Zimpapers Logo

Graphic shows Roy Bennet, Tendai Biti, Elton Mangoma and Morgan Tsvangirai

Cuthbert Mavheko
MORE than six months after the MDC-T’s monumental loss to Zanu-PF in the 2013 harmonised elections, its embattled leader Morgan Tsvangirai finds himself battling for political survival as calls for leadership renewal in the British-funded opposition party reach a new climax, following the recent publication by the media of deputy treasurer general Elton Mangoma’s damning statement calling for Tsvangirai to step down.

In the aftermath of Tsvangirai’s dismal outing in the July 31, 2013 harmonised elections, cracks have widened in the MDC-T with a growing chorus for him (Tsvangirai) to relinquish his position as president of the party. The “Tsvangirai must go” campaign is gaining ground. Those baying for Tsvangirai’s blood include secretary general Tendai Biti, Elton Mangoma, exiled treasurer-general Roy Bennet, Iain Kay and former Commercial Farmers Union (CFU) president Ben Freeth, among others.

Those in the know aver that the acrimonious power wrangles have now spilled into the donor community, which pampered the party with huge sums of money, believing it would win the 2013 polls. Roy Bennet and others who have been sourcing funds from donors to bank roll the party’s activities have stopped sourcing funds for the party because Tsvangirai is stubbornly resisting calls for him to step down. The donor community has reportedly ditched Tsvangirai due to failure to dislodge Cde Mugabe and Zanu-PF from the saddle of power. This has now plunged the party into financial dire straits as it seeks to regroup, restrategise and prepare for the 2018 elections.

“There is unanimity of opinion within the donor community that Tsvangirai is a spent force and is clinging onto power merely for the trappings of power, rather than to steer the party’s regime change agenda forward, hence the need to replace him with a robust, intelligent individual able to counter Cde Mugabe and Zanu-PF in future elections,” said a source who preferred anonymity.

According to the source, the UK, France, Germany and a number of senior MDC-T officials want former Finance Minister Biti to replace Tsvangirai. The US, Australia and Canada, on the other hand, prefer Elias Mudzuri as a possible successor. It is crucially important to note that Tsvangirai has been at the controls of the MDC-T ship since 1999, when it embarked on its maiden voyage across the political sea. He has lost elections in 2000, 2002, 2008 and 2013. The only time that Tsvangirai and his Western-backed party came close to an electoral victory over Zanu-PF was in June 2008 when the MDC-T won the Parliamentary poll by the narrowest of margins as well as the first round of the Presidential vote.

The MDC-T won 100 seats, Zanu-PF 99, MDC 10 and one seat went to an independent. In the Presidential plebiscite Tsvangirai polled 1,195,562 votes against Cde Mugabe’s 1,079,730 votes. However, Cde Mugabe went on to win the Presidential run-off when Tsvangirai threw in the towel at the eleventh hour, citing alleged intimidation and violence against his supporters. Let it be said quite frankly that this was a protest vote and its outcome did not reflect a realistic expression of the will of the electorate. The 2013 harmonised plebiscite was, on the other hand, a totally different kettle of fish. The economic situation in the country, which had been characterised by long fuel queues, scarcity of essential commodities, a spiralling inflation and so forth, had stabilised considerably and people exercised their democratic right to vote freely without undue pressure.

It is insightful to note that Tsvangirai’s flirtations with a legion of women and his party’s lacklustre performance in the Inclusive Government awakened the electorate to the realisation that the former trade unionist and his party did not have the interest of the nation at heart and had boarded the political train for personal glory and self-aggrandisement. And so, the electorate voted overwhelmingly for Cde Mugabe and Zanu-PF, thereby correcting the mistake they made in 2008.

It is prudent to observe that the acrimonious power wrangles in the MDC-T have, apart from weakening and dichotomising the party along factional lines, pushed Tsvangirai to the very edge of political extinction. It is this author’s considered view that Tsvangirai should be man enough to tell his supporters that he has failed to steer the party’s regime change agenda to fruition. He should exit the political battlefield now, while what remains of his dignity is still intact, instead of waiting for the party’s congress in 2016, where he risks being booted unceremoniously off its helm.

A recent statement by MDC-T party spokesperson Douglas Mwonzora that a compromise deal, which leaves Tsvangirai at the helm of the party, had been sealed with the Mangoma faction is a blatant distortion of reality. This is so because not long after Mwonzora issued this statement to the Press, Mangoma, Biti and youth assembly secretary general Promise Mkwananzi and others were attacked by youths believed to have been sent by Tsvangirai. I personally think it is exercise in foolishness to expect Mangoma and his faction, which is backed by the likes of Bennet, a vociferous critic of Tsvangirai, to accept any compromise deal that leaves him (Tsvangirai) as president of the beleaguered MDC-T party.

I have a great deal of respect for Tsvangirai as a former Prime Minister of Zimbabwe. However, it simply would be an act of dishonesty on my part to conjecture that he is a credible and suitable candidate for the country’s presidential office. If anything, it is the strong contention of this writer that Tsvangirai does not have the clout and fortitude to be the next president of Zimbabwe. He lacks vision, common sense and logic.

Furthermore, his Africanness (Hunhu/Ubuntu) is in a decadent state and needs to be thoroughly overhauled. Many will, no doubt, recall how, during a pre-election rally last year, he scolded people who included elderly men and women, saying “Munofamba musina kupfeka maunderwear pamusana peZanu-PF yamakavothera” (you move around without underwear because of Zanu-PF which you voted for). Indeed, it boggles the mind that a man who aspires to be the next president of this great country can be so rude and discourteous to the electorate and then expect to win its vote.