When I became gatekeeper to what was published in the Sunday Standard, part of my responsibilities demanded that I read each individual article before passing it on for placement in the paper.
I recall a series of articles, titled ‘So What Kind of Cooperation’, by Dick Bayford who was critical of the intended amalgamation of Botswana opposition parties to fight the BDP as one unit. Bayford, of course, had left the BNF and formed the NDF and was clearly fearful of being swallowed and forgotten in a crowded conglomerate of long-established political parties.
Bayford was one of those who, in essence, advocated for ‘cooperation’ as opposed to the dissolution of opposition parties to regroup under one name and leader. It was the same argument that kept the BCP outside the Umbrella For Democratic Change (UDC) until it suffered humiliating defeats a couple of years ago.
However, the resilience shown by other participants eventually led to the formation of an umbrella organisation which showed its mantle when it won a good number of parliamentary seats.
The achievement of this ‘unity of purpose’ was underestimated yet it is an example of what can actually be achieved when individuals put personal ambitions aside for the common good. As Truman said, “It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit.”
The arrival of the UDC ushered in new political attitudes in Botswana and ensured that politics in Botswana will never be the same.
In Zimbabwe, a nation that has been under both political and economic duress for more than 30 years, politicians still play to the gallery and form political parties at will to appease their egos. Last week, those scattered political leaders announced that they had come together in a coalition to ensure the defeat of long-time dictator Robert Mugabe.
Five Zimbabwean political parties (ZUNDE, DARE, MDC led by Prof Welshman Ncube, RDZ and Simba Makoni’s MKD) signed the Coalition of Democrats Agreement (CODE).
“This is indeed a game changer for Zimbabwean politics as political parties have put aside their differences in order to work for the common good of Zimbabwe,” said the People’s Democratic Party led by former Finance Minister, Tendai Biti.
Biti attended the signing ceremony although his party is yet to join the coalition.
Unfortunately, these are small parties with very little following and have nothing to bring to the table.
The two biggest political parties, in terms of followings and seriousness, are the MDC led by Morgan Tsvangirai and the Zimbabwe People First, led by Mugabe’s former deputy, Joice Mujuru. They are not part of the coalition.
“This CODE thing, we do not know about it and we were never advised about it. We are a mass party and MDC-T is against anything that looks like an elite pact,” said Douglas Mwonzora, Tsvangirai’s Secretary General. “We do not know their logic, what they stand for, their objectives…”
What a horrible start.
And this has happened before.
Our politicians always talk about ‘a grand coalition’ without even looking into the mechanics and fallout of such a pact, let alone telling the people what the pact entails.
‘Coalition’ sounds sweet, does it not?
But what kind of co-operation are we talking about?
Who is joining who and why? What is the price Zimbabweans have to pay for this pact?
How are they going to choose who to put forward as the coalition’s presidential candidate? The people have the right to know before such pacts are signed because people are the voters.
We have this unfortunate situation in Zimbabwe where ZANU-PF is nothing without Robert Mugabe and, now, the MDC’s lifeline appears to be wound around Tsvangirai.
Our political parties cannot survive without their original leaders, much as Ndabaningi Sithole and Joshua Nkomo took their parties with them to their graves.
No one will accept second position except those who have absolutely no chance in hell of winning the presidency. They are the ones who will hang around to be elevated by their mere presence in the “grand coalition”.
Please, we don’t want any more charlatans rejected by the people.
Whatever pact is to be made, the political parties involved must first inform their followers about it in detail before that pact is agreed upon and implemented.
Coalitions should be formed for the good of the nation not as a quid pro quo between political conspirators at the expense of the nation.
When we vote no, we mean no. The losers must just go home and stay there.
As the leaders of these political parties negotiate, let it be made clear to them all that their individual willingness to forge a united front is their contribution to national interest and national welfare.
We know it will all crumble when they choose the candidates for various positions because we have yet to meet a Zimbabwean politician who is humble enough to put the nation first by accepting a lesser role.
They all want to be joined, not to join anyone else. They all want to be president.
Tsvangirai, for example, will never accept a lesser role than to be the leader of his own party or of the coalition. He feels entitled and believes he should not and cannot be replaced.
Joice Mujuru, on the other hand, has been in the background all her political career, with the last ten years spent as Mugabe’s deputy.
She feels she has suffered enough to earn the big spot herself and she and her supporters might not be willing to entertain anything below the presidency of the coalition.
As for the other “party presidents”, they left Tsvangirai’s MDC because they wanted the limelight themselves and might not enjoy playing second fiddle to Tsvangirai again.
Given the situation, this would be the best time for Zimbabwean opposition politicians to reach out to those who have walked down this road before, formed coalitions and achieved admirable success.
If Zimbabwean opposition leaders truly want to make sacrifices on behalf of the people, it wouldn’t hurt for them to consult organisations such as Botswana’s UDC and see how to approach, handle and establish such a delicate issue that feeds off egos at the expense of common sense.
But they can only succeed if they enter into this coalition without considering themselves irreplaceable.
