My impression of the MDC has always been that of ideological lightweights, a people not grounded in any solid belief system. It is a dangerous thing when those who aspire to leadership are open to persuasion. Some examples would be helpful. A few years ago Mutambara called Mugabe a criminal.

A few months ago he described him as the “physical embodiment of the three buckets of leadership,” whatever that means.
The same is true of Tendai Biti and Morgan Tsvangirai.
Before the GNU they told the world that Mugabe was a machete-wielding bloodsucker and argued that there were no sanctions imposed against Zimbabwe, merely travel bans on Mugabe and his rowdies.

After joining government they began to change their tune. Tendai Biti wrote letters to the West calling for the lifting of sanctions.
He gave interviews expressing surprise at President Mugabe’s fatherly and loving demeanor. Surely this is not the monster we have been fighting, he told one interviewer.

Tsvangirai went as far as saying he had a great “working relationship” with Mugabe.
It is a dangerous thing when leaders open to persuasion in this way.

This groveling by Tsvangirai and Biti is even more embarrassing when one considers that President Mugabe never reciprocated. He changed Tsvangirai, Biti and Mutambara; they did not change him.

What is my point?
Simply that the MDC lacks the ideological clarity of thought necessary to govern.
I speak with specific reference to plans by the MDC controlled local authority to charge motorists in excess of $400 for trivial motoring offences.

The council recently announced it was raising penalties for illegal parking and other offences by nearly 400 percent.
The actions of the MDC controlled council are especially puzzling against the background of their trade union roots.
The MDC is offering draconian penalties for petty traffic violations.

This is why I began by speaking of the danger of leaders who lack firm ideological persuasion. It is difficult to imagine that these are the actions of a trade union backed movement, a movement that claims to have the weak and downtrodden at heart.

One would associate such anti-poor heavy handedness with the elitist politics of big business, not a trade union backed political party.
If anything, the MDC council should be levying heavy taxes on real estate owners in the city and hiking tariffs for business operations as opposed to attacking motorists.

Let’s take a closer look at what the MDC is suggesting for Harare.
Person A parks at a designated parking spot. The charge is a dollar.
The individual pays this much covering an hour.

For whatever reason they are late, and their vehicle is clamped. For that one-dollar violation, the MDC intends to charge the motorist up to $400.
This is outrageous.

The uneducated Tsvangirai has been coached into using the term draconian as a matter of style. His handlers must educate him as to the true meaning of the word.

The actions of his political party in Harare are draconian.
The outrageous nature of these plans can be exposed by a basic comparison.

A driver is charged $20 for going through a red light. That is far more serious an offence as compared to the petty offences the local authority wants to milk motorists for.

It becomes all the more outrageous when you consider that London, an expensive city with relatively wealthy inhabitants charges $300 for towing a vehicle.

One is at a loss as to how the MDC thinks it can charge over $400 for towing a car in a developing world country were people are struggling.
They are clearly out of touch.

Not only are the charges ridiculous, the reasons for towing are unsatisfactory.
A few weeks back I saw a vehicle towed from Fife Avenue. The driver was guilty of a trivial offence. He was having his car washed in the street in contravention of council regulations. Fair enough, the man broke the rules.

However I see no reason why he should be towed and slapped with a $400 charge. One would think a $20 ticket would be more appropriate.

The issue is one of proportionality. I would readily support $400 tickets for people who go through red traffic lights or unlicensed drivers.
The offence is egregious and threatens the safety of other road users.

I would equally accept heavy penalties for those who drive under the influence of alcohol or kombi drivers who ignore designated lanes and drive recklessly. The fine must match the seriousness of the offence.

There is much to be said regarding these foolish measures by the MDC but I will not dissuade them too much.
It is good when the MDC punishes the urban voter and Zanu-PF gives them bonuses and increases their pay.

Chombo must resist the urge to intervene and stop this madness on the part of the MDC. Let them execute their neo-liberal policies so the urban voter to see what “change” really means.

Kasukuwere Detained
Posting on Twitter, Minister Saviour Kasukuwere announced that officials in Germany had detained him for nearly three hours. The German officials explained that they had been advised of an “unwelcome element” possibly passing through the country. After wasting his time and humiliating him, the Germans let him go.

Not many weeks ago we saw our foreign minister, Mbengegwi, equally humiliated in New York.
The Germans and Americans carry on their regime change mischief in this country unmolested. We have treated Western diplomats with respect but the generosity is not being reciprocated. Reciprocity is a simple but important principle that underpins diplomacy.

Pinch me and I pinch you.

The humiliation of Kasukuwere was inevitably followed with that typical dishonest white charm. It will never happen again, the German ambassador is said to have promised.
All this is insincere.

They pretend to respect us but the evidence says otherwise.
We must stop entertaining their nonsense.

It must be clear to the Americans and Germans that if they humiliate our officials we will do the same to their own.
The president is at pains to explain that there is nothing remotely special about these large-eared pink devils.
There is no reason to revere them.

We should equally detain their officials whilst we carry out “necessary checks” at Harare International Airport.
It is only when we respond in kind that they will stop this nonsense. It is completely unacceptable and their insincere apologies must be accepted only in word.

Stop talking about the West
I am quite annoyed with the public media’s focus on the West.

Some days ago the Herald carried an article suggesting the America Ambassador had performed an about turn as regards the election.
This, we were told, was a marked departure from the intransigent European position refusing to accept the election as credible.

A few hours after the publication hit the streets, the Ambassador took to social networks and savaged the Herald alleging that he had been misquoted.

We will come back to that incident in a moment.
About the same time, the finance minister briefed the diplomatic community on Zim Asset.

Over the weekend, the ZBC carried reports of a Western ambassador speaking generously about a future of co-operation.
The reports were meant to communicate that there was light at the end of the tunnel as regards our relationship with the West.
The effect of such reports is to communicate a straightforward message to the people of this country.

That message is that the West is very important and we are eager for a favourable appraisal from them. This is what we are saying.
Why do we care what that Bruce Wharton thinks about our elections?

He is not the international community but merely part of a white minority that has done all it can to sabotage this government.
Last week China Exim Bank provided over $300 million dollars to help expand power generation at Kariba.
About the same time the deal was signed, Bruce Wharton took to social networks, heaping praises on his nation telling us how grateful we should be for a donation of $64000.

Just looking at those numbers, $64000 from the Americans compared to $300 million from the Chinese.
It should be clear that the people whose opinion matters are the Chinese.

If an opinion should be sought, it is that of the Chinese Ambassador.
If we should wish for a favourable appraisal, it should be from the Chinese not the British and Americans who are good at giving pathetic charitable gestures but have never invested meaningfully in this country.

As I pondered these things my mind was taken to the Zamps survey and some troubling findings arising out of that research.
Asked about how favourably they viewed different nations, the respondents favoured the West.
30 percent of males had a favourable view of Russia. When asked about the USA, 53 percent had a favourable view.
Please see the attached graphic.

These numbers are an anomaly and must be a serious cause of concern for policy makers.
If South Koreans were to be polled they would not express a favourable view of Russia to a greater extent than their key ally, the United States.

This is simply because the Americans have been of great assistance to the South Koreans and the beneficiaries recognise this and appreciate it.
The Chinese and Russians were instrumental in our liberation.

The Chinese have contributed significantly to our economy.
How is it that they are viewed less favourably than our former colonisers, Britain?
We say Look East but our body language suggest we are quietly longing for a Western embrace.

Our fixation with the West smacks of desperation. We seem eager to receive applause from the West. This is unfortunate given that their contribution to this nation is insignificant.

There is talk of the Chinese releasing billions of dollars in stimulus funding.
They have already released hundreds of millions to help ease our energy woes. Why are we not eager to hear what the Chinese ambassador has to say?

Why do our journalists rush to Bronnert’s white feet?
Communication is not confined to overt verbal declarations.
People often read much into what is important by what we devote our energies to.

The relentless pursuit of pink opinion and approval is causing serious harm to our information efforts.
It must stop.
Ndatenda
Ndini muchembere wenyu Amai Jukwa

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