NewsDay (Zimbabwe)

New republic, worse than Mugabe era

- Leonard Koni

THE country looks like a civilian regime where everything is run by civilians in which democratic institutio­ns exist in form, but not in substance, because the electoral, legislatur­e, judicial, media and other institutio­ns of democracy are so heavily skewed in favour of the current military power holders. To be precise we have what we call a captured State.

The country's political, social and economy is burning in a catastroph­ic inferno.

Operation Restore Legacy was a farce.

It was a power struggle within the two warring camps called G40 and Team Lacoste.

The Operation Restore Legacy was all about satisfying egos and consolidat­ing their appetite for power not national developmen­t as expected.

Since President Emmerson Mnangagwa took over from the late Robert Mugabe through a coup, things worsened and even Zanu PF supporters have admitted that Mugabe was far much better than what they are experienci­ng right now.

People are struggling to survive with an inflation rate of 741,75%. Life has become so unbearable in Zimbabwe. The November 2017 events were aptly designed to shift political power from one faction to the other and it were not meant to restore legacy as Zanu PF would like the world to believe.

It was a factional war between Team Lacoste and G40 and had nothing to do with the welfare of ordinary people who are living in abject poverty.

To show that there was nothing like restoratio­n of legacy, masses continue to wallow in poverty and with young people braving the crocodile-infested Limpopo River to jump the borders in search of greener pastures as hunger and unemployme­nt strike in the country.

Things have become worse and it looks like the so-called second republic does not have any clue on how to fix this country's ailing economy.

All hope has been lost and the same applies to the foreign investors who celebrated with the hope to do business under the new leadership, alas that was a false start.

In the operation restore legacy Zimbabwean­s were sold a dummy or in street lingo the people kicked a flat ball.

The Zanu PF leadership resembles an engine which has worn out rings which needs complete overhaul. The country is sinking deep into economic quagmire.

What kind of legacy was restored by this new republic when members of the opposition continue to be harassed, arrested and jailed for demonstrat­ing against poor governance, looting and corruption?

There is no restoratio­n of legacy when the government awards licences of six national free-to air commercial television to those connected without even awarding a single television licence to the opposition.

Such face powder media reforms are an embarrassm­ent to the nation. Zimbabwean­s must unite and take to task and interrogat­e this government for selling them a dummy.

 ??  ?? The late former President Robert Mugabe
The late former President Robert Mugabe

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