via MDC lashes Mugabe – DailyNews Live Blessings Mashaya • 12 February 2016
HARARE – The MDC has savaged President Robert Mugabe for insulting opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai on Wednesday, instead of focussing on finding solutions for the country’s dying economy and Zanu PF’s seemingly-unstoppable factional and succession wars.
Addressing Zanu PF supporters in Harare, ahead of the ruling party’s politburo meeting, Mugabe climbed all over Tsvangirai and claimed that the MDC no longer existed as a political party, as he sought to douse his party’s brutal infighting.
“We are giving ammunition to the likes of Tsvangirai who now says government has been paralysed by the factional fights. He now thinks we are more divided than his party, forgetting that his party is no more,” the nonagenarian said.
However, the MDC came out guns blazing yesterday, saying Mugabe should rather put his “waning energies” on Zimbabwe’s current economic woes and his party’s ructions, rather than talk ill of Tsvangirai.
“President Robert Mugabe should just leave Morgan Tsvangirai alone. Instead of attending to the pressing matters in his crumbling and faction-infested Zanu PF, Mugabe is trying to divert attention by making reference to Tsvangirai and the MDC.
“Zanu PF is on fire and the centre can no longer hold. The economy has collapsed and at least three million people are in urgent need of food aid. These are the issues that president Mugabe should be focusing on instead of expending his little energy chasing shadows.
“We would like to bring it to president Mugabe’s attention that Morgan Tsvangirai remains the most popular political leader in Zimbabwe. The MDC-T is the real deal, the only game in town,” MDC spokesperson Obert Gutu told the Daily News.
He also said the ruling party had “totally lost the plot”, adding that as a result, it was now focusing its energy on unimportant issues.
“They are now chasing shadows instead of focusing on real issues such as revamping the collapsed economy, as well as harnessing financial resources to avert the impending food shortages that will affect no less than three million Zimbabweans.
“Anyway, what can you expect from such a divided and factional-ridden political party like Zanu PF? This is the end game. The chickens are coming home to roost,” Gutu said.
Since Zanu PF controversially retained power in the hotly-disputed 2013 national elections, the country has been on a downward spiral, with the economy bleeding hundreds of thousands of badly-needed jobs, and social service delivery hitting an all-time low.
“Zanu PF should also address various macro-economic parameters such as Zimbabwe’s public debt which is well in excess of $10 billion. Our system of doing business is also archaic and unnecessarily bureaucratic and costly.
“Thus, the government should address issues to do with the regulatory framework, the efficacy of the bureaucracy and the nature of business governance.
“For instance, the Nigerian billionaire, Aliko Dangote, is reported to have announced plans to open up some of his businesses in Zimbabwe, but several months down the line, nothing has materialised as yet. There are simply too many bottlenecks in the system, and to make it worse, corruption is endemic.
“Almost every Cabinet minister and senior government official is demanding a hefty kickback from prospective investors, both domestic and foreign, as the entire system is rotten to the core,” the former Chisipite senator added.
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