A fool and his money soon part US dollars

us dollarsTO the United States government that poured over $850 million into the coffers of anti-Government NGOs in their quest to effect illegal regime change in Zimbabwe we say, a fool and his money are soon parted.

Serves you right.

As we report elsewhere in this issue, the US, through its US Agency for International Development poured close to a billion dollars into the NGO sector in pursuit of illegal regime change in the final stages of the ill-fated inclusive Government and the post election period.

The revelations come as Western donors announced they were stopping availing money to anti-Government organisations in Zimbabwe after they failed to account for more than $850 million extended by USAID as part of the illegal regime change agenda between 2011 and 2014.

While we do not condone corruption, we have no tears for USAID which was used as the vehicle to channel the money to the quasi-political groups that claimed to be fighting for democracy, transparency and good governance in Zimbabwe, but today stand accused of all the vices they claimed abound in Zanu-PF.

Corruption, nepotism, cronyism, fraud, bad corporate governance are said to abound in the quasi-political groups that have been masquerading as paragons of good governance.

That is a political lesson to the westerners, leaders in Zimbabwe are not installed by money but by the people, similarly they are not deposed by money but by the same people who vote them into office.

If money mattered, then MDC-T which the Westerners sponsored to the eyeballs would have prevailed over Zanu-PF in the harmonised elections, but as the record will show, the opposition slumped to its worst defeat since its launch 16 years ago.

If $850 million was pumped into the NGO sector in three years, we shudder to think how much was poured into the regime change agenda over the past 15 years and the difference that money would have made to the lives of Zimbabweans if it had been channelled through Government.

Millions of Zimbabweans are today reeling from the effects of the US’ illegal sanctions regime that was imposed, in the words of the US government, to make the Zimbabwean economy scream. The US sanctions are estimated to have cost Zimbabwe over $42 billion in revenue since the turn of the Millennium.

We hope the US has learnt its lessons from the NGO saga. In Shona we say chisina kuuya nemunyai hachibvunzwe (what is not channelled through proper channels is fair game).

We hope henceforth, the US government will use proper, inter-State channels in all engagements.

When current ambassador, Bruce Wharton, indeed as did all his predecessors, presented his credentials to President Mugabe, he was recognising the legitimacy of the Government as reflected by the will of the people who elected it.

It’s time to respect their will.

You Might Also Like

Comments

Take our Survey

We value your opinion! Take a moment to complete our survey