via Tsvangirai living in Zanu PF house, Biti – New Zimbabwe 16/02/2015
FORMER MDC-T secretary general Tendai Biti has scoffed at calls from erstwhile comrade Nelson Chamisa to “return to the big-tent” led by veteran leader Morgan Tsvangirai.
The former finance minister said Tsvangirai was a huge drag on the pro-democracy movement in the country.
Biti warned that, if elected President, the ex-premier would become a worse dictator than President Robert Mugabe, an inclination exposed by his recent ban on social media.
Chamisa reportedly told a weekend rally in his Kuwadzana East constituency that Biti should “stop dreaming about ruling the country and support Tsvangirai” instead.
But Biti, in an interview with NewZimbabwe.com rejected the offer “with the contempt it deserves”.
“Who is Chamisa? He is not even in the Standing Committee,” said Biti.
“For the record we will never join them, because the reasons why we decided to move out are manifesting themselves now.
“It is there for all to see and Tsvangirai cannot attack the system because he is benefiting. He is living in their house.”
Chamisa. a former highflyer within the opposition party, controversially lost the fight to take over from Biti as secretary general to former Nyanga North legislator Douglas Mwonzora.
Reports claimed that Tsvangirai helped “rig the poll” against the then party organising secretary.
Biti, early last year, joined former cabinet colleague and then deputy party treasurer general Elton Mangoma in calling for Tsvangirai’s removal citing undemocratic tendencies. A nasty fall-out ensued leading to the party splitting into two last April.
The former finance minister Biti said Tsvangirai has become a drag on the democratic struggle in Zimbabwe.
“Tsvangirai has become the elephant in the room and an albatross to the opposition in the country and the democratic struggle in the country,” said Biti.
“He will become a worse dictator than Mugabe (President Robert, who has been in power for close to four decades); what with reports that he wants to ban social media as well as indications that he is now signing the party’s accounts.
“There is no more separation of powers as the president is now running the show in every respect.”
Before he joined the Government of National Unity in 2009, Tsvangirai had promised that, if he won the presidency, he would not move into State House, the official residence of British governors and of Mugabe from 1980 to date.
“I’ve got my little house here (in Strathaven). It is comfortable enough and I don’t need to go into any particular stately house in order to prove, to prove what?”
However, following the consummation of the coalition with long-time political foe, Mugabe, Tsvangirai was allocated and accepted a million dollar plush home in the leafy up market suburb of Highlands in the capital.
He has stayed there ever since despite his tenure as Premier coming to an end just before the 2013 general elections.
COMMENTS
Sadly I fear there is some truth in this article. It requires special people to resist the temptations of power , “All power corrupts absolute power corrupts absolutely” we are all but mere men (and women) and even advanced democracies suffer from power lust.
A fact beyond dispute. He has out lived his stay. Besides, he completely failed to prove beyond any reasonable doubt that he can deliver anything of substance.
We the people should now have on record how to make a Dictator. We relaxed in 1980 and were wooed by Politicians and in the process became their servants. The current crop were created by the people who were content to serve rather than being served. If the people treat the next leader like how they treat Mugabe then history will repeat itself. Politicians are supposed to answer to the people and not the other way around. We have turned them into Demi Gods and it has come back to bite us badly. What exactly have these guys done for us other than shove us deep into poverty. Some that comment here have come to take this situation as the norm, either because they were not around during the good times, or they stick on to the Demi Gods because they are feeding and getting their fill. The people have to sort this out at some point. Their guide to who is best suited will be he who listens to what the people want.
Would love to share a couple of cold ones with you one day Doc, I do love your comments.
The mind Boggles It might still happen. I have the utmost respect for all those who comment here. We might share the cold beer. My good friend Angela Wigmore talked about sharing a Scud. We might share it still.The regime is running scared.
Wat good times Dr Do Lttle. I hope u r not trying to romanticise that historic hell hole were less than 1% of the population hd everything and 99% were at varying levels of slavery.
