via End nigh for MDC rebels – DailyNews Live 8 APRIL 2014
The events of the past few weeks indicate very strongly that the so-called MDC renewal team is fast running out of steam.
With party leader Morgan Tsvangirai ratcheting up the pressure on the rebels, as well as his grassroots campaigns (and he clearly has the numbers on his side), the renewal team is finding itself well and truly up the creek — without a paddle to row back to terra firma!
It truly looks over, bar the croaky shouting that is likely to continue for a few more weeks, at best.
Notwithstanding the twisted perceptions to the contrary about us in some fringe quarters, we at the Daily News don’t care much about who leads any of Zimbabwe’s numerous political parties.
Our interest — and we are unequivocal about this — lies in the kind, quality and depth of the country’s democracy, not the personalities and political parties that operate within our body politic per se. It is in this vein, that we have viewed the blood-letting within the MDC very dimly, guided by one important philosophy; that a united, strong and effective MDC is good for both Zanu PF and our beautiful country.
Indeed, only complete dullards do not appreciate the fact that leading countries, whose democracies and economies are thriving and work for the good of all their citizens, also tend to have strong ruling and opposition parties. This is why we also continue to argue that our nascent democracy is the biggest loser as the madness within the MDC rages on: because Zimbabwe has never needed a stronger opposition than now — a time of worsening economic problems that portend the calamitous crisis of 2008.
The MDC, in its lack of wisdom, agreed to participate in the 2013 harmonised elections without all the key tenets of the Global Political Agreement (GPA) being fully consummated as had been prescribed by Sadc, particularly South Africa.
And all of the MDC’s national leaders — including Tsvangirai, Tendai Biti and Elton Mangoma — were complicit in that ginormous strategic error.
This is why very few Zimbabweans will mourn the impending demise of the renewal putsch, because its proponents are not saints in this sorry saga. In addition, their petty fight benefits no-one, and certainly doesn’t help to solve Zimbabwe’s deepening socio-economic problems.
So, we say loudly and clearly to all the MDC’s leaders, particularly the rebels: please do not continue to betray the aspirations of ordinary Zimbabweans.
Otherwise come 2018, Zanu PF will romp to yet another “landslide” victory, with or without Nikuv, because you are once again taking your eyes off the ball at a crucial time of the country’s history — which is criminal!
COMMENTS
Has The Daily News become The Herald on the other side of the fence??????
Morgan may win this fight. He is so ill prepared for the glaring internal war that will continue to simmer under his lead. I feel pity for the guy.
How do you get strong democratic values and institutions in a country and a ” united, strong and effective MDC” that is “good for both Zanu PF and our beautiful country” without caring much “about who leads any of Zimbabwe’s numerous political parties.”
After our recent experiences with Mugabe, have we not just seen how the one leader at critical points of a country’s history can adversely and dramatically impact both the pillars of democracy as well as the course of a nation?
This ‘let us patch up, work together, put food on the table’ while avoiding unpleasant but vital fundamental questions is typical of our character, and it is what got the MDC into the wrong decions in 2008 and 2013.
We want both the egg and the omelette at the same time. Greed and unwillingness to endure sacrifice unless for purely personal gain.
If the MDC T patch up and carry on as before ‘for the good of the country’ without concern about leadership, they will have learnt nothing.
This is such a pathetic comment, daily news. How do you reckon democracy would happen when you are clearly saying it’s okay for a leader to use violence to achieve his goal of staying in power? Why do you label anyone a rebel simply because they have made their views known?
Good point. This DailyNews rag is running out of steam. Its no longer worth reading. It now acts as Tsvangson’s mouth piece.
The MDC circus continues..
What a poor article ended by saying ‘Otherwise come 2018, Zanu PF will romp to yet another “landslide” victory, with or without Nikuv’ So in other words this will happen not because the election will be rigged for the umpteenth time but because there are problems with the MDC. Really?
Unbelievable!! this blatantly biased comment coming from the Daily News!!!Me thinks it puts a zanu edge to the MDC-T
This is a very badly written and thoughtless article. We in Zim have had a ruthless entrenched leader for 34 years and are still led by this ninety year geriatric old dictator who has clearly lost his marbles.
He has been at the helm of a failed state that today is Zimbabwe.
The MDC crop of leaders of today are showing the same dictatorial and money grabbing tendancies and the voting public are well aware of that.
We senior & junior members of the party cannot continue to be blindly led by someone who is unelectable – not because of ZANU but because the electorate can clearly see his shortcomings of intellect and moral values.
This is being reflected in the dwindling numbers at so called rallies and the same tired and senseless rhetoric spewing from his mouth.
There have been no new messages and ideas of how to repair national problems coming from Harvest House since the election and all Tsvangirayi & Chamisa are fixated on are consolidating power bases.
If Tsvangirai really wanted to re connect with the masses he should sell his Ivory Tower in Highlands and buy a more modest dwelling to live in Highfields or Glenn Nora and re invigorate our party from there. If a split in the MDC comes as a result of a group of leaders reacting to discontent being relayed from their constituents then that is democracy at work.
The Daily news must appreciate that whether NIKUV or ZEC crook the books becomes irrelevant as some of us do not want to be ruled for another 34 years by another Mobutu, Putin or Mugabe at any cost. ZANU may or may not self destruct wheen the old man finally passes but the people do not want to replace him with a clone. It does not matter whether he is wearing a yellow or a red tee shirt.
Very poor article.Can’t make sense of what the author is saying,but I get the notion that this is a Tsvangirai worshiper.
Is this an anti-Tsvangirayi quarter? People should not be harangued for supporting whom they wish. It is given for all men to fight for what is right in the time the Almighty has given to us. The Daily News must not be discouraged by anyone from voicing their opinions. They can also worship whom they like.
Ruramai you are like someone on medication ,during the campaign of elections last year Promise Mkwananzi and madzorere were warned about by Tsvangirai about saying something that may be taken as inciting violence because mdc is not a violence party ,the question is where and when did Tsvangirai condone violence In my opinion you are a violent charecter and an idiot.
The headline should have read “End nigh for MDC”.
Morgan should wake up and realize he has failed to change the political arena and that he must hand over the reins to someone else. The MDC has been in turmoil ever since it was formed and there have been the breakaway factions who have divided and confused the voters to the advantage of ZANUPF and then each time at the critical moment Morgan has handed victory to Mugabe.
He has had a few beatings and imprisonment but he has acted like a ZANUPF supporter at the end and even lately he has gone the same way by using drunken youths to beat up his critics.
He has lost the support of his voters, members and cabinet, he has to go and the Daily News can go with him if they want. I will support neither, so no vote and no buying that newspaper.
When the level of lack of respect for each other on mere observers commenting on newspaper articles is this low what more can we expect form OPPOSING political parties regarding a turnaround on the plight of the average citizen in our country. People on this forum hide behind NAMES and seem to find an avenue to release their frustration and wish change will come some way or another but failing to realize that it takes everyone’s effort to get change. This in short is not about how stupid TSVANGIRAI is and how sincere MANGOMA may be. Zimbabwe requires all its people to acknowledge the magnitude of the problem and pray that efforts can be mobilized to address the problem. There are some on this forum who dwell so much on character analysis of active politicians in a very academic manner without realizing that their publications are not in the right journals. Vakaona hondo would know what it takes to mobilize for change and let alone work on getting results! Nyatso fungai mushe
“With party leader Morgan Tsvangirai ratcheting up the pressure on the rebels, as well as his grassroots campaigns (and he clearly has the numbers on his side), the renewal team is finding itself well and truly up the creek — without a paddle to row back to terra firma,” said the reporter. Well that says it all and beautifully too.
The MDC rebels claimed that they were claiming the MDC under Tsvangirai’s lead-ership had abandoned the party’s founding principles and values especially its promise to bring democratic change. There is no thinking Zimbabwean or outsider who would argue about that.
Everyone raised their eyebrows, right up like Ethiopia’s Chilada baboons, when the rebels said they were reclaiming the long forgotten MDC founding principles and values. Alarm bells started ringing; they could not have rung louder if a known prostitute said she was a virgin!
Both Tendai Biti and Elton Mangoma had been MDC’s chief negotiators of the GPA and so they knew the agreement has stipulated that the GNU was to implement a raft of democratic reforms, for example. The two had very senior positions in the par-ty and in the GNU to have forced the implementation of the said reforms.
By implementing the reforms MDC would have fulfilled its key promise of bring meaningful democratic reforms to Zimbabwe. We know that after five years of this GNU not even one reform was implemented.
So before anyone can believe that these rebels are serious about delivering demo-cratic change people want to know what has happened to make they remember MDC’s founding principles and to recommit themselves to living up to these values? Short of a “Saul on the road to Damascus” or “Homer Simpson lost in the frozen vastness of Alaska” moment; no thinking person will belief the rebels are not the same self-seeking and breathtakingly incompetent individuals the whole world has come to know Tsvangirai and his fellow MDC leaders, including Tendai Biti and Mangoma, to be.
Tsvangirai and MDC have made so many blunders in the last few years they have lost all political credibility. To regain the people’s trust and confidence, it is not enough for any of them to just say they are reclaiming the founding values and re-state old promises but more significant they must explain why they betrayed the people by forgetting the values their past promises.
The rebels did not have an epiphany moment, offered no pithy explanation why they had abandoned the old values and they did not even apologize for betraying the nation so recklessly. All they had to say was that it was all Tsvangirai’s fault and they were reclaiming the founding values as if that act alone is guarantee they will deliver.
At least with Tsvangirai, the people know he is corrupt, incompetent, has no principles and will hang on to power like barnacles to a whale regardless of his failures and what the constitution says. Tsvangirai does not try to rebrand himself in anyway; what you see – a blundering incompetent – is what you get. The rebels, on the other hand, are pretended to be principled leaders, the one thing they are not; that is why they are up the creek without a paddle!
Tsvangirai & Co.were not the refrees to the 2013elections. If the refrees Sadc & AU ruled and ordered that the game could be played with the proviso that the elections wd be peaceful & MDC-T for whatever reason boycotted the elections, the result wd have been the same. Zanu Pf never looked for perfect elections but ONLY for elections that ostensibly met the barest minimum standards, such as peaceful elections. AU & Sadc too never had greater or untypical African democratic ambitions. Zanu Pf & the securocrats on the other hand apparently did not have at least hypothetical provisions for possible new Zimbabwe under MDC-T, essential minimum conditions(the hypothetical provisions) for credible, if ZanuPf controlled, national elections. The alternative to the ultimate result was civil war. It will never be logical for Zanu Pf to relinguish political power ‘needlessly’ in view of the consequences. Zanu PF’s relinquishing power thru needlessly pure electoral process is one such implausible instance.
Why DELETE ?