July 2, 2009

MDC’s flip-flopping dangerous and should now be cause for concern

How many times have I said that Prime Minister Tsvangirai rushed into this government of national unitywithout thinking?

How many times have I pointed out that there is something missing and there is a lack of cohesion within the MDC in as far as this government of national unity is concerned?

How many times have I expressed doubt about the Prime Minister’s grasp of what is really happening and expressed fear as to whether he really understands the implications of his capitulation?
How many times has Mr Tsvangirai contradicted his own subordinates and reverted to flip-flop administrative management, exposing that he, himself, is not really sure of his direction or intention?
Some people criticised the booing of Tsvangirai by exiled Zimbabweansin the United Kingdomafter they challenged him on the validity of his statement that things were going on well back home and inviting all Zimbabwean expatriates to return home to assist in the rebuilding of the nation.
People point out that Tsvangirai is just a token presence in the government and that he does not wield any power or authority to make any changes or implement any of his party’s proposals for the nation, let alone protect anyone.

On his tour of America and Europe, Tsvangirai told US and European leaders that he has a good working relationship with Mugabe, and that Zimbabwewas on “an irreversible path to recovery and democratic reform”.

He told anyone who dared to listen that all was well back in Zimbabwe and that his government deserved a large injection of money to get the country back on its feet.
It is true that money is needed to resuscitate the country but it is a lie that all is well back home, at least not so well that Tsvangirai could honestly stand in front of those who have been withholding aid to avoid Robert Mugabe’s abuse of the people, human rights and national funds and campaign for Mugabe to be accepted back in the world community, travel bans on them lifted and all exiles returning home.

Sadly, I have to admit that we have lost Tsvangirai. I knew it the moment I saw him inspecting a Guard of Honourin Germany.
He was literally in another world and was shamelessly telling everyone that things were okay back home. He is keen on inspecting more guards of honour.
Last week, an official from Tsvangirai’s party, Deputy Minister of Mines, Murisi Zwizwai, denied that Mugabe’s government ever killed any alluvial diamond miners in the Chiadzwa area, in the Marange District of eastern Zimbabwe.

Last year, there was a hue and cry when the government controversially sent in the Zimbabwe National Armyto “disperse thousands of illegal diamond hunters” although it had initially seized the diamond claim in 2007 and encouraged the people to help themselves to alluvial diamond mining.
After the people indeed helped themselves, with substantial profits to show for it, ZANU-PF fat cats wanted a piece of the action and the army was sent in.

The MDC at the time claimed that there were hundreds of people killed and buried in mass gravesto “hide the regime’s murderous activities”.
Today, the MDC is in a coalition governmentwith Mugabe and the army commanders who set loose their charges on this alleged murderous spree.

While his boss was lying about things being okay back home, Zwizwai, the once trusted and respected “man of the people”, told a diamond conference in Namibiathat, contrary to allegations in the media, “nobody was killed by security forces during an operation in Marange” last year.
In typical ZANU-PF style and lingo, MDC’s Zwizwai added that the army went in to clean up the mining area, adding that the area was infested by cunning die-hard illegal diamond diggers.

Why did Zwizwai keep quiet when his party was accusing the army of murder and torture of alluvial diamond miners last year? Why is he supporting the same government today?
Or is this what happens, as happened with his boss Tsvangirai, when they suddenly find themselves with diplomatic passports and are treated differently from other people?

Of course, nobody believed Zwizwai, just as they did not believe Tsvangirai, so the Kimberly Process, a diamond certification scheme “aimed at preventing the sale of conflict diamonds”, announced that they would be sending a team to Zimbabwe to investigate.

On Wednesday, Zwizwai’s fellow MDC-T parliamentarian, Shuah Mudiwa, whose constituency covers the diamond fields, was sentenced to seven years in prison on trumped up charges of kidnapping, effectively arresting the truth about what really transpired at those diamond fields.
I bet Tsvangirai and Zwizwai are too busy checking the number of pages left for visas in their passports.

Suddenly yesterday, the MDC was once again forced to issue a strongly worded statement, distancing itself from Zwizwai’s utterances, which the MDC called unfortunate, inaccurate and premature in what they called the absence of an investigation into “the murky dealings in the Chiadzwa diamond fields where a lot of things happened out of the public eye”.
The MDC said, “Honourable Zwizwai’s claims are therefore fact-hostile and evidence-free.”

It is distressing that as Tsvangirai was busy telling the world that all was well, not only in Zimbabwe, but between the MDC and ZANU-PF, members of his cabinet, led by none other than Deputy Prime Minister, Thokozani Khupe, boycotted the weeklycabinet meetingbecause Mugabe had decided to hold the meeting on Monday, a day earlier than is traditional, because he allegedly wanted to fly to Libyafor an African Union meeting.

Khupe said the move “underpins everything wrong about the present agreement” and that it reflected “unilateralism, disrespect, contempt and a refusal to recognise reality and the letter and spirit of the Global Political Agreement”.
It sounds familiar; haven’t I said this before?

“The decision,” said Khupe “seeks to deny the recognition of the Prime Minister as chair of Cabinet when the President is away.”
It is reported that “there exists a strong group within the MDC-T that is getting restless and is rejecting what is seen as the ‘strategy of appeasement by others in the party”.
They now feel that they are too caught up in the inclusive government mantra.
Khupe said that the MDC had the right to disengage from the coalition government “if the host of grievances was not resolved”.
“At this moment,” retorted Tsvangirai to reporters on Tuesday, “there is no thinking in MDC to pull out of the agreement.”

Refuting his deputy prime minister’s comments, which, ironically, were made in his defence, Tsvangirai added that there is no reason to fear that the government will collapse or that the MDC would pull out of the agreement.

Meanwhile, the MDC parliamentarian for the Zaka Central Constituency, Harrison Mudzuri, went as far as openly attacking his party president saying that Tsvangirai is pretending all is well in Zimbabwe “when violations continue despite the establishment of the inclusive government”.
Mudzuri told journalists that Tsvangirai was “not listening to complaints from party members over harassment and political violence”.

“In fact, our members are being harassed and arrested every day, and when you try to tell the Prime Minister, he will say that such complaints will undermine the inclusive government,” said Mudzuri.
It is not easy to understand the MDC’s intentions since the leadership, along with its senior officials, always contradict each other and just about everyone reacts to issues in their own way and do not separate personal opinion from party position.
 
The heart of the matter is that as of today, the MDC does not appear to have a well thought out agenda or political philosophy to sell to the people. The MDC does not appear able to articulate its intentions for the nation.

They make it up as they go.
I fear that every senior MDC member thinks they can utter any statement on behalf of the party, forcing the party Secretariat to always issue admonishing statements and denials.
There does not appear to be much cohesion within the party as everyone is a spokesperson of the MDC.

We deserve better; the MDC owes us a better government but, first, they owe us a better party administration. They cannot continue like this.
What do you think? Send me your comments on tano@swradioafrica.com I am worried about the continued flip flopping at such a high level of the party and government.
I am Tanonoka Joseph Whande and that, my fellow Zimbabweans are my fears today, Thursday, July 2nd, 2009.