via People first is in, says Gumbo – The Zimbabwean 9 July 2015
Zanu (PF) is headed for a big challenge as the camp led by Joice Mujuru has confirmed that a grand coalition will be formed once initial talks among political parties are finalised.
The spokesperson for the Mujuru camp, Rugare Gumbo, told The Zimbabwean that the coalition would “definitely succeed”. His statements follow a recent announcement by MDC-T leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, who said an “exciting movement” was in the pipeline.
Delivering his state of the nation address in Harare recently, Tsvangirai indicated that talks were underway to bring together various opposition political parties.
Differences
“There is significant consensus among political parties that this regime of Robert Mugabe must go. We must bring it down together and this is what you will see. The grand coalition is going to shake Zanu (PF) and People First is in,” said Gumbo.
Gumbo said the grand coalition would not be held back by the different ideological differences of the various opposition parties. “The issue of the parties’ backgrounds does not count for anything here. There is one common goal, and that is to remove (Robert) Mugabe and his autocratic government from power. That is what the majority of Zimbabweans want and we must combine forces in order to move to a democratic future,” he said.
He was ejected from Zanu (PF) ahead of the ruling party’s congress last year, when Mugabe and rivals accused him of being part of a group of insiders plotting to remove him from power.
He was the Zanu (PF) secretary for information and chief party spin-doctor and is the unofficial spokesperson of the Mujuru allies.
Other party stalwarts were later offloaded, including Mujuru, who was then Mugabe’s sole deputy, Ray Kaukonde, Didymus Mutasa and Nicholas Goche.
Several senior members and cabinet ministers were also expelled for aligning with Mujuru.
While Mujuru has largely been quiet since her expulsion, save for sporadic written statements and odd press interviews, Gumbo and Mutasa have publicly acknowledged their intention to rally Zimbabweans behind a formation now known as People First.
“We have been busy talking to everyone, among them Simba Makoni, Tendai Biti, MDC-T and Dumiso Dabengwa. As People First, we are strongly convinced that we are going in the right direction and our efforts will yield good results. The movement will be all-inclusive.
“What is important is for people not to be too ambitious. We need to get rid of our egos and self-centred interests. We mustn’t all be rushing to become the president, vice president or secretary general because power is not what we are seeking to achieve. People must come first,” said Gumbo.
Rethink
He urged the other political parties to seriously consider surrendering leadership positions to young people. “There is need for a rethink of our leadership attitudes if we are to succeed as reform seekers. The old guard must give way to young blood. Young people are the future of this country and their chance to help democratise Zimbabwe is now,” said Gumbo.
He said young politicians held new ideas and were better informed about the needs and interests of future generations and thus “can run this country more efficiently”.
He accused the present crop of politicians in Zanu (PF) of greed, saying the party leadership was power hungry. “All they are thinking of is to steal and get more power. They don’t have the interests of the people at heart and that is why the economy keeps getting worse,” said Gumbo.
Bad leadership
Tendai Biti’s Renewal Team which broke off from the Morgan Tsvangirai-led MDC-T has reportedly agreed to form an alliance with the Mujuru camp. However, it is said to be against the inclusion of Tsvangirai, who it accuses of bad leadership.
Tsvangirai’s party recently caused the expulsion of 21 legislators from the Renewal Team, leading to by-elections in 14 of the constituencies they held. Zanu (PF) won all the 14 seats, increasing its tally in the legislature and making inroads into urban areas that used to be the preserve of the opposition.
Makoni and Dabengwa, both former Zanu (PF) heavyweights who split over Mugabe’s continued stay in power, could not be reached for comment but they have insisted on an inclusive coalition in the past.
Makoni is strongly connected to Mujuru and critics say joining hands with her formation would not be difficult.
