Simba Makoni
Robert Mugabe
Morgan TsvangiraiSimba Makoni to stand against Robert Mugabe. A new opposition leader emerged in Zimbabwe, former ally of Robert Mugabe said that he would challenge him for the presidency. In a surprise announcement in Harare, Simba Makoni, 57, a former finance minister and member of the ruling Zanu-PF party’s politburo, said that he would stand as an independent candidate in the elections due on March 29.
Simba Makoni will stand as an independent, his decision marks a formal split in the ruling party.
He blamed the president for Zimbabwe’s “extreme hardships” and said: “I won’t be in this campaign alone. There will be many of us, a great many of us. I am not an opposition party. I am not standing in the name of any party.”
Mr Makoni, who studied chemistry at Leeds University in the 1970s and took a doctorate from Leicester Polytechnic. His candidacy could herald a new era in Zimbabwe politics.
Mr Makoni was sacked as finance minister in 2002 when he tried to devalue Zimbabwe’s currency - which has since become worthless. The decision by the opposition Movement for Democratic Change to divide into two factions has opened the way for him to become the standard bearer of opposition to Mr Mugabe, who turned 84 on Feb 21 and has been in power for almost 28 years. Morgan Tsvangirai, formerly the most prominent opposition leader, has been discredited by the MDC’s collapse and is now widely distrusted.
One MDC faction, led by Arthur Mutambara is not running for presidency, has been secretly talking to Mr Makoni and backs him. If so, he would gain votes in the two Matabeleland provinces. Zimbabwe has the world’s fastest-shrinking economy, the International Monetary Fund estimates that inflation is 150,000 per cent - the world’s highest. The government only admits to 100,000 per cent. Mr Makoni is one of the few Zanu-PF leaders who did not accept a seized farm and bought his own. Almost uniquely for someone who served in the highest levels of Zimbabwe’s regime, he is also untainted by corruption.
3 comments:
Dear Mhofu,
Questions, and then more questions...
Is Mr. Makoni really fresh air or just "old wine in a new bottle", as Mr. Tsvangirai claims?
Even if he embodies an honest and efficient approach, what are his chances, amidst all the rigging of late?
Is the prospect for a national unity government formed by Mr. Makoni forces, Mr. Tsvangirai´s and even part of the Zanu-PF realistic? Would it make a big difference? (I guess ANYTHING would be better than a new government by Mr. Mugabe.)
Which are the most urgent measures to adopt to revert Zimbabwe´s sinking (or at least stop it)?
Let´s forget for a second what the international community has done so far regarding the country. What would they have to do now?
Hello Paco, I hope i answer some of your questions. THE overriding thought in the minds of almost all of Zimbabwe’s electorate, as the forthcoming elections approach, is centred upon the country’s distraught economy, and whether the elections will bring about any positive change. Those who have unceasingly promised an imminent paradise for all the population, and have not only failed to deliver it, but have brought almost all to the frontiers of hell, because of their ill-conceived, misguided, and disastrously implemented political policies. The populace want an end to homelessness, to malnutrition, ill-health, inability to fund children’s education, unemployment, and all the many other characteristics of their present abominably miserable lives. Simba Makoni, the one time Minister of Finance, well-known for having resigned out of total frustration at the obstacles and hindrances erected in front of him in trying constructively to fulfil his ministerial duties, has, in his election manifesto, undertaken to give immediate and urgent priority to resolving the food, power, fuel, water and sanitation problems afflicting Zimbabwe. It is his declared intent to remove the innumerable structural economic distortions that pervade all sectors of the economy, to deregulate that economy, to assure the independence of the central bank, and to cease imposition upon that bank of unwanted, undesirable engagement in quasi-fiscal activities.
Simba Makoni has also pledged that he and his future government will re-engage the international community, will interact positively with bilateral and multi-lateral lenders in order to access balance of payments support, and will motivate and stimulate both foreign direct investment and domestic investment. The challenge on his hands is time, there are a few remaining weeks before the elections, to convince the population of the genuineness of these intents, and hoping that the elections are free and fair, then undoubtedly the despairing population will once again perceive a ray of real hope for the future. For the first time in a decade, someone in the political environment is speaking out with positive intents, instead of projecting further national suicide, and therefore opening a window to gaze at a very bright future economic horizon. The contrast between the economic policies of President Mugabe and Makoni are striking in the extreme. Mr Tsvangirai has competition on his hands and will fall by the wayside if not careful, he has lost two elections in the last 10 years as opposition leader, rigging or not, the platform will be the same for the two challengers they need to deal with it. I have concentrated on Makoni as the new kid on the block, everyone knows about Mugabe and Tsvangirai. The international community needs to give elections a chance, writing them off before hand doesnt help anyone.
Food for thought Mhofu.
SIMBA Makoni’s decision to join the March 2008 presidential election has undoubtedly generated a lot of political hope both inside and outside Zimbabwe. This is not surprising given that for almost a decade Zimbabweans have increasingly felt trapped not just by the economic crisis and the political deadlock in the country but also the dearth of a visionary leadership. Under their current leadership, both Zanu PF and the MDC have become politically redundant organisations offering voters very little to choose between them. President Robert Mugabe has become a liability to the country, while the MDC’s Morgan Tsvangirai has proved to be a weak, indecisive leader who cannot be trusted with the delicate task of leading a nation. He has been making blunderous political decisions and serious errors of judgement since 2000.In contrast to Mugabe and Tsvangirai who both epitomise leadership bankruptcy, Makoni represents hope and pragmatism. He is intelligent, level-headed and realistic. He has outstanding anti-colonial credentials and thus cannot be dismissed as an upstart. While in government, Makoni consistently objected to irrational policies in both government and the politburo, and this cost him his position in cabinet. This was not the first time he was booted out of government for speaking his mind and his principled opposition to unsound policies. Regrettably, his campaign so far seems incapable of rising to the occasion. The biggest challenge that Makoni faces is time. He entered the race very late and he needs to make up for lost time. Makoni’s delayed decision to announce his candidacy is thus going to cost him votes. Many Zimbabweans, especially those in the remote rural villages, are definitely ready for a leadership change but are actually frustrated with the lack of detail about the Makoni project. His campaign has obviously been ignored by the largely state-controlled media. There has been an element of overconfidence on Makoni’s part — a factor which might prove to be his greatest undoing. Makoni seems to think it is self-evident that he is the answer to the Zimbabwean stalemate. He may well be that answer, but he needs to do some serious hard work. Without this, as one Zimbabwean lawyer recently noted, Makoni might be the best president Zimbabwe never had.
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