via Zapu to consider MDC coalition proposal – DailyNews Live by Jeffrey Muvundusi 23 MARCH 2014
Opposition Zapu party is willing to engage the MDC led by Morgan Tsvangirai provided both parties agree on terms and conditions of the re-engagement, the party’s alternate secretary-general, Strike Mkandla, has said.
The party’s reaction comes in the wake of Tsvangirai’s call last weekend for opposition forces to forge a united front to contest the Zanu PF stranglehold of power since independence in 1980.
The MDC president is inviting fellow comrades in opposition politics to team up in what has been viewed as a move to ward off pressure for him to step down since his public fallout with the suspeded deputy treasurer Elton Mangoma and secretary-general Tendai Biti.
Erstwhile MDC 99 leader Job Sikhala, former executives from the Welshman Ncube-led MDC formation Edward Mkhosi, and Siyabonga Malundu, former Arthur Mutambara faction national chairman Jourbet Mudzume and a former Gweru mayor Tedious Chimombe have since re-joined the original party.
Speaking at a rally in Bulawayo last weekend, party national organising secretary Nelson Chamisa called all progressive forces including Zapu to join the grand coalition in a bid to unseat President Robert Mugabe, in power for 34 years.
Tsvangirai has described the current drive as a major step in rejuvenating the spirit of 1999 when the party was formed and became so robust as to pose the greatest political threat to Mugabe’s uninterrupted rule.
Mkandla told the Daily News on Sunday that Zapu had an open platform for any progressive engagement.
“We have not yet been approached by Tsvangirai and his party,” he said. “All we have heard have been media reports on the matter and that’s the problem where someone puts the horse before the cart.
“All the same, if they came we will talk to them and hear what they have to say. But for a fact we as a party have a standing position on what kind of alliance we want. All we need is a purposeful alliance with clear programmes and objectives in it.”
Towards the July 31 harmonised elections last year, the Dumiso Dabengwa-led party snubbed overtures by Tsvangirai before settling for an obscure pact with smaller MDC president Welshman Ncube that failed to ganner even a single parliamentary seat.
Ncube has said he was not willing to go into a coalition where the conditions were pre-determined, particularly on leadership.
The Zapu spokesperson said his party will never oppose an alliance with any like-minded people to bring about a real and genuine change to the people of Zimbabwe.
“We will see if there is a need to team up with anyone and we will consider that and look at its advantages and benefits. We need to have a common purpose. But it should be noted that a united front is not having one monolithic party absorbing another,” Mkandla said.
Last year while addressing a rally in Chikomba, Dabengwa disclosed that he deliberately supported former Finance minister Simba Makoni’s candidature to block an imminent victory by Tsvangirai in the March 2008 presidential race.
National Constitutional Assembly chairman Lovemore Madhuku reportedly snubbed the MDC’s unity calls over the weekend, while addressing a rally in Gweru.
“My decision to form a party is a clear indication that I’m not willing to merge with any party. MDC-T is trying to block us from becoming a better political party,” Madhuku said.
COMMENTS
All oppposition parties can only agree to come together if they are led by Dr Simba Makoni
Simba Makoni is not a leader he only got 8% of the vote in 2008. The real leader of the U-MDC (United MDC) would be MT
Tsvangirayi is not a leader, he is a dictator just like gukurahundi Mugabe. This is why he expects positive reaction from other parties by calling on them from public platforms to join him istead of approaching them on a one-on-one engagement. Its typical of dictators!!!
If MT is chosen to lead this grand coalition,it is doomed to crumble. He sucks to be a politician. That position requires a man of great standind. MT lacks these qualities.
Yes Phibion I believe you are right, and it is time we became a united front and bring down the monster
We in the green machine will never unite with tribalists, gukurahundis and dicators!!
Your machine is rusty because it is a Ndebeles only party. The national one is progressing in leaps and bounce. You wil die disappointed because your little professor will never be president of zim. Wake up and leave that gukurahundi mentality bcoz you cant reverse it.
You can’t sweep these things under the carpet. It needs to be dealt with and that is one reason Zimbabwe cannot go forward. We are trailing a mountain of baggage (God calls it sin) behind us that we wish would disappear but it won’t. We will go forward when we deal with the wrongs that have been perpetrated in Zimbabwe like the violent farm issue. Don’t expect bumper crops until we right our wrongs. And saying that something that is wrong and passing skewed laws doesn’t work either because here man is NOT in charge: God is!
Chitova
We will never unite with you and you will never come to power. You will die in opposition and all of you will seek refugee status in foreign lands because of poor governance. Already there are reports the passport offices in Harare are inundated with new applications. You will keep running away from your gukurahundi leadership!!
Are you suggesting that Ndebeles have no claim to rule Zimbabwe? What a terrible insight.
Our unity should be n Christ. Man is not indispensable. The opposition parties-all of them- need God’s wisdom at this time and not the wisdom of man. That has already got us into a lot of trouble.
NBS
But Christ never discriminated on tribe like the Shona voters of MDC-T and gukurahundi ZANU PF do. The choice of Zim’s leadership should be based on merit not majority-tiribazhinji-mwanawekumusha mentality. Christ would certainly want to see all Zim people make an effort to learn and speak all the country’s beautiful languages, and not to insist on learning languages because of necessity or majority. Christ was never divisive!!
You seem to lack wisdom. Christ was the first to be dispensed with. Crucified by his own people. Besides, since when did the Jews have an interest in our land?
United opposition is important but not under the party leadership which failed the people badly due to misguided ideas and ignorance.
MDC-T now wants to form united opposition because they know that they have lost their grass root support in their strongholds of Mat and Midlands due to their greed and carelessness.
I therefore,ask ZAPU-Dabengwa to be very careful not to engage them foolishly otherwise they will lose the support the masses have started to show because of their disappointment with the MDC-T performance.
While you are busy squabbling and forging useless alliances, Mugabe is busy campaigning, by now talking to the west about economic cooperation. The French in particular have given the clearest hint so far that they want in, in Zim’economy. The Norwegians and the Danes too. Zanu has now asked the French to talk to the Brits so they can come to the table. The EU in general has mentioned its intention to resume direct government programmes funding by November. By the time we go to the polls, a number of western companies will have started operations giving Zanu Pf a very good head start in the elections. I wonder where Tsvangirai is going to get the investors to revive the economy, when his former backers are the ones calling for his ouster and are shifting allegiance to Zanu Pf.
why is it people who write on this column want to choose who should lead a grand coalition Tsvangirai has got following of the people you want to choose people who got less than two thousand votes in the previous elections why MA CIO AGENTS.
@tophaevy:you are lost bro and you are afraid of that coalition knowing very wel that whn opposition is united Zanu wont have any chance as u are a Zanu pf fanatic
Vamwe vedu godo rinotinetsa.Ukaona vanhu vodzoka, they have realised that the real struggle lies in unity.Instead of applauding unity, people with novision start saying no unity when MT is leader.These are the same people who are not even listened by goats in the grazing fields.Unity is paramount.The people are not stupid.They know what they want.They know a keader who will never take their votes for granted.So swallow your pride.Tsvangirai has proven his worthiness to millions, those who doubt him are people who come up with theories they can not conceptualise themselves.
We are waiting for the grant day when the rotten system is put in the black bag of history.Unity foreeeeeever!!!!!!!!!!!!
@tino-the rotten system might be replaced by the worse rotten system as I have witnessed it in my life time.Get real and prevent that from happening again.