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(TALKZIMBABWE) Tsvangirai faces the ultimate test as tenure ends

Tsvangirai faces the ultimate test as tenure ends
By: By Sihle Dube
Posted: Thursday, July 8, 2010 5:07 am

MDC-T leader is in a state of panic as his tenure at the helm of that party comes to a close, as we all expect. As someone who has always boasted about his democratic credentials, Mr Morgan Tsvangirai faces the ultimate test, the Democray Test.

Although critics have always questioned Mr Tsvangirai's democratic credentials, that party has always presented him as a true democrat who will lead Zimbabwe to the promised land.

This is despite all the unfairness that surrounded the ousting of Lucia Matibenga from that party's women's league and her subsequent absence from Mr Tsvangirai's cabinet, despite her unquestionable role in that party.

We all know that Mr Tsvangirai's close allies -- Ian and Theresa Makone -- who have been handsomely rewarded with cabinet and powerful positions in the party, are avowed 'enemies' of Ms Matibenga.

As the PM's Executive Secretary and party financier, Ian Makone wields a lot of power and influence in the MDC-T party and PM Tsvangirai has "sucked up" to this man, to a point where his wife was appointed co-Home Affairs Minister. In any other country, the appointment of Mrs Makone to the powerful ministry would have been seen as a scandal; but not in the MDC-T party nor in Zimbabwe.

Mr Tsvangirai's 'treatment' of the people of Matabeleland and those who criticise him, leaves a lot to be desired. He has snubbed Ndebeles in cabinet and appointed one or two individuals as an afterthought. This raises questions about his democratic credentials.

The MDC-T has responded to questions about Mr Tsvangirai's tenure in a somewhat blazay way; not coming out in the open. Party spokesman Nelson Chamisa, has dodged questions about Mr Tsvangirai's impending end of tenure.

It is pretty condescending to the Zimbabwean people, especially supporters of the MDC-T who have a right to elect their own leader, regardless of “international celebrity” status.

It is ridiculous to suggest that MDC-T politics is simply a struggle between the Biti faction, and the stuffy old MDC-T types who want closer links with Mr Tsvangirai. Things are more complicated – but Zimbabwean journalists are of course mostly too lazy to bother finding out what is really going on.

Mr Tsvangirai and his side of the MDC-T party have so far avoided the succession debate -- and have also stopped talking of succession politics in Zanu-PF, lest they open a can of worms.

Mr Tsvangirai will face a lot of resistance and will amost find his leadership untenable if he suspends congress and cull those who oppose him. Vultures in the MDC-T party are waiting in the wings to strike at the opportune moment.

He could step down and play a Mutambara by saying any party member can run for presidency. That way he could still contest the election; but not as party president.

If a peaceful transition of power from Mr Tsvangirai is achieved, then the MDC-T will really have come of age as a democratic party. Instead of defining itself purely as “a movement for democratic change”, it will have made a deliberate choice, for better or worse, to show the people of Zimbabwe that it can walk the talk.
Mr Tsvangirai will not, of course, disappear. He sees himself as the cult leader of that party and thinks the centre cannot hold without him. MDC-T handlers, funders and donors adore him as well as he seems to never toe the line. He does their bidding very well.

However, his love for things democratic will now be tested, and measured. Will he become the head of a “loyal party” to democratic ideals? Or will he simply seek to have the congress suspended and spend the next few years claiming that no one else in the MDC-T has the right to lead that party?

If he has the guts and intelligence to step down and allow new blood, he will grow in stature as a democrat. In that case he will certainly be recognised as a key person in the MDC-T's handling of the difficult business of running a country.

If, on the other hand, he bickers and holds on to power, and deny the likes of Tendai Biti -- the party secretary general -- the right to lead, then he will quite simply prove that he does not deserve a place in the future of ZImbabwe.

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*Sihle Dube is a lawyer and banker. She writes from the United Kingdom and can be reached via sihledube@hotmail.co.uk

Labels: LUCIA MATIBENGA, MDC FACTIONS, MORGAN TSVANGIRAI, PRESIDENCY

posted by MrK @ 2:04 PM