via MDC still popular but must deliver – DailyNews Live 10 July 2014 by Itai Dzamara
HARARE – Zimbabwe’s political dynamics and realities are undergoing a critical phase that is shifting perceptions, national mood and, by implication, the national agenda.
I have moved around the country over the last three months assessing the situation as well as gauging the political processes, and discovered three things.
First, Zanu PF has been losing, and continues to lose much of the support and votes of people who still had some sympathy for the party, or, for some reasons, voted for it last year.
The terrible turn of events caused mainly by the accelarated economic decline since last year’s elections, are all conniving to destroy Zanu PF’s support base among the electorate.
I honestly don’t see President Robert Mugabe and his party being able to proffer any other excuses or justifications for the worsening national leadership and economic crisis.
It is a cocktail of Mugabe and his party’s propensity for self-destructive economic policies, the endemic rot of corruption and plunder, as well as the accumulative effects from 34 years of running a rotten system. Zanu PF is proving to Zimbabweans that it is a source of failure, hunger and poverty.
The fact that Zanu PF controversially won elections just 12 months ago, makes it worse, because the people’s anger and disgruntlement is now justified.
People are openly questioning the logic of Zanu PF having “won” elections, only to plunge the nation into the hell of failure, poverty and suffering.
Any claim of Zanu PF retaining whatever support it had in terms of votes, under these circumstances can only be a blatant lie, or a cruel insult to the intelligence of Zimbabweans all over the country, who are bearing the brunt of Zanu PF’s unmitigated failure.
Secondly, the Biti project in the MDC, which had been crafted to change the political dynamics, has become highly suspicious, discredited and controversial right from the beginning and surely set to fail in gaining traction and popular support.
Beyond the noise and media headlines, the Biti project is, in real terms, a huge flop — largely because of the clumsy execution, controversial signals and positions, as well as bad timing.
I find the way ahead of the Biti group already seriously poisoned, not least by their own suspicious antics, controversial signals and images.
The main sentiment among the people, where the Biti group wants support, is that, it was either created, or hijacked by Zanu PF.
I have no doubt, that is a seal of death in terms of the battle for people’s hearts and sympathy.
The timing couldn’t have been worse for the MDC rebels — the people are at a crossroads and haunted by Zanu PF’s double blow of rigging polls and only to plunge the nation into suffering.
I am sure wrath befalls anyone that comes across as being a tool for “destroying the people’s project” as the Biti camp is generally being viewed to be.
Thirdly, the foregoing assessments leave the MDC under Tsvangirai to remain the most popular and looked upon by the people. The main reason sustaining the MDC’s popularity — and even increasing it — is the ripple effect of the catastrophic plunge into disaster by the Zanu PF regime, coupled with the flop of the Biti project.
In other words, the majority of Zimbabweans have a vivid comprehension of the main options before them, and, clearly find the MDC the better one.
Credit must also go to Tsvangirai and the MDC, for their record, for example, in both fighting for change and also involvement in the coalition government.
However, and more crucially, the MDC is faced with a daunting task, under the heavy weight of expectation and national responsibility.
One of the reasons behind the worsening national crisis is that, while the ruling party is totally clueless and hopeless, the people are not getting tangible and effective plans or action from the opposition, and that means Tsvangirai and the MDC.
It is my conviction that Zanu PF has crashed into a dead end, together with the nation, and there is a need for a way to retrieve the wreckage before bodies start decomposing under it. That task, in my view, is incumbent upon the MDC because it is the one with the people’s support.
As each day passes, the task becomes more compelling and urgent, because, the wheels have since come off, yet again.
The task has become a do-or-die challenge for Tsvangirai and the MDC.
*Itai Dzamara is a publisher of News Leader.
COMMENTS
Everyone who has been to Lupane , Gokwe, Nkayi, Mutoko and Nyajena will agree with you Itai.Its only those with wild dreams who see the MDC as dead.Fighting oppressionis done at village level, ward level, district level and national level.What we are doing on the internet only helps to spread the message.However we do not have oil to warrant swift international attention.
