Maravi

(TALKZIMBABWE) Power hunger crippling MDC-T

Power hunger crippling MDC-T
Danai Mapuranga - Power hunger crippling MDC-T
Wed, 02 Dec 2009 12:06:00 +0000

THE level of discontent displayed by members of the MDC-T’s UK and Ireland province is an eye opener. Distance and technology has enabled them to do what their counterparts in Zimbabwe fail to do; voice their objections at continued victimization, flouting of democratic tenets, and other abuses by their party leadership.

The MDC-T UK and Ireland Province is an interesting case study of the power dynamics in the MDC-T party. The province has served as a focal point for many different individuals with different needs.

There are the asylum seekers for who having a membership card and referral letters is a sure way to legally reside in the UK, they are the criminals who escaped Zimbabwe and claimed persecution by the Mugabe government, they are the economic migrants, genuine members and of course the hanger-ons and relatives of prominent MDC-T officials back home. All these people have served different purposes for the MDC-T in its goal of regime change in Zimbabwe.

The problems in the Province are caused by greed and factional fighting among top officials in Zimbabwe who seek to control it as a way of gaining a foothold on the MDC-T Presidency. Time and again Executives are suspended for issues to do with financial unaccountability, insubordination, lack of leadership qualities and divisiveness and yet the true reason behind all these charges is never looked into.

MDC-T UK and Ireland Province Executives are given a free rein as long as they remit funds to Harvest House timeously and not oppose any undemocratic decisions the party back home might take.

The Tapa led executive was suspended for insubordination and bring the party into disrepute at the instigation of a rival faction. This of course was just after the Lucia Matibenga saga where the UK Province stood up against what it called “fraud by Tsvangirai and his kitchen cabinet”.

Secretary General Tendai Biti has just suspended an Executive, which was put in place by MDC-T National Chairman Lovemore Moyo led so called Tsvangirai loyalists from the Tapa led Executive who chose not to oppose the party President and petitioned to have the Tapa Executive dissolved.

Dissolving the Tapa Executive, Lovemore Moyo said, “I am saying that if you have a difference with your national leadership and if you are a disciplined cadre and you have a respect of the leadership, obviously there are channels to express your dissatisfaction, but certainly media is not the appropriate channel to attack your leadership”.

What is interesting is that the MDC-T leadership has perfected the “run and cry in front of the media tactic”. It is hypocritical of Moyo and company to fire people for the one thing they have been doing themselves.

Not only that but Moyo signaled that the MDC-T top leadership is not tolerant to anyone who opposes the way they run things and will not hesitate bring the axe on those who do. For their entire democratic stance the MDC-T top hierarchy is a cesspool of self-serving power hungry individuals.

The recent deposed Chawora Executive committed the unpardonable sin. They supported the wrong faction and seem to have been deeping their hands into the cookie jar dishing out party funds to selected MDC top officials who are in their faction and this has not gone well with the other faction back home.

Zimbabwean lawyer Julius Mutyambidzi who was a senior member in the deposed Tapa Executive said that DPM Thokozani Khupe, Parlimentary Speaker Lovemore Moyo and Ambassador designate Hebson Makuvise all received ‘gifts” from the Chawora executive out of party funds.

According to Mutyambidzi “regardless of political affiliation, the recipients of the gifts are all in public office and people of Zimbabwe would want to hear why their Speaker, Ambassador designate, etc received money where there was a clear procedural impropriety.

A short while ago, MDC-T Senator Gutu was huffing and puffing that government officials should declare their assets, incomes and gifts they receive outside their official capacities as a way of ensuring transparency. While it was obvious that Senator Gutu’s rhetoric was aimed at Zanu PF members in government, it would have been prudent if he had first swept his house before trying to clean his neighbor’s house.

The problem with MDC-T leadership is that it uses its membership to further its own political gains under the auspices of democratic behaviour.

In 2005 the National Executive Council took a decision that the party would take part in the Senatorial Elections only to have Party President undemocratically veto that decision. This led to the split of the MDC-T.

In a letter to the Zimbabwe Independent Tiny Murefu wrote that the MDC-T President had taken a dictatorial path and urged the paper to make a critical deeper analysis of what was going on in the MDC-T instead of “naively tribalizing the whole issue”.

