Why Tsvangirai must not join unity government

Why Tsvangirai must not join unity government

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By Bekithemba Mhlanga
Posted to the web: 16/12/2008 01:05:15
HAVING read Alfi Nyoni’s article (Why Tsvangirai must join government, 11 December) I was left pondering the appropriateness of the headline. Should it not have read why Tsvangirai should not join government?

If anything, Nyoni’s article flies in the face of all the realities as they exist currently. He makes a compelling argument for Tsvangirai to do the opposite.

What is even more fascinating is the extent to which the likes of Nyoni and others have tragically failed to frame Zimbabwe’s problems and allowed themselves to be the victims of Zanu PF’s propaganda on why Zimbabwe is facing its current challenges.

There was a time when the proposed coalition government was perceived as the only game in town, but over the last few months, it has become clear to all interested parties in Zimbabwe that this is not necessarily the case. Robert Mugabe himself has come out in the public to acknowledge as much – accepting that another round of elections may be inevitable. But that is just one option.

Unless if you are a SADC leader or Arthur Mutambara, then the options for dealing with Zimbabwe will be limited to your fear of losing in an election or a group fear of being shown that your long held solution is wrong.

However, the paramount issue will be determined by the framing of Zimbabwe’ problem. It is critical that this is done correctly or else the proposed solution will be wrong – as Nyoni’s article shows.

Tsvangirai may not necessarily be the correct solution to Zimbabwe’s problems but he is certainly not the source of Zimbabwe’s problem. To advance the argument that he is the central cog to solving Zimbabwe’s problems is to blindly ask him to solve a problem that he did not create.

The argument by Nyoni is akin to saying that if a drug addict and alcoholic is weaned of their habits, they necessarily become a better person. No, they do not, but many a time this has been the warped approach taken to many of Zimbabwe’s challenges.

The instances of riddled contradictions in Nyoni’s article betrays the fact that he has swallowed Zanu PF’s arguments, hook line and sinker, on the true nature, extent and complexity surrounding the realisation of the Global Political Agreement signed in September.

One hears no discussions on the many issues that the MDC T has raised concerns about. But then that is the position that the other party wants you to believe – that MDC-T is being petty. The destination that Zimbabwe arrives at will be determined by the path that it takes and all these shenanigans are not a good omen for this journey that the MDC factions are about to begin with Zanu PF.

But by not accepting these realties, we are told that Tsvangirai betrays the 100 and more people who died in the run-up to the second round of Presidential elections. These people did not voluntarily die; they were killed as part and parcel of Zanu PF’s attempt to hang on to power by any means necessary.

Nyoni’s arguments is reminiscent of the Gukurahundi deniers who argue that Joshua Nkomo could have saved the lives of 20 000 plus people by giving in to Mugabe’s demands. Nyoni if a vampire bites you; you become a vampire too.

Where has Nyoni been for the last ten years? Zimbabwe’s political, economic and social position has declined at an alarming pace during that time. The infrastructure has gone from creaky to collapsed, inflation from double digits to what one chooses to call it, education from excellent to rubbish and our reputation from great to despicable. All this time it has been Zanu PF in charge not the MDC or any body else.

Conveniently ignoring all these issues, we are provided with yet another instalment of Tsvangirai’s disrespect of the SADC leadership and his poor understanding of the regional politics. What all this does is to try and shift the discussion away from the source of Zimbabwe’s problems. Unfortunately it does not make the problems disappear either.

In a democratic setting, everyone has the right to chose their friends and make their opinions as they please and so is Nyoni, Tsvangiari and Mugabe. To argue that it is a strategic error to criticise SADC leadership is as cheap as arguing that SADC leaders have a monopoly of solving Zimbabwe’s problems when they have neither the means nor resources to do just that. For if they did, Zimbabweans would be the happiest people on earth, but they are not!

It is remarkable that Nyoni’s article is almost done without berating the West and their abhorrent sanctions for brining about Zimbabwe’s misery. All one can say is that history is littered with countries that have trodden down Zimbabwe’s path.

Nyoni must not forget that since the MDC was formed, it has always been an opposition party and never has it ever been the governing party. To argue that the ‘power sharing government presents Tsvangiari with a fresh, risk–free strategy to fight Zanu PF at close quarters’ is naïve. Nyoni accepts this when he argues that “if Tsvangirai somehow imagines that Zanu PF is pleased to share power he should think again”. How risk free is that Nyoni, sharing power with Zanu PF?

There is a general misconception out there of the nature and complexities facing Zimbabwe currently. The mathematical school of thought summarises this to a game of numbers i.e. who gets the most number of cabinet seats and the ministries school of though arguing around the allocation of various ministries. But the reality school of thought has argued passionately that what Zimbabwe needs is justice, observance of rule of law, freedom for political association and sound leadership among many other issues. These things will not fall from the sky just because Tsvangirai joins the coalition government.

Tsvangirai is aware of that and Zanu PF does not want to give in to this because it will change once and for all the fortunes of Zimbabwe and the fortunes of those in Zanu PF who have benefited from the currently skewed arrangements.

So one more time, Tsvangirai may not necessarily be the right solution for Zimbabwe’s problems but he is certainly not the source of the problem. As long as the framing of Zimbabwe’s problems follows the Nyoni school of thought, then in another 10, 15 or 20 years Zimbabweans will be seating around debating a similar set of problems again.

Bekithemba Mhlanga is a Zimbabwean journalist and writes from England
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