COMMENTS
Think about it!!! It’s just a hand over of power from one ZANU to another If MDC fall for this they are BIGGER fools than I thought!!!!NOTHING will change all the OLD ZANU will keep their Ill gotten gains now with the blessing and approval of the NEW UNITED GOVERMENT …NOTHING will change… GOOD LUCK YOU FOOLS!!!
My suspicion is that these People First guys do not have much grassroots support. They have a lot of leaders who aligned themselves with Mujuru but that doesn’t necessarily translate to massive appeal at grassroots level.
Therefore its important that parties like MDC-T be very careful when dealing with these people who seem hell bent in getting back into power by all means possible.
Obviously deposing Mugabe is the rallying point but there is more to it than meets the eye.
There seems to be one factor more important than anything else and that is to get rid of the Mugabe Mafia that is ruining Zimbabwe at present.
The ex-ZANU-PF members may not have the grass-root support that would make a serious impact in elections – but they know what was done in past elections and how the system was manipulated to ensure victory for Mugabe and that alone is worth a lot. In a United Front they would be forced to speak out and that knowledge would be of great value in combatting election thievery of the past.
I am sorry – but Biti is foolish. He has no grass root support and is now trying to jeopardise a real possibility to ensure that the Mugabe regime is brought down. He might as well be regarded as a Mugabe agent to wreck havoc in the opposition efforts to get rid of Mugabe – same as Mncube and Mutumbura did in 2008.
Division in opposition circles is always the greatest weapon a dictator can use to maintain the dictatorship and Mugabe and his CIO is the maximum users of that situation in Zimbabwe.
It is not necessary to form a united party. After Mugabe and his Mafia gangsters are gone, a new set of political organisations based on ideology would develop naturally and the parties will then evolve based on normal democratic processes.
Grand coalition is the only option that will enable ZANU PF to find it hard to rig the elections. The 2008 would have been different had MDC not split. There would have not been an opportunity for ZANU PF to manipulate the results and cause a run off which MDC had to withdraw. Grand coalition will even make ZANU PF scared because in it there will be war veterans some of them with inside knowledge of the rigging machinery even though the actual rigging was done under the direct control of MUGABE himself. There will not be confusion among electorate. In my view Gumbo is right ideological differences are not material in terms of removing ZANU PF and Mugabe from power. Since 1980s different political parties have been having different ideological ideas and the ZANU PF had always capitalized on those differences and in the process prolonged its useless and corrupt tendencies that have impoverished everyone. ZANU PF must be removed a first
Grand coalition is the only option that will enable ZANU PF to find it hard to rig the elections. The 2008 would have been different had MDC not split. There would have not been an opportunity for ZANU PF to manipulate the results and cause a run off which MDC had to withdraw. Grand coalition will even make ZANU PF scared because in it there will be war veterans some of them with inside knowledge of the rigging machinery even though the actual rigging was done under the direct control of MUGABE himself. There will not be confusion among electorate. In my view Gumbo is right ideological differences are not material in terms of removing ZANU PF and Mugabe from power. Since 1980s different political parties have been having different ideological ideas and the ZANU PF had always capitalized on those differences and in the process prolonged its useless and corrupt tendencies that have impoverished everyone. ZANU PF must be removed a first. Division will only prolong ZANU PF and those political ideologies will never be practiced anywhere
Everyone knows the rigging done by mugabe, its in black and white. Once out of ZPF, these pple first guys have no influence over rigging. Ask Temba liswa of Hulungwe
I see nothing wrong with Gumbo’s efforts, or any efforts to unite the anti-Mugabe movement. People First is as tainted by association with ZANUPF as Tsvangirayi is by causing the split of the opposition movement (twice) through dictatorial tendencies. Besides, it’s really only Mugabe who is responsible for the entire national mess by repositing national institutions in his person. Start your petty bickering about Gumbo, Mujuru, Tsvangirayi and Biti and you will remain where you have always been, for the same reasons – under Mugabe’s ass. “The enemy of my enemy is my friend”. We can always turn on each other afterwards. It’s allowed in a democracy.