Many in the MDC-T top hierarchy chose to look the other way as their leader disregarded provisions in his own party’s constitution and made a mockery of the notion of checks and balances that prevent wanton abuse of power. That was only the beginning of the descent of the power from a “people driven initiative” to a party with a totem.

The battle of control over the MDC-T Women’s Assembly in 2007 drew attention to the power Tsvangirai’s kitchen cabinet held.

The role of women in the MDC-T was narrowed down to rubber stampers of Tsvangirai and his cabinet. While women make up the greater number of his supporters and one would think they deserve a voice in party affairs they were denied that chance to make their own choices but were given choices.

According to Africanews’ Precious Shumba, a committee led by home affairs secretary Sam Sipepa Nkomo to enquire into the allegations was formed and it recommended that the Women’s Assembly should not be disbanded. Of course, Tsvangirai disregarded these recommendations and proceeded to fire Matibenga’s executive.

Tsvangirai has a propensity to reward those with financial muscle, lack of constitutional respect and unfair distribution of party resources to the structures. This was obvious to many before the October 2005.

Transparency and accountability are only used when its time to fire or suspend an individual or when the party leadership wants to take cheap shots at Zanu PF.

In an article titled “Blame it on the woman” Priscilla Misihairabwi – Mushonga and Trudy Stevenson wrote that “lack of consultation, lack of communication and indeed total absence of collective decision making “ were the reasons behind the original MDC split.

The two women enlightened Zimbabwe of the ordeal they suffered at the hands of fellow MDC members because of standing up to Tsvangirai and his inner circle whom they accused of turning disagreements into acts of violence.

“We were called bitches, whores, sell outs. We must be CIO or Zanu PF or involved in some Ndebele plot to overthrow the Shona,” they wrote describing what they faced for standing up to Tsvangirai’s dictatorial habits.

It is a shame when grown men sink so low as to use violence, abusive language in order to coerce women to do their bidding. It really puts things into perspective where the MDC-T is concerned when it comes to respecting the masses right to making decisions and framing public discourse on issues.

The behaviour of the MDC-T in the inclusive Government has also called into question their sincererity into making the government work.

Creating posts for relatives and cronies is just the tip of the iceberg. The party’s membership in the UK, many of whom are asylum seekers who were religiously keeping up to date with their membership and subscription in order to get letters from the MDC-T leadership that support their asylum claims have been left empty handed after their representative Hebson Makuvise flew the cope after his nephew PM Tsvangirai advised him he would be getting a diplomatic posting.

Makuvise surrendered his refugee status claiming it was now safe to return to Zimbabwe. It is because of this that PM Tsvangirai was heckled and booed by Zimbabweans in London as they felt cheated of not only their hard earned money, but because they are tired of the party leadership awarding posts to their relatives through undemocratic processes.

The allegations of the secret extension of tenure by MDC-T party President leveled against Tsvangirai in October are not the first. In 2006, Newzimbabwe, flighted a story that Tsvangirai and his advisors had published a draft constitution that gave him an unlimited term of office. The draft stated that a term limit would only be imposed on the Presidency once it assumed governing power of the Republic of Zimbabwe.

While this time the PM and his inner circle went a step further by deleting sections form their party’s constitution without following the provisions given in their party constitution it can be only accepted as a norm for these individuals.

Political analyst Eldred Masunungure commented that this move was “totally out of sync with the thrust of the MDC-T and its advocacy for good governance”.

The laughable move that the MDC-T took of attempting to consult its membership over whether or not it should stay in the inclusive Government, then when getting feedback albeit from a web poll, disregarded it and partially disengaged shows not only the immaturity of the party leadership but indicated that the leadership has no real link with its members and as such fails to make the appropriate decisions instead taking those that suit it as an elite.

As portfolio holders continue to jostle for posts in Zimbabwe they expose their inadequacies to their membership abroad and within.

The saying goes, "You cannot fool all the people all the time." It looks like the MDC-T leadership has fooled some people one too many times.

Labels: MDC, PARTIES, POLITICS

posted by MrK @ 5:07 PM