Lie-O-Meter – Tafataona Mahoso (again!)
Posted by ZDN on November 20, 2009
Week Ending 20 November 2009
Well what do you know: Tafataona Mahoso is our lying champion for the second week in a row! We want to say good on you, but we’re not sure it’s something to be proud of. His rant in the latest Sunday Mail confirmed that he truly is off his rocker. His theme this week: sanctions (surprise, surprise). Taffy may be our champion of the week in terms of quantity of lies, but Mugabe gets first prize for the whopper he told at the United Nations Food Summit in Italy. It’s all here below, and as always, we tell you what’s really going on.
The Lie
Zimbabwe Herald: There is this unequivocal support from Western sponsored media that churn out anti-Zanu-PF propaganda and hate speech unabated on a daily basis.
The Reality
There is this unequivocal support from the Herald and other state-owned media outlets to churn out anti-West propaganda and hate speech unabated on a daily basis. Zanu-PF would find that the ‘Western” media, (which values fair comment unlike the Herald) would praise them too, if they actually did ANYTHING right! Good governance is all it takes.
The Lie
Mugabe on Zimbabwe as a safe investment destination: “I know the British are saying to you [Italy] beware of that man… They are saying your companies will not last because they will be nationalised. What they are not telling the world is that they have over 400 companies that are still operating in Zimbabwe and we have not nationalised them.”
The Reality
Well not YET, that is. Mugabe did not tell the WHOLE truth, which is that Zanu-PF is trying to push through legislation that will force all foreign companies to hand over 51% of their shares to black Zimbabweans. (We wonder if that will include Chinese-owned companies?) Under the Zanu-PF led legislation, every company that has a value above US$500 000 will be forced to give majority ownership to Zimbabweans within 60 days of the publication of the new empowerment regulations. If they fail to do so, the government will block new investment, mergers or restructuring. Now is that a smart move, Bob?
The Lie
In Rome, Mugabe blamed the meltdown of Zimbabwe’s economy on “hostile interventions” by “neocolonialist enemies” that have imposed sanctions on ‘his’ regime.
The Reality
The economic meltdown came after the destruction of the country’s commercial agriculture. No cotton = nothing for factories to make. No tobacco = no big forex earnings. No food = nothing in the shops – and so on, and so on, it’s not difficult, Bob. And it’s not just ‘your’ regime any more in case you haven’t noticed.
The Lie
Mahoso: “It is as if there is a conspiracy not to mention the impact of the illegal and racist sanctions upon agriculture, when in fact the very reason why the Rhodies used the MDC formations to ask for British, US and EU sanctions was to stop the African land reclamation movement and destroy the land reform programme.”
The Reality
What rubbish. Mahoso sings his master’s song but it is hard to believe that he even knows the proper words in this convoluted, badly constructed sentence. The shopping sanctions are in place not to stop the land “reform” programme, but are targeted at a small group of elite Zanu-PF officials who “undermine democratic institutions and processes in Zimbabwe,” as quoted in the U.S. Treasury’s executive order on sanctions. How can shopping sanctions against about 300 people have a massive impact on agriculture? The only thing that’s ruined the agriculture sector is the ill-conceived and shockingly executed land grab programme. And seriously Daffy Taffy, don’t pull the racist card when you exhibit racism in the very same sentence (“Rhodies”. Ha!).
The Lie:
Mahoso again: “Above all, the media need to link the illegal sanctions to the difficulties the farmers are facing.”
The Reality
They’ll be searching for eternity for that link, because it doesn’t exist! Curb your enthusiasm, Taffy, you’re making a fool of yourself!
The Lie
More Mahoso: “Recent direct effects of the illegal sanctions on agriculture were seen in the withdrawal of Heinz Corporation from Olivine Industries and the campaign to stop Nestlé from buying milk from repossessed farms.”
The Reality
The sanctions (which are not illegal) had absolutely zippo to do with these two cases. Seriously, nothing, nada, zilch. Heinz sold its share in Olivine Industries as part of its global strategy, plus it sold it to a government-owned business, so I don’t know what you’re complaining about Taffy. This is what your party wants, isn’t it? And Nestlé stopped buying milk from repossessed (stolen) farms because it faced a worldwide consumer boycott if it didn’t. There are moral implications to buying from a farm that was violently seized, but we wouldn’t expect you to understand that.
The Lie
Mahoso: “Gono’s data and analysis leave him with no choice but to declare the illegal and racist sanctions a form of war and terrorism against the population of Zimbabwe.”
The Reality
We didn’t know Gono had the brainpower for data-collection and analysis? But I guess that explains his ridiculous conclusion. The only entity that has waged war and terrorism against the population of Zimbabwe is Zanu-PF, literally, and for decades. Oh – and there’s that racist card again…
Comments
Submit Reply
11-25-2009
9:37 pm
I cannot
He was the greatest liar at St Augustine Mission, Penhalonga. Tafataona was educated by missionaries and he exhibited rigid anti democracy attitudes in the school debates and disliked his opposition debate fellow students. Alas! We ascribed that attitude to age difference. He was about 40 then.Leopards do not change their spots
11-26-2009
1:07 pm
A R LEE
As a resident of the UK and not affiliated to any political party anywhere in the world, I can say what I like about our Government, whoever is in power, without being dragged away and tortured.
So what is the difference between the UK and Zimbabwe? Is there a cultural difference that brings out the worst in people in power, because we all know POWER corrupts, wherever on our tiny planet. I’m thinking of centuries ago in the UK when the masses were uneducated, is that the situation over there? Because they can be abused and used, propaganda is a powerful tool in that situation and keeping the masses under control is so much easier. But history tells us that the tables will turn and those in power come unstuck every time. Are there still tribal leaders as in Afghanistan, another method of control through ignorance by the masses?
This is 2009 NOT the 18 hundreds.
I hope your once relatively wealth country bounces back, because Africa as a continent has potentially everything going for it, held back by corruption by the few, and dare I say ‘ignorance’.
I lived in Kenya 1963-64, it went downhill when they got independence, but has now picked itself up, not without some problems on the way but could show Zimbabwe how to progress.