We need to stand up for democratic values which are not polluted by the know it all.Forever we will fight for the ordinary man and women,who go to bed, or rather on a mat, hungry.ZANU PF will never be ashamed that 34 years into independence, there is no feeding scheme at primary schools which is critical for child developmemt.People will soon wake up from traditional impoverishing slogans and bury ZANU for good
uyisiphukuphuku wena nteletshe!
perfectly correct analysis
You got it there, tino.
There are many Zimbos who think they know it all.
Could be why our country is in such dire straits.
ZANU is the enemy, lets not be moved from the goal of getting rid of them, period.
They are destroying our country.
You could not have said it any better Itai. Zanu Pf has demonstrated that it is clueless when it comes to the revival of the economy. Biti’s project is being seen with suspicion and viewed as an enemy to the democratic struggle. Biti’s cosy relationship with Zanu Pf top wigs like Gono and his soft stance towards Mugabe has given credence to the widely circulating notion that his is a Zanu Pf project. Coupled with his constant attack on Tsvangirai instead of Zanu Pf, having a political novice as a spokesman in Mafume has immensely contributed to Biti’s demise. These guys are good lawyers but bad politicians. I think their best place is in court corridors and leave politics to the politicians.
I said it before-Tsvangson ndiye shumba yaMugabe…..like him or not, he gives the man sleepless nights.
Before the 2009 you never thought Mugabe will ever sit with Chamatama, as the state media mocked and made fun of him.
We thought he had learned(Mugabe)
Come 2012 the old scratchy record started playing again.
In life never say “never”.
My observation in life is that God often manipulates and favours the less gifted, the despised, the ugly, the sinner, the poor , uneducated to confound the so called clever.
How do we explain the coincidence of the collapse of all tools which Zanu hoped would take them through after the Great 2013 Election Robbery. Surface Diamonds finished, World Gold price collapse, Chinese refuses to bail out Zim, Tourism slump etc. I am told the coming season is likely to be a severe drought.
Mugabe must return to the humility, love for all(Zimbos)that he had developed into during the GNU…”Yes we may have difference but, we are all Zimbabweans, a family…”,then God shall heal our nation. The arrogance that we now see in Zanu is taking us into the dark age of pre-2008, if not worse.
Tsuro
Ngaphandle kokuba ngumvundla, iyisibhanxa futhi!!
We were so unfortunate to have leaders who does not have people at heart all Zimbabweans life Is in the horizon I am sure even people who supported zany of have seen the failure of there party .
baba vachine zanu mumoyo Havana urozvi!!!
This is just a pro Tsvangirayi writeup while rubbishing Biti. Where are the statistics Itai. Did u conduct a poll of some sort ?? Then give us the figures otherwise we are tempted to thnk that this is just one cooked up story!!!!
Just because you are Tswangirayi’s lapdog; it doesnt mean all of us are. The so called popularity you are referring to only exists in your head and nowhere else.
Why cant that popularity result in him winning elections?
Stop lying mfondini.Akuyeke ukuxoga – ndiyakuxelela!!
Sometimes people also need a different kind of leadership – a leader who sees beyond those he leads. I am convinced MT is not that type of leader – judging e.g. by deceding to go for elections before the reforms that had been agreed to. There are many other examples where he has shown lack of vision. Unfortunately despite showing signs of being a thinker, Biti, has lost his way. As someon said elsewhere maybe in this next phase of the country’s life we need technocrats not politicians. Maybe…..
Chakanaka chakanaka mukaka haurungwe. Popularity is apparent on MT where its noble for the mind to suffer. I know that we cannot all like it but that is the undisputable fact.
I am very sorry for Biti and Mangoma. Both guys forgot to realize that they had derived power in the GNU, the power being from Morgan. They are behaving exactly the same way Welshman did during the Constitutional Assembly. When he was asked by one of the attendants at a meeting at Jameson Hotel why he went to address the Assembly at the Sheraton Hotel against the advice Morgan, he reply shocked all and sundry.