Wat good times Dr Do Lttle. I hope u r not trying to romanticise that historic hell hole were less than 1% of the population hd everything and 99% were at varying levels of slavery.
JJ, u r refreshingly sharp and on the mark.
Why doesn’t Tendai Biti and his clowns give up the fleet of cars they got during the GNU. Biti anedanga remota. Focus on the real issues and not personalities.
How does one purport to be forming a grand coalition to topple ZANU and then engage in such mud slinging?
Morgan has shown himself to be suspect on many fronts in the leadership stakes but…., a dictator worse than Bob?!
That’s got to be hyperbole in the extreme!
And for anyone to believe such tosh from Biti and New Zim, shows naivety of unbelievable proportions.
I think people like Biti will get more respect if they don’t stick to pettiness but to real issues. Exaggeration for the sake of it does not help because the audience is not as dump as they think.
Tsvangirai, like any other human being will have some weaknesses but at the same time like Ngoto alluded to above, there is no way he can be worse than Mugabe.
Mugabe is a dictator of the worst kind and you can see by how many people have been killed under his watch – upwards of 20,000 innocent civilians – just so that he can hang on to power. Who can better that, not Morgan.
Interesting comments from all I must say but there are a few issues that all politicians have displayed. Notable of all is the lust for material wealth and then everything else is second. All our politicians must think we are stupid because we did not lift a finger to get rid of Bob and co. Then again how could we when our politicians divided us all to suit their agenda.
Misplaced effort! Mr Biti wants to be Tsvangirai’s opposition instead of being Mugabe’s. I am sure he wants to be leader of MDC more than being the President of Zimbabwe
Biti will always be Mbiti!!! He himself is driving a ZanuPF merc, land rover etc and does not think a former republican Prime Minister has a right to live in a house he used as republican PM, stupid lawyer and useless politician, ziva zvoku supporter mbavha dzeZANU sana Gono muma courts.
Shut the f*** up Biti you opportunist, selfish idiot!! Things did not work out according to your grand plan that is why you are now behaving as if you are an opposition party to MDC-T. You are failing to form your own party. Stupid, silly, idiotic Tendai Biti, that is why you struggled to complete your law degree. Leave our leader MT alone. No one will ever vote for you Tendai Biti..never, you have nothing to offer us, you cowards calling them selves MDC-Renewal Team.
I expected something sensible from the likes of Biti but to say I am disappointed is an understatement. It is worrying if a lawyer of Biti’s calibre cannot distinguish between party and government and zanu pf and national assets. If the house which we all know is owned by gvt is zanu pf’s can Biti tell the nation what assets belong to the people then. It is Biti’s mentality which is consistent with zanu pf thinking and which will breed tyranny if he were to become president. Like Anybody else, Tsvangiriai has the right to enjoy national assets. They are not zanu pf assets as Biti would want us believe all for political expediency. By the way did Biti not accept mabenz and other luxuries when he was minister. Did he return them to zanu pf as he wants Tsvangirai to vacate a zanu pf house or he is still enjoying them. How can he lead a successful party with such a shallow and myopic mind. We now want sensible politics not this childish politics. If Biti will become president he will take all such national assets to be under his party’s control, the same way zanu pf has done becoz he can not distinguish between party and state assets. Even muparliament maanopinda everyday we can call it a zanu pf parliament
@Farai-How do you describe salary in your own opinion my friend?During the old days we mean the days people worked for salaries and got paid not now whereby people are not paid for months even years.I could not visit some places but I knew that my family would have enough to eat at the end of each month.The problem is that some of you are too young to have lived during that colonial period,what you know about it is a one sided version of the story.Law abiding people are really suffering today than any other time in the history of our country.I do not expect you to understand that until one of your relative dies of hunger whilst he claims to be employed eg railways staff, Zisco Steel and other companies.Our farm workers are not well paid by their new masters and do not get good accommodation as it used to be.
