via Zimbabweans are cowards, says Biti – New Zimbabwe 08/02/2015
A SENIOR opposition figure has described Zimbabweans as hopeless cowards who seek salvation in a “piece of carpet” mislaid at Harare International Airport.
Former Finance Minister and MDC-Renewal secretary general Tendai Biti was referring to the gleeful response of Zimbabweans to President Robert Mugabe’s fortuitous trip and fall at the airport as he returned home from Ethiopia.
Biti was addressing a public discussion organised last week by the Southern African Political and Economic Series saying that the factional problems besetting the country’s political parties were a reflection of a divided citizenry.
“You (citizens) accuse us of being weak, the opposition of being weak but we are just a mirror reflection of the country,” he said.
“We are just a mirror reflection of the citizens’ fatalism and cowardice. The last time there was a demonstration on Zimbabwe it was in Zambia.”
Zambian opposition activists recently staged a protest against Mugabe after he turned up for the inauguration of President Edgar Lungu in Lusaka.
Turning 91 this month, the veteran leader has not, in recent years, faced any serious protests back home despite widespread disgruntlement with his 35-year autocratic and, according to critics, economically disastrous rule.
Said Biti: “At least we (opposition politicians) are better because we are standing up to the regime.
“You (citizens) spend most of your time this week looking for pictures of Mugabe falling at the airport. We have become so hopeless that a piece of carpet is our salvation.
“The argument that Zimbabwe’s solution lies in the death of Mugabe does not cut it, we cannot put our fate in an individual, an old man for that matter.”
He told his audience, among them former Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai who sat quietly and, later, walked out without a word, that it was unfortunate that Zimbabweans want to “outsource your struggle to political groupings or other citizens”.
“We have reduced Zimbabwean politics to a binary concept and binary construct – MDC in all its manifestations against Zanu PF. I do not buy that construction because it is wrong,” said the former treasury chief.
“We must present an alternative policy position to that mediocre sobriquet called ZimAsset (government’s latest economic blue-print the Zimbabwe Agenda for Socio-Sustainable Economic Transformation).
“We must present a social charter that gives definitive direction on water, electricity and deliverables. We can write degrees, genuine degrees on the failure of Zanu PF.”
He added: “One of the key components of our struggle is how we are going to form united and popular fronts.
“We can differ and we do not have to be Zanu PF but surely we should be able to identify that the catastrophe is Zanu PF and its 35 year-old legacy.
“If we cannot unite at that elementary level then we are a write-off and deserve to have our graves kicked by our grandchildren.”
Biti said with elections only 30 months away, Zimbabwe’s splintered opposition risked being stampeded into another poll under the same conditions “we have long described as a foundation for the electoral rigging we have endured in the past 15 years in particular unless we find common ground and coalesce for a better tomorrow”.
COMMENTS
He added: “One of the key components of our struggle is how we are going to form united and popular fronts.
“We can differ and we do not have to be Zanu PF but surely we should be able to identify that the catastrophe is Zanu PF and its 35 year-old legacy.
“If we cannot unite at that elementary level then we are a write-off and deserve to have our graves kicked by our grandchildren.”
Biti if only you could do what you said above and go back to MDCT and urge other parties to come together. That way we will be talking. People have lost faith in the opposition from the moment you split.
I totally agree with Biti on this one. There is one question though. When you talk about unity to confront ZanuPF, you are talking about uniting all Zimbabweans seeing that rascists still abound in our country namely black ones.
Totally disagree, what cowards??? we the civilian have voted in the polls and given MDC victory at least twice but our leaders including Biti himself have been CHICKENS and allowed Zanu PF to stay in power anyways. Instead they even opted to be Finance Minister and PM in a rotten govt betraying the votes of the people to save their skins. We don’t have guns to fight but we do have the voting power but until we get clear headed leaders to make sure our votes are counted and results respected we are at nowhere. To make it even worse they led the party into another election without democratic changes implanted so please, u are now complaining because u were spit out
The Liberation struggle would never have been waged if the current calibre of opposition had been at the helm. We have today a clueless, directionless political opposition that can not even cease the opportunity and make good use of Zanu puff’s fragmentation. An opposition that says to Zimbabweans a miracle, for good, will happen once Mugabe dies. MDC was not formed on political ideology and strategy but out of political opportunism, that people were fed up with Mugabe and his rogue Zanu. I remember when out of nowhere most became MPs, so what should we expect? I think it is also good this party never became the ruling party as they have shown in their lack of political leadership. Politics is not for preachers but those who can go on the frontline and risk life and limb and then only can the populus join. In the 60’s and 70’s political leaders did so and were joined by close to 100000 young men and women who mobilised masses and won the cause then. That is what the youth of today are waiting for. In the absence of this please you so called opposition politicians don’t waste Zimbos’ time in false hopes.