Biti is doing the same. He should stop talking about Morgan’s personal life, because by so doing he will be destroying his own personal credibility.
Itai is very right. Worse still they are trying to use Professor Madhuku. I feel sorry for them.
I wanted to say whether its noble for the mind to suffer
After reading you story one can rightly deduce that you are a mouthpiece of the opposition . Your statistics are not substantiated Itai . Where did you do your survey . Zimbabwe is constituted by ten provinces and in these provinces we have district and villages . The people in these villages are he ones who vote . have you been to these villages to find out if the support base of MDC is increasing or not . Itai it seems you are novice in Zimbabwe politics and you have a lot to learn .
The reason why MDC fails to beat ZANU Pf in any elections is because MDC does not have proper structures from the Village , District , Province and up to National level .
MDC is only active in the press , towns , internet and most of its members do not vote . There are too smart .
In converse ZANU Pf has strong grassroots structures and they are organized in mobilizing their members to vote . Politics is game of numbers . Dont fool people , your survey is misleading . No matter how the economy performs bad or worse ZANU carries the day because of its character ,principles and policies which have an African identity . MDC although good in economic policies its character is an unAfrican . Peolpe can have money and be rich but if character is taken away from you , one becomes useless in life . Learn more Itai .
We need balanced write ups of facts – not eulogies!!
You blame Tsvangison for going to Election without Reforms, even if he didnt go nothing was going to change since the opposition was not united ,the other guys were going to go for it and the end result ws going to be legitimised by SADC same as the 2008 elections,so he took a gamble,lets not blame him he tried if he had won under the same situation you were going to be happy and shower him all sorts o praise,lets encourage Mdc to move on,what is bad we say it to it,if we destroy it we form Another Zanu wth a Different name,
Thank you Itai for your candid analysis. Tsvangirai is the man. Biti and his so-called project wont go anywhere. Not all projects succeed.
Not everyone will like what you write Itai, but my view is that your article is spot-on about the popularity of the MDCT,the misculculation of the Renewal Team and that under Zanu Pf, we are going nowhere.Put simply, Biti’s project is akin to the 2005 split doomed to fail at the end. Its the same script but with differnt actors. To make matters worse, the renewal team seemed to have taken it upon itself to attack the MDCT more than it does to ZanU Pf. This on its own, will be viewed as an admition that their project has been hi-jacked by Zanu Pf, and if this conclusion is true, then their end is nigh.
As for Zanu Pf, all we keep to hear about are promises. Fortunately, VP Mujuru came out clear that the much talked about Zim Asset will not bear fruits any time soon. Failure is written allover.
If a transparent pollster is carried out about zanu’s popularity its obvious the answer is different than in 1980 (LOUSY).And on Tswangirai the pollster question Itai,should be on his lack of edge and aptitude right on the pinnacle of every race,inveterate and cumulatively.Do people still believe he can dislodge zanu whom her features are arrogance,manoeuvre,and subterfuge against all odds.If so and in contrast with his CV(Tswangirai),i will bait the masses are not inept but will resign to what is available other than zanu.Remember the issue of Biti and Tswangirai wouldn’t go away without its controversies as people with the affinity of one another,and their issues must not belie the causal effect of our political quagmire.
The MDC’s record in the GNU speaks for itself. They had clear guidelines as laid down in the GPA and still they failed to ensure that what was agreed upon was actually done. They were the majority in parliament so Mugabe was going nowhere without them. They compromised with ZPF at every turn e.g. the new constitution. Based on their performance I don’t see any of the current political leaders as being competent to take us forward. They have to varying degrees shown that their own interests come first and this goes for many of the C.E.O.’s in the country based on the state of most companies.So much for us bragging about our superior education when these are the calibre of leaders we produce. The MDC can’t deliver because they simply don’t have the power or the competence to do so.