Well said Mixed Race.I would like to add for the sake of Farai that the old days overlapped into the 1980’s and as you rightly say when people could get jobs and feed their family.What ever other wrongs that were done prior to 1980 were supposed to have been sorted out by the 1980 senario. Instead we went backwards because we allowed Politicians to control our destiny instead of mapping out a bright future for those to come. I have lived my life and at my age I continue to do so. What I also try to do is to map out a better life for my descendants. I would like to change the I into a WE because I believe that the success of my own children is linked with the success of all the children of the country. At the moment most Zimbabwean Politicians are striving for power. Those that have it will do anything to keep it. It is time that the people took back the power that is theirs. By that I do not mean causing mayem. I mean that the power of the people is to demand our basic human rights ie.
1. We are all free and equal. We are all born free. We all have our own thoughts and ideas. We should all be treated in the same way.
2. Don’t discriminate. These rights belong to everybody, whatever our differences.
3. The right to life. We all have the right to life, and to live in freedom and safety.
4. No slavery – past and present. Nobody has any right to make us a slave. We cannot make anyone our slave.
5. No Torture. Nobody has any right to hurt us or to torture us.
6. We all have the same right to use the law. I am a person just like you!
7. We are all protected by the law. The law is the same for everyone. It must treat us all fairly.
8. Fair treatment by fair courts. We can all ask for the law to help us when we are not treated fairly.
9. No unfair detainment. Nobody has the right to put us in prison without a good reason and keep us there, or to send us away from our country.
10. The right to trial. If we are put on trial this should be in public. The people who try us should not let anyone tell them what to do.
11. Innocent until proven guilty. Nobody should be blamed for doing something until it is proven. When people say we did a bad thing we have the right to show it is not true.
12. The right to privacy. Nobody should try to harm our good name. Nobody has the right to come into our home, open our letters or bother us or our family without a good reason.
13. Freedom to move. We all have the right to go where we want in our own country and to travel as we wish.
14. The right to asylum. If we are frightened of being badly treated in our own country, we all have the right to run away to another country to be safe.
15. The right to a nationality. We all have the right to belong to a country.
16. Marriage and family. Every grown-up has the right to marry and have a family if they want to. Men and women have the same rights when they are married, and when they are separated.
17. Your own things. Everyone has the right to own things or share them. Nobody should take our things from us without a good reason.
18. Freedom of thought. We all have the right to believe in what we want to believe, to have a religion, or to change it if we want.
19. Free to say what you want. We all have the right to make up our own minds, to think what we like, to say what we think, and to share our ideas with other people.
20. Meet where you like. We all have the right to meet our friends and to work together in peace to defend our rights. Nobody can make us join a group if we don’t want to.
21. The right to democracy. We all have the right to take part in the government of our country. Every grown-up should be allowed to choose their own leaders.
22. The right to social security. We all have the right to affordable housing, medicine, education, and child care, enough money to live on and medical help if we are ill or old.
23. Workers’ rights. Every grown-up has the right to do a job, to a fair wage for their work, and to join a trade union.
24. The right to play. We all have the right to rest from work and to relax.
25. A bed and some food. We all have the right to a good life. Mothers and children, people who are old, unemployed or disabled, and all people have the right to be cared for.
26. The right to education. Education is a right. Primary school should be free. We should learn about the United Nations and how to get on with others. Our parents can choose what we learn.
27. Culture and copyright. Copyright is a special law that protects one’s own artistic creations and writings; others cannot make copies without permission. We all have the right to our own way of life and to enjoy the good things that “art,” science and learning bring.
28. A free and fair world. There must be proper order so we can all enjoy rights and freedoms in our own country and all over the world.
29. Our responsibilities. We have a duty to other people, and we should protect their rights and freedoms.
30. Nobody should take away these rights and freedoms from us.
Why can these splinter parties not find an original name for themselves and expend their energies on building up their membership base?
My advice to all fair minded people of Zimbabwe inside and outside the country must visit all websites and try to communicate our views, particularly in those government websites like the Chronicle and The Herald so that more people can be enlightened.I have found that the level of debating there is generally of low standards full of silly personal insults and childish comments.
iwe biti unoda kuti share kupi