That MDC-T President and Zimbabwe Premier Morgan Tsvangirai has borne the bulk of the Zanu PF institutional abuse of power is common cause to many. The ordeal he has gone through as Secretary General of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions and MDC founding President is a matter of a harrowing public record of unbridled political vagaries and impunity by a 21st century State against an individual citizen exercising constitutional rights.
Tsvangirai has; lost his wife and grandson, survived several assassination attempts, and has been; arrested and charged with offences that carried the death penalty on several times, viciously assaulted while in police custody, denied freedom to travel and association, publicly ridiculed and dispossessed of personal and organisational property under his charge. Amazingly he has triumphed all the challenges and emerged even more popular with the Zimbabwean and International publics alike.
However, and without any malice or intention to depreciate the Zimbabwe Premier’s numerous political traumas and the magnificent achievements he has recorded thus far, he would be absolutely wrong to believe and behave as if he was the only victim of Zanu PF political plunder and pillaging as well as the sole survivor of same.
There are numerous orphans and destitute people whose lives have been totally wrecked by the Zanu PF political excesses to a greater or worse extent than it has done to him and his family. Sadly these other victims were not advantageously positioned to draw international and local attention to their demise and are languishing in obscurity.
The Premier was, and still is, fronting a dangerous revolution against a lethal and formidable political opponent hence his ordeal has been consistently highlighted nationally and internationally and his losses accounted for. There is the danger that he might fall in the unfortunate trap of believing he was the only one to pay the maximum price for his beliefs and thus is owed eternal gratitude by the Zimbabweans. The decision to enter into a coalition government with Zanu PF carried a tinge of such underlying feelings in him and was a grave mistake on his and the MDC-T party’s National Executive.
Then, and most likely in future, the agreement to sign up to the coalition government was and will continue to be justified on the grounds that it was a forced concession by political events outside the MDC-T’s control not least among them the Zimbabwe Military patronage of Zanu PF and SADC and AU intransigence as well as international unwillingness to intervene and back up a democratic process’ outcomes in Zimbabwe. In addition it will always be advanced that the decision was premised on the MDC-T’s people centeredness and was the best possible solution to avert a looming humanitarian crisis that was threatening to tear the nation apart and wipe out the bulk of the populace if not from economic deprivation then from uncontrolled civil strife.
There was and still is merit in these compelling explanations for the MDC-T signing up to the coalition government pact. However it was and it will always remain an inexcusable political blunder that stains the MDC-T that it carved in to political pressures at a time it was most advantageously positioned to defend democracy and let the people decide a political impasse that was affecting them as they deemed reasonable and fit under the circumstances.
As it turned out MDC-T connived with Zanu PF and MDC-M with external encouragement from Sadc and the AU to disenfranchise Zimbabweans by forming a government the electorate had never voted for let alone imagined when they thronged polling Stations and cast their votes on 29 March 2008.
The consequences of the ill advised decision have now come full circle and Premier Tsvangirai conservatively acknowledged them at the party’s 3rd Congress when owned up to the discord in the coalition arrangement in the following terms;
“… SADC and the AU are ready to prevent the circus of 2008 that began in Kenya, was perfected in Zimbabwe but backfired with disastrous consequences in the Ivory Coast.
This is the circus where losers of national elections are accommodated through power sharing arrangements.”
Indeed the coalition government in Zimbabwe is a circus in that not only is it under the Presidency of an election reject but it is also a front of a military junta it has no control over.
It is therefore heartening to learn that the person truly recognised by most Zimbabweans as the face of the democracy revolution in the country has come to the realisation that his esteemed position as the country’s Premier is devalued by the circus playing out under his sojourn.
The Premier and his Party is under negative siege for failing to uphold the party’s Constitution by allowing its founding president to exceed his two term limit and regressing into political violence reminiscent to that characterizing Zanu PF politicking. Democracy may actually have benefited from Tsvangirai’s re-election as party president for a third consecutive term if the term prior to the party split is taken into account otherwise 2nd consecutive term.
The re-election of Tsvangirai means the party has now signaled other political party’s of what awaits them in the Presidential contest in the next General election and that is none other than Mugabe’s victor in the 2008 election. Secondly the fact that Tsvangirai was unanimously nominated by all the party’s electoral colleges cannot be dismissed simply because it has hitherto been abused in Zanu PF. Tsvangirai’s nomination was never in doubt as he has managed to shake off internal revolts without using suppressive violence as is renowned in Zanu PF. Evidently MDC-T unlike Zanu PF is tolerant of both its membership and outsiders promoting competition for positions within its leadership as long as the competition is free from corruption, patronage and violence. Other than the President’s position all other positions in its National Executive had contestants nominated but some withdrew from the race before the elections leaving the Treasurer General to be declared an uncontested winner along with the President.
Now that he is legitimately back at helm with full endorsement of the party’s provinces, Premier Tsvangirai and his refreshed team must focus attention to real issues threatening not just the party’s electability but also national well being. Key among these must surely be unresolved worker and peasantry grievances over their savings that were initially devalued by hyperinflation and subsequently invalidated by multiple currency usage fiscal policies without provision for conversion being extended to the populace at large.
The second most compelling national issue must surely be how to democratise the country’s political systems and there is far too much work to be done in this regard if the MDC-T party is to realise its cherished goal of participating in and winning and or losing a free, fair and credible general election. The major obstacle, as has always been the case in the past, is the military interference in favour of Zanu PF.
It is impossible to reform military institutions before the next election because any such attempts will be resisted, if not by Zanu PF, then by military force on orders of the military commanders. The best remedy here is a campaign that teaches vulnerable civilians to publicly cooperate with the Militia and privately vote against the wishes of the military to avoid being physically harmed. This will require that a rule be put in place where the uniformed militia will have no role inside polling stations and the ZEC employees are demilitarised.
The third objective must be the information management initiative. It is no use arguing for State or Public media to stop publishing hate speech and pro Zanu PF propaganda because they will simply not take notice. The MDC must find a way of ensuring their side of the story is told in the National Press by either responding to the bad publicity articles through its senior party information secretaries and if they are not given publicity taking up the unpublished rebuttals to parliament and Cabinet for national debate and correction,
The long term objective must be to assign the party’s think-tank to craft the economic blue print for the next government since MDC-T is poised to take over the government reins. Now that the real Tsvangirai is back he must focus on the future government and not the current circus that is only rewarding for the losers of the 2008 elections.
All the stalled programmes Constitution, Media, Electoral Law, Fiscal Management, Judiciary and National Healing will be the responsibility of the next government to expeditiously implement for the national benefit. Zanu PF interference will not be a feasible defence for failed implementation because the party will be in opposition benches and expected to oppose and make it difficult for the MDC-T to govern. But without a compromised President to support them Zanu PF will be like any other opposition party.
While the elected MDC-T leadership must be congratulated they also must be reminded that they have accepted a responsibility to keep the party well positioned to win the next elections and lead the formation of a government of excellence and not just preserve a party of excellence.
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