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From MDC ashes, arise A.G.O Mutambara
By Msekiwa
Makwanya
THE Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), as we know it, is dead.
Since October 12, 2005, the party will never be the same again. This is the day when the party president, Morgan Tsvangirai, with wisdom that was not shared by the simple majority of the party’s highest decision making organ outside congress, the national council, decided to overturn the decision to participate in the controversial senatorial election.
Tsvangirai went on to address a press conference and explained the outcome of the national council vote in a way that is still to be proved to be accurate.
Tsvangirai found himself on the losing side of the national council vote of 33:31 in favour of participation. As a leader, Tsvangirai appears to have sustained a potentially fatal political wound, and what we see now is a battle of egos which is a very slippery political turf.
The second national council meeting of November 5, 2005 actually confirmed that the party is at the risk of splitting right through the middle, with the ethnic dimension proving to be another test for Tsvangirai’s leadership.
The focus is now on the leader because he assumed all the responsibility for the party by overturning the original council decision in the name of "people’s best interest". Tsvangirai was quoted in the state-controlled Chronicle as saying, “The (senate) elections have caused the party to split into two groups, one led by the party’s vice president Gibson Sibanda, which is in support of contesting and the other, which I lead, that does not want to contest...”.
In politics you do not just listen to the rhetoric, you watch the actions and what we see at the moment is an outbreak of bad mouthing. The current attempt at mediation involving Eddie Cross and Thokozani Khupe is not getting anywhere, and before mediation could start the so called rebels were expelled. Does the MDC currently look like a party with clear leadership since October 12th?
The MDC is clearly lacking the necessary confluence of thought and intellectual coherence that is required for a political party in the 21st century. It is the case that when Morgan Tsvangirai overruled the national council decision he broke the rules of his party. By so doing he committed a cardinal sin against the market of ideas which demands strict adherence to rules, and frowns upon unilateralism which breeds chaos. On paper the MDC is a Social Democratic party and all the Social democratic Parties are generally market oriented and they respect rules and social justice.
Instead of using rallies to inform people about policies and programmes of change, the MDC officials are using rallies to shout obscenities at each other and demonstrating foolishness. The whole lawyer Tendai Biti believes he is making a case about Gift Chimanikire by telling the world that Gift does not bath, while Job Sikhala thinks that talking about globins (zvidhoma) will make Tsvangirai more evil than he is. What a waste of people’s time. In fact it is an abuse of the suffering people they purport to speak for. People should boycott such rallies to make a point that they will not tolerate abusive songs or language.
The MDC leader might want to take a cue from Tony Blair on how to deal with differences of opinion from the recent development in the UK on November 9, 2005. The British Prime Minister suffered his first major parliamentary defeat in more than eight years in power over new anti-terrorism powers. The House of Commons voted by 322 to 291 against plans to let police hold terrorist suspects for up to 90 days without charge. As nearly as 50 members of Blair's Labour Party refused to support him. His response was: “It's better sometimes to lose doing the right thing than to win doing the wrong thing".
I need to acknowledge the Zimbabwean politics is different from politics in the UK and so on, but the requirement to respect rules is the same for any game if we are to avoid chaos. In this age of globalisation, leaders in the Third World also need to be aware that perception of the party and country is important for the global village which is why the MDC has a European Representative in Grace Kwinjeh. It was not surprising therefore that Morgan Tsvangirai had to address the Diplomatic Community to appraise them of his thinking or approach because he got them scared by his unilateralism whether he had a point or not. The Diplomatic Community, like some Zimbabweans, could be wondering how what started as a battle of ideas among people who seemed to positively disagree ended up in such a crisis?
Welshman Ncube the MDC Secretary General has categorically stated that he is not interested in becoming the next MDC President and no-one should force him, although people will not stop speculating. The MDC congress is coming up in February 2006, and Tsvangirai has already remarked that the current crisis has presented him with the chance to weed out the “undesirable” elements from the party. We hope that he will not resort to what Prof Jonathan Moyo calls the “Tsikamutanda approach to politics”. Morgan Tsvangirai is now behaving like a wounded buffalo.
President Mugabe has announced his intention to retire in 2008 when his term of office comes to an end and there is no clear favourite to replace him in Zanu PF yet. The stakes are now too high given this scenario.
The task of looking for a national leader requires us to look far and wider both within Zanu PF and the MDC, as well as any other party. As mentioned earlier in this discussion the candidate should be a person with the gravitas required to knock heads together in crises times. In my view the ideal candidate should have an idea of the world economy, power geometry and an understanding or appreciation of the Pan African Agenda. Zanu PF has Simba Makoni, Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa, Joice Mujuru, Sydney Sekeramai and John Nkomo on offer. How about the MDC? Tsvangirai was a strong candidate but his leadership qualities have been a subject of intense debate with the current crisis in the MDC getting out of hand. But is it true that he is the only person the MDC is capable of producing?
Zimbabwe can only be served by a person whose time has come and the person does not need to among the protagonists, yet he should be imbedded among the democratic forces in the country. A person like Arthur Mutambara quickly comes to mind in such times. He impresses and strikes as an all rounder in terms of the qualities required for the tough job. I dare say that, it is not correct that by going out of Zimbabwe and acquiring significant knowledge that can help put Zimbabwe on the map someone should be excluded from the highest office in the land. A person like A.G.O Mutambara has served at different levels all over the world and his CV is a matter of public record, and one which makes you proud to be Zimbabwean.
I am referring to a man with clarity of thought, the gravitas to bring people together in times of crisis. It might well be that we need to know whether he is available and what could be his starting point.
The founder member syndrome that has afflicted most political parties should not stand in the way. The handiende syndrome will not get us anywhere, if you have done your bit, thank you and move over. If I understand the MDC constitution correctly, for any member to stand as a candidate at congress one needs to be nominated from the lowest level but you do not have to be a post holder. The district will then forward your name to the province which will submit it to the National Council for endorsement. So, it is not correct that Morgan Tsvangirai is the only leader capable of leading the MDC. Let us see what will happen at the coming congress.
Zimbabwe has a lot of talented sons and daughters who are proud to be Zimbabweans, and it has invested a lot in these sons and daughters. They could be experts in certain fields but some skills are transferable although I admit that, the fact that one is a specialist in a field does not necessarily mean that he/she can do everything else. At the same time, when you see an all rounder like Arthur Mutambara and Simba Makoni you cannot help but realize that actually, Zimbabwe is spoiled for leaders who should not be confined to one field.
Before I am savaged for being tribalist, I wish to acknowledge that I have not exhausted all the names who are not Shona who can lead Zimbabwe. I also admitted that the two that I narrowed down to are both Manyikas and males, but anyone is free to suggest names that they feel are national leadership materia.
We should love Zimbabwe so much that wherever we are, we dare say that any political party in Zimbabwe should open that space for the best, looking far and wide for the best they can find as national leadership brands. The language should be about inclusion not exclusion, and competition is healthy for democracy. The current MDC crisis is about obsession with winning yet both sides need to work together. So if Tsvangirai fails to unite the MDC who will? Morgan and Welshman as well as most people in the opposing factions have done very well for their party and it would be sad if they were unceremoniously discarded (they should be given position they can manage) but a fresh leader not aligned to the two factions could help bring in new ideas and keep the party together.
I have always said that there is enough space for all people who want to serve Zimbabwe and the challenge is massive. Both Zanu PF and the MDC should trade political hands carefully and give the nation their best candidates, not just popular leaders. With globalisation, leaders ought to be marketable locally and internationally without populist rhetoric. South Africa has Thabo Mbeki and Botswana has Festus Mogae, and the Liberian President elect Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, check their records.
Leaders should not be given to us like drought relief. Zimbabwe needs a clear strategic direction and managerial leadership and as a people we need to focus beyond the current MDC crisis and Tsholotsho, in the case of Zanu PF, for national salvation in which everyone will be a winner. This can only happen when the leadership admit failure and listen to advice in the face of challenges. There is no need to take criticism by the degree with which it hurts, rather take it positively and people will have hope.
These are my views and they are not final so I defend to death your right to disagree with me.
Msekiwa Makwanya
is a social commentator based in England. Contact can be made through
makwanya@yahoo.com
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