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MDC unity bid doomed from the start
By Tendai
Muzondirira
NOW that the
coalition talks between the two MDC factions led by Morgan Tsvangirai
on one hand and another by Professor Arthur Mutambara have irretrievably
collapsed, what is salvageable for Zimbabweans?
This is a pertinent question which most people would want answered yesterday. For some of us, we saw it coming but we did not want to disappoint optimistic Zimbabweans by advising them that they were being taken through a garden path and that they should stop pinning their hopes on a dead end process, conspired by self-centred individuals whose prime objective was never meant to benefit the struggling masses of Zimbabwe, but to placate the opportunity for self aggrandizement.
I knew the talks would not succeed because the ingredients of a failed process were there for all to see and yet we maintained our optimism, least we would be accused of undermining a perceived heavenly inspired coalition process. For goodness sake, the coalition talks were never meant to succeed under the sun.
What divides Morgan Tsvangirai’s MDC from that of Arthur Mutambara is so huge that only a Herculean process will bring them closer to each other. Personally, I was certain that individuals within the two factions would not want to see the coalition talks succeed because it would expose them for what they are: a bunch of insensitive opportunists who only see glory in their self cultivated dreams motivated by greed and self conceitedness.
Zimbabweans should have demanded right from the onset a full explanation of what caused the split of the party on October 12, 2005. The fact that most people are sceptical about the reasons that were given as the cause of the split clearly shows that there is much more to the split saga than what meets the eye. There are underlying and hidden factors that have haunted the party since its inception and these will always remain a threat not only to the reunification process but also to the survival of both factions.
I want it recorded that the October 12, 2005 debacle that caused the split of the MDC was not caused by some members of the party who conspired to participate in the senatorial election as suggested in some quarters, nor was it caused by the alleged Welshman Ncube-conspired desire to oust Morgan Tsvangirai so that he could take over and be at the helm of the party.
The hollowness, baselessness and mendacity of the Ncube conspiracy which seemed to have been crafted with the motive of damaging the integrity of the person of Welshman Ncube has since been exposed as the fertile imagination of certain individuals who resented Ncube’s role as Secretary General of the party.
The fight in the MDC has been and still is about ideological and ethnic differences between and among key players in the party. The trade unionists took it that the party belonged to them since it was a by-product of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU.) They wanted to have total control of the party.
They looked at intellectuals with suspicion and regarded them as a threat to their political hegemony while intellectuals on the other hand took it that for the survival of the party, they were there to give political direction and to assist their intellectually incapacitated colleagues.
The ethnic factor played havoc in the party and some senior party officials manipulated it to gain what they would otherwise have failed to get through legitimate means. Cohesion within the organs of the party was badly affected as a result of ethnic tensions and conflicts within the body politic of the party and the net effect of this disharmony towards the split should never be underplayed. For lack of time and space, I will not dwell much on these two contentious issues but promise to make an effort in the next instalment to explore the impact they contributed towards the split of the MDC.
It is saddening to note that in-spite of the overwhelming evidence to the contrary, some people still accuse the Mutambara faction of having caused the collapse of the coalition talks. It is inconceivably naive that the group that was alleged to be too desperate for talks would be the same group that would decide to scuttle the talks.
In any case, it is common cause that it takes two to tango and if the Tsvangirai group were sincere, honest and desirous about forging a coalition arrangement with their counterparts, I do not believe that the talks would have collapsed given the fact that the Mutambara group had openly accepted Tsvangirai as the sole Presidential candidate for the opposition for the 2008 elections.
While it is understandable that this did not necessarily guarantee Tsvangirai a victory in the election, it nonetheless guaranteed the avoidance of the splitting of votes against Robert Mugabe and Zanu PF. It also would have become a rallying point for all opposition forces and would have made Tsvangirai the only force of attraction in the opposition movement.
The coalition process would have been used to test the Mutambara group’s sincerity and commitment to the one candidate philosophy which they had so eloquently espoused. As the matter stands, the Mutambara faction appeared to have been sincere and honest. They also demonstrated a high degree of maturity and flexibility. Mutambara himself is on record as having made public announcements at various fora offering to step aside and make way for Tsvangirai.
His public declaration that he would not contest Tsvangirai and Tsvangirai should not contest him put Mutambara a notch up in terms of his commitment to the one candidate philosophy. Sadly though, there was no reciprocal response from the other side. In fact Mutambara’s pronouncements were met with a deafening silence from the Tsvangirai group serve for intermittent, derisive and scornful comments from Nelson Chamisa, the group’s spokesperson when he commented on the subject.
The recent revelations by the Mutambara group that the Tsvangirai group actually caused the collapse of the talks by violating the two agreements, the Code of Conduct and the Coalition Agreement which had been signed by both parties adds a new dimension to the matter and unmasks the Tsvangirai group’s hypocrisy on the issue. The Mutambara group has further made the documents accessible to the public. This revelation has vindicated them and has at the same time exposed the Tsvangirai group’s duplicity and dishonesty.
People should refuse to accept the notion that is roundly given by some politicians especially in the Tsvangirai group that links anything that fails in opposition politics to the invisible hand of one Professor Welshman Ncube. This is downright trash which should be discarded to the political dustbin.
Zimbabweans should avoid adopting the personality cult and the Zanu PF syndrome of blaming the second nearest person when the culprit is closet to them.
The Tsvangirai group is responsible for the collapse of the coalition talks and they should fully take responsibility for the consequences that inevitably will visit opposition politics in the country.
Tendai Muzondirira
is a human rights activist based in Harare. He can be contacted omn
e-mail: tendaimuzondirira07@yahoo.com
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