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Stephen Mpofu, Perspective

THEY bark up the wrong tree and in the process de-campaign themselves in Sadc and in the Africa Union as unreliable, even perfidious, should they storm into power through the backdoor.

That is a picture which those who form the political opposition in this country rightly or wrongly paint of themselves in the outside world by positioning themselves as people for whom the ballot is a tricky horse to ride into the citadel of power so that once ensconced there they can barricade themselves inside with ears plugged to insulate them against outcries to them from the outside world for free, fair and credible elections.

If the opposition now frothing at the mouth as they call for and organise demonstrations, and with that the ouster of a legitimate government in power, regard the above description of their actions as a cock-and-bull story, why then should they not wait for the next elections which are around the corner, in 2023, to be voted into power fair and square?

No, that would appear to be too long a wait for them to prove to the world their legitimate right to form the next government and so they make themselves appear to the rest of the world as people in too much of a hurry to satiate their political hunger by organising demonstrations against the incumbent Zanu-PF government.

But who does not know the people responsible for Zimbabwe’s economic demise?

This country’s politically astute publics (rpt publics) as well as their counterparts abroad know fully well that illegal economic sanctions imposed on the Zanu-PF government, and with that on the Zimbabwean population in 2002, by the anti-black-governments in the West are to blame for the virtual ruin of the Zimbabwean economy, and not the Zanu-PF government that is being punished for land reform under which some farms belonging to some white farmers were repossessed for re-allocation to blacks who needed that asset the most.

After failing to effect regime change in order to reverse the land reform programme, the West is now surreptitiously sponsoring the opposition in this country to do the dirty work for them, believing that Zimbabweans and the progressive world are too naïve to know precisely who is behind the cloak and dagga operations.

The gurus in Zimbabwe’s business empire — perhaps with some exceptions, but no one knows for sure — certainly appear to have been roped into the fray with their rampant increases of prices of goods and services to augment the work of the political opposition for a quick fix of the government.

If that is not the case, are those in the business community so daft that they do not realise that by increasing their prices so stiffly they are pricing themselves into bankruptcy and out of business with money fast becoming such a scarce resource for the buying public in an economy in dire straits?

Of course, except for the small up-and-coming businesses catching up with Big Brother on prices rises, the rest of the business people now running with the hares and hunting with the hounds believe that the run will not be prolonged and that once a pro-Western imperialist government accedes to power our currency, the bond/RTGS dollar, which most of these people regard as “worthless”, will be done away with and the parallel market will as well as a mix of foreign currencies, become primary media of exchange and these people can then do as they want with the money, including bluing it out of the country for safe keeping in foreign bank accounts as what happened with what is now historically known as the Panama Papers relating to foreign dignitaries politically and otherwise who kept secret bank accounts in the state of Panama in the West.

Should what this pen dreads happen with the illegal externalisation of money earned in Zimbabwe or through Zimbabwean exports, and with the foreign currency earned not being repatriated to help bolster economic growth back home, then this nation will be the final loser when all the financial misdemeanours are considered.

So true and not inverted Zimbabwean patriots have a legitimate right to expect their government to take whatever measures are necessary to restore order and sanity to the motherland and its economy.

Those International Monetary Fund and other organisations that claim to acknowledge that the necessary economic fundamentals are now in place in Zimbabwe should not be allowed to pull wool over the eyes of both Zimbabweans as well as those of the progressive international world.

If they are to be allowed then they must persuade their paymasters, the Western governments, to lift sanctions on Zimbabwe for the institutions in point to resume business with Zimbabwe for our people to benefit from a resultant, re-invigorated economy; otherwise they are merely covering up for the opposition and anti-Zanu-PF businesses that serve as agents that the West is using to effect regime change.

Sadc Heads of State at their recent summit meeting in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, agreed that each member state would on an agreed date once a year undertake activities to protest Western sanctions on Zimbabwe as a statement for the punitive measures to be lifted.

The Africa Union will be briefed on that resolution, no doubt in hopes that the continental body will add its weight to the call on those who impose the economic and financial embargo on our country to lift the sanctions.

What the Sadc decision means to those in the political opposition in this country is that they are already considered politically undesirable elements in Sadc member states and that should they by some political witchcraft wake up in power one day they will be seen as a big threat to land reform programmes being implemented in other Sadc countries, by influencing or working with the opposition in those countries to sabotage the programmes, at the behest of the external enemies of black governments.

All in all, this pen prays that the righteous hand of the good Lord will lead our nation victoriously through the trials and tribulations that we face and into a brave new future for all of our people.

But there is a proviso and this is that our people desist from all tribes and clans and surrender themselves completely to our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ and all will be well in the motherland.