October 29, 2009

Another chance for MDC to flex their muscle

It is a nightmare, is it not?

Now here we are with the so-called unity government in tatters and SADC’s political medics rushing to resuscitate it.

Only last week were we debating whether or not Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai did the right thing to “dis-engage” from Robert Mugabe’s ZANU-PF.

The intrigue lay in how the MDC would continue to perform government duties without talking to its partners in the coalition government.

But I think Robert Mugabe and ZANU-PF have made things easier for everyone, especially for the MDC.

SADC and the African Union are running up and down in an effort to prop up the rotten agreement they fostered on the MDC.

We know they are swarming into Zimbabwe to assist Mugabe, not the people of Zimbabwe, let alone the MDC.

Whatever happens, the MDC must not accept ever being pressured back into this government where they know they are junior partners.

They made this big mistake once and they should now make amends to the people, if they have any respect for the people who sent them there.

No more concessions; they must stand their ground and show some spine. The people gave them a mandate.

It is now quite clear that Mugabe never had any intention to be honest about this political marriage of inconvenience while the MDC itself was too hasty, too enthusiastic and too willing to say “yes” at every turn.

What ZANU-PF has done to the MDC, to the people and to the nation since the formation of this fake government is evidence enough for the MDC to pressure SADC.

The MDC must remember that they are not the ones at fault and should not, therefore, accept being forced into making further concessions. That will not help but will only accelerate the MDC’s demise.

The MDC must send SADC to Mugabe and not waste too much time with them. The MDC is not the one to reconcile.

They must point where the problem lies and urge SADC to be firm with Mugabe or else the MDC should simply walk away from the SADC saboteurs.

SADC has messed up Zimbabwe for too long and it is very unfortunate that presidents in this useless organization can continuously gather to preside over the killing of a fellow neighbouring state. They should be ashamed of themselves to no end.

There is no doubt that the MDC’s presence in this government legitimized Mugabe and unwittingly elevated that group of self seekers from Arthur Mutambara’s camp.

The MDC’s capitulation and subsequent dabbling in this unity government re-invigorated Mugabe who quickly seized the moment to regroup and strengthen his people around him.

As is now clear, the MDC’s so-called “dis-engagement” rattled Mugabe. Without Tsvangirai as partner, the ZANU-PF government becomes a useless group with hardly any support, except from those imbeciles at SADC.

Botswana, on its part, has already stated that if the unity government falls, Mugabe should not dream of any recognition from Botswana because “Mugabe certainly did not win any election”.

SADC has had endless opportunities to justify their existence but in all instances, they have failed to execute their responsibilities.

The MDC, like everyone else, must accept that they have been used long enough and must now get serious.

However, it is, at least, pleasing that the MDC finally reacted to all the nonsense that ZANU-PF has been directing at it.

Mugabe has been violating the agreement at will and behaved as if he were in this government alone. There is absolutely nothing for the MDC in this arrangement, except to legitimize those who should not be there.

That has to come to an end.

Mugabe, as expected, is threatening to appoint acting ministers to replace those from Tsvangirai’s MDC.

He is not eager to smooth things over but wishes to control a nation that rejected him. The fact that he was not elected does not matter to him.

It is a pity that we find ourselves with a powerless winner.

Regardless of that, the abnormal situation must now be turned around and the MDC must not be concerned about Mugabe appointing a new set of ministers to replace those from Tsvangirai.

Let him go ahead; good for him. He might as well go ahead because he has been running the country alone without giving space to the other partners in government.

Mugabe has been using Tsvangirai and Tsvangirai must wake up to this reality and refuse to be used any further.

So, let Mugabe appoint acting ministers or, better still, let him replace MDC minister with whoever he wants.

The MDC must not be worried about such a move and should not be tempted to compromise. They overdid the compromise thing and look where it got us!

The MDC have created an opening; they should unite and keep walking away from this government.

Their absence from this government is a big statement and it tells Mugabe something the MDC should have told him a long time ago.

There is no room for apologies here; the MDC should re-direct events now and stop accepting defeatist compromises. They must rescind all those horrible compromises they fell into and offer a new direction that asserts their authority.

They gave Mugabe too much and he used it all against them, against the people and the nation.

The MDC must agitate for more than they had accepted earlier and even demand new elections at the earliest possible time.

Enough is enough and any more of the MDC’s patience might be misinterpreted by both the people and ZANU-PF.

The heart of the matter is that the MDC must turn the momentum around and make their presence, or absence, felt.

This is their time to redirect their efforts, to show leadership, to flex those muscles nurtured by those millions of votes.

It is time for the MDC to rediscover and use its newly found moral high ground.

It is time for the MDC to stop associating with a group of thugs that has been terrorizing the nation in the presence of an elected partner.

It is time for the MDC to set the agenda not to always follow and react to what Mugabe is doing.

The MDC should have kicked Mugabe out of government rather than them walking away.

What do you think?

Send me your comment on tano@swradioafrica.com

The MDC says they remain in government but will not attend cabinet meetings or, in effect, not discuss government business with its partners in this so-called government of national unity.

Now this is silly, to say the least. They have given Mugabe all the space and time he needed and Mugabe gladly accepted it, harassing and arresting MDC people while Tsvangirai watched. Slowly, violence and disappearances are on the rise again and the MDC should stand to the side, not to be part of this madness.

The MDC must show seriousness and completely abandon the unity government.

Considering that they should not have been in this government in the first place, the MDC now has the time and opportunity to make amends and set a new agenda for itself vis-à-vis ZANU-PF. They must behave like the people given the mandate and aim higher than before.

Ironically, their departure from government gives them the upper hand. It gives them more power than they wield inside the unity government. They must use it just like Mugabe is using authority he stole from the masses.

This is another opportunity for the MDC to not only flex their muscle but to show that they know what they are doing.

It is time for them to show leadership. They have the people behind them but they should not make as big a mistake as the one they allowed to give birth to this so-called unity government.

I am Tanonoka Joseph Whande and that, my compatriots, is the way it is today, Thursday October 29, 2009.