and money laundering networks in Zimbabwe, detailed how a criminal elite had free passage in and out of the country.<\/p>\n
Gold prices are now double what they were when the documentary was produced, meaning the beneficiaries have an enormous war chest to rig the political machine in their favour.<\/p>\n
However, not everyone within Zanu-PF is on board with this new constitutional change.<\/p>\n
Two people not in attendance at the wedding were Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga, former head of the army, and the governor of the Reserve Bank [Dr John Mushayavanhu]. Elements within the military are known to be hostile to the proposed changes.<\/p>\n
\u201cChiwenga has been speaking in parables, but he has made it clear that he does not support this process. There are numerous war veterans that do not support this.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe constitutional amendments have been brought by a small number of younger people who had no role in the liberation, supported by some whites who supported (former prime minister) Ian Smith,\u201d said Coltart.<\/p>\n
The situation is further complicated by the fact that a number of opposition Citizens\u2019 Coalition for Change (CCC) members appear open to co-option by Zanu-PF and its financial backers.<\/p>\n
This bleak assessment of Zimbabwe\u2019s near-term future is not without a glimmer of hope: \u201cIt\u2019s a struggle between the vast majority of Zimbabweans and this tiny clique,\u201d Coltart said.<\/p>\n
Once set on the right political path, the economic rewards from a revitalised Zimbabwe will set the region alight as new investment pours into mining, tourism and agriculture. Which is why pressure from SA is now long overdue.<\/p>\n
#Zimbabwe #oppositions #stark #warning<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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