Zim goes to vote

By Daniel Chigundu 

ZIMBABWEANS will on July 31 throng the 9735 polling stations dotted around the country to vote for a party that will carry their future.

The vote comes at a time when the economy has plateaued due to fierce infighting centered on political parties that formed the inclusive government.

Immediately after the formation of the inclusive government, which was brokered by former South Africa president Thabo Mbeki in 2009, Zimbabwe embarked on a growth trajectory, an antithesis of the hyperinflation of the prior year.

A couple of jobs were created in the manufacturing sector and capacity utilisation rose from between zero and 10 percent to 37.5 percent while basic goods and services also returned on the country’s supermarket shelves.

Fuel queues that had become the order of the day since December 1999, became a thing of the past, and for once, Zimbabweans begged the political leaders to subvert democracy and defer polls even up to 2018 so that they enjoy the benefits of the inclusive government for some time.

However, when tensions began to rise in the inclusive government, the operating environment was adversely affected and business appealed to authorities to hold polls so as to liberate the economy from a politics induced “hostage”.

While most citizens distanced themselves from the call for polls, they were stampeded into one by the Constitutional Court judgment in favour of a “concerned citizen” Jealous Mawarire.

President Mugabe then revoked in presidential powers and proclaimed a July 31 election date, which was also challenged at a Sadc Summit in Maputo, Mozambique.

Notwithstanding the call by the Sadc Summit to defer the election by at least two weeks, the Constitutional Court upheld its earlier decision to have polls on July 31, setting the stage for a bruising 30 days of political campaigning to win the electorate.

After all the campaigning, which saw the two major political parties attracting record crowds at their rallies around the country, it’s now judgment time.

Celebrated rivals President Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai have described the agreement (GPA) as a “beast” that failed to work during its life resulting in “massive poverty” in the country.

Any election around the world is about promises and this one is no different.

Zanu PF, MDC-T and MDC-N have crisscrossed the country, selling their promises to the electorate.

Apostolic Sects have also hosted some high ranking government delegations at their various shrines ahead of this crucial poll.

Zanu PF, through its manifesto and provincial rallies addressed by President Mugabe, has promised to fully indigenise the economy and make Zimbabweans company owners not workers.

“Indigenise, empower, develop and create empowerment. “Now we know that we are here, just as labourers, but we are in fact owners.

“FDI (foreign direct investment) and multilateral support will complement our home grown solutions,” reads the Zanu PF manifesto.

On the other hand, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s MDC-T says it recognises the importance of re-establishing a trustworthy, effective, and accountable government.

The party says it will initiate a series of policy actions designed to jumpstart its economic plan and government service provision.

“These critical first actions will establish a foundation on which our complete agenda will be launched. “Successfully implementing this plan will bring rapid, measureable results and quickly demonstrate our ability to respond to the immediate needs of the people.

“Within the first 100 days of office, President Morgan Tsvangirai and the MDC will enact key policy objectives,” reads part of the party’s manifesto.

Having already promised 2 million jobs through the party’s policy document dubbed Juice, the MDC-T hopes to re-engage the international financing institutions for lines of credit.

The party also promises to review laws so as to increase the ease of doing business, initiate steps to deal with external debt overhang, establish a transparent revenue collection from minerals, initiate a land audit, create a sovereign wealth fund and initiate a program to return skilled Zimbabweans from the Diaspora.