Tsvangirai ‘saves’ now one too many – The MuckRaker

via Tsvangirai ‘saves’ now one too many – The Zimbabwe Independent January 31, 2014 The MuckRaker

A very disconcerting trend is persisting in the MDC-T; party officials voicing dissent to Morgan Tsvangirai’s leadership are needing to be “saved” by the former premier from rowdy party supporters.

Aside from corrupt practices, the MDC-T also seems to be taking Zanu PF’s cue on violence as our reporter, Herbert Moyo, witnessed last June after being assaulted and barred from covering a demonstration at Harvest House.

Moyo, who was covering a demonstration by MDC-T activists from Sunningdale over imposition of candidates, was allegedly dragged into a room at Harvest House and severely beaten despite identifying himself as a journalist.

Moyo’s assault followed that of another journalist, Mashudu Netsianga, from the Chronicle who was manhandled in Bulawayo at a meeting between Tsvangirai and businesspeople in Bulawayo. They confiscated his notebook and mobile phone.

Tsvangirai had to come to Warren Park MP Elias Mudzuri’s rescue last November by restraining goons who verbally abused the latter for publicly voicing his interest in becoming party president.

The buck stops here

And for the umpteenth time, Tsvangirai also had to save deputy treasurer-general Elton Mangoma this week from being assaulted by party youths baying for his blood outside Harvest House, for calling for the MDC-T leader to step down.

The youths even resorted to abusive language in reference to Mangoma’s physical appearance, NewsDay reports.

As we have stated innumerable times, the buck for the violence in the MDC-T stops with Tsvangirai. He has to rein in his troops.
How would he have been able to control the army as commander in chief if he can’t restrain mere supporters?
Is this the “excellence” they always lay claim to?

Politricks

Responding to questions about Dr Tafataona Mahoso’s role as a trainer and fulfilling a dual function with the Media Commission, George Charamba sought to justify this delinquency in last Saturday’s Herald.
“We wanted a licensing authority to be under a mind that is well grounded in terms of the requirements of the media but we also wanted a person with requisite maturity, a person who would be sensitive to what in fact had in fact become a political question,” Charamba pontificated.

“Licensing in Zimbabwe had become a political question and we wanted a mind with the facility to encompass the complexity of the political question,” he declared.

Yes, licensing has become a political question which is why it needs to be rescued from the partisan clutches of Mahoso and Charamba who have limited political maturity but a whole sack of private prejudices.

“Get it from me,” Charamba declares, “Dr Mahoso has served us very well.”

Indeed he has. But in all the wrong respects. That goes for public servants who fail to serve the public interest.

Get it from George!

Justification for partisan governance is easy enough to declare essential.

But what do you do with dull columnists who do nothing more than proclaim the importance of one failed party which is not even entertaining. That is when they are not excoriating Morgan Tsvangirai, their favourite pursuit.

Take it from Charamba. Happison Muchechetere takes home some US$40 000 a month but nobody at Zimpapers is prepared to disclose the contents of Charamba’s 2012 letter to him.

Is that what they mean when they say licensing is a political question?

That goes for the army of parastatal heads such as PSMAS boss Cuthbert Dube who have become fabulously rich under Zanu PF.

Dube was fired this week when his position became untenable.

Mr Moneybags

Zimpapers board chairman Dr Charles Utete urged the newspaper group to embrace the Zim-Asset blueprint.

“We need to have our feet continuously on the pedal,” he told his audience.

But then, in an adjoining column we are told Tsvangirai’s state of the nation address was “flogging a dead horse”.

Parastatals must be viable, Charamba declares. Has he just woken up to this? And there will be no land audit this year we are told. So partisan needs once again trump public interest.

But spare a thought for all those prisoners who will get no hospital treatment because their prescriptions have been terminated in order to pay Cashbert’s salary.
Everybody says what a nice guy Cashbert is. We are sure he is. You can be very nice on US$230 000 a month.
Caterwauling

The Sunday Mail refers to a battle between Morgan Tsvangirai and Alex Magaisa as “a catfight”.

Please note that only a fight between two females can be called a catfight. Later it is said they crossed swords!

So what’s it to be? Cat fight with swords? And the expression “barking in the dark” which appears in the editorial doesn’t exist as far as we know beyond the pages of the Sunday Mail.
That should be barking up the wrong tree.

Snubbing a snub

Following the announcement that the United States won’t be inviting President Mugabe to the US/Africa summit later this year, we enjoyed the following quote in the state media.
“So let Obama have his summit. He cannot snub President Mugabe because ordinary Africans have already embraced him.”
So let’s see exactly how many heads of state attending the summit in Washington speak out in defence of Mugabe and his “bold stance” on sanctions.

Worst office jargon

Muckraker can sympathise with annoying new expressions. “Social Notworking”, “Deja Brew”, and “Blue Sky” drinking are among the most irritating new work jargon, according to a new study.

Phrases work colleagues found the most irksome were “social notworking” –– the art of appearing to be hard at work while messing about on Facebook, and Twitter as the most irritating new jargon term.
It was closely followed by “Deja Brew”, the seemingly kind offer to make a colleague a cup of tea, when you know they have just had one and are therefore likely to decline!

SA’s ‘game changer’

Finally, down south the Democratic Alliance has made full use of the January transfer window to merge with a smaller party, Agang, led by Mamphela Ramphele to challenge the ruling ANC in the upcoming general elections.

Ramphele will be the opposition party’s presidential candidate.
“This is a game-changing moment for South Africa,” said DA leader Helen Zille after making the announcement on Tuesday.

However, most South Africans remained unimpressed by the alliance. Comedian Trevor Noah wrote of the merger on his Facebook post:
“Agang joining the DA to help them win, is like Bafana Bafana joining England to help them win the World Cup.”

Not to be outdone, the Inkatha Freedom Party’s Mangosuthu Buthelezi buried the hatchet with his erstwhile nemesis, Economic Freedom Fighters leader Julius Malema, and agreed to protect each other’s members while campaigning. Past utterances by Malema about the IFP and Buthelezi were also discussed, and were labelled as “unfortunate events of the past”.

The IFP said its national leadership “wholeheartedly accepted” Malema’s apology and “acknowledged that this reflects the maturity that defines the EFF’s approach to the electoral policies of South Africa”.

We are surely in for